I may have telepathy! Just 2 days ago I watched one of my favorite movies ‘To Sir with Love,’ starring Sidney Poitier, acting as a teacher trying to reform a group of disobedient students in a secondary school in England. It has always inspired me when I was teaching, watching that movie and feel like I can conquer any group of unruly students. As soon as I finished watching this movie, the news came to me that Sidney Poitier passed away at the age of 94. He was the first Afro-American to win an Oscar for his role in the movie ‘Lilies of the Field,’ and until 2002, he remained the only colored actor to win such an honor when Denzel Washington joined him. In the same year, Sidney was given an Honorary Oscar for his extraordinary performances on the silver screen and his dignity, style and intelligence. Among his famous movies were ‘To Sir With Love,’’ Patch of Blues,’’ Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner,’’ The Blackboard Jungle,’’ A Raisin in the Sun’ and ‘In the Heat of the Night. His last film was ‘The Last Brickmaker’ of 2001.
He was a US and Bahamas citizen and died in his home in Los Angeles on January 6. On television, he portrayed icons of history such as South Africa's first black president Nelson Mandela and the first Black justice on the US Supreme Court, Thurgood Marshall. And in 1997, he took up a ceremonial post as Bahamian ambassador to Japan. He was awarded the US Presidential Medal of Freedom -- the country's highest civilian honour -- by President Barack Obama in 2009. Poitier was married to his second wife Joanna since 1976, and had six daughters as well as numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
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