In the first full biography of actor Sidney Poitier, Aram
Goudsouzian analyzes the life and career of a Hollywood legend,
from his childhood in the Bahamas to his 2002 Oscar for lifetime
achievement. Poitier is a gifted actor, a great American success
story, an intriguing personality, and a political symbol; his life
and career illuminate America's racial history.
In such films as
Lilies of the Field,
In the Heat of the
Night, and
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, Poitier's
middle-class, mannered, virtuous screen persona contradicted
prevailing film stereotypes of blacks as half-wits, comic servants,
or oversexed threats. His screen image and public support of
nonviolent integration assuaged the fears of a broad political
center, and by 1968, Poitier was voted America's favorite movie
star.
Through careful readings of every Poitier film, Goudsouzian shows
that Poitier's characters often made sacrifices for the good of
whites and rarely displayed sexuality. As the only black leading
man during the civil rights era, Poitier chose roles and public
positions that negotiated the struggle for dignity. By 1970, times
had changed and Poitier was the target of a backlash from film
critics and black radicals, as the new heroes of "blaxploitation"
movies reversed the Poitier model.
In the 1970s, Poitier shifted his considerable talents toward
directing, starring in, and producing popular movies that employed
many African Americans, both on and off screen. After a long
hiatus, he returned to starring roles in the late 1980s. More
recently, the film industry has reappraised his career, and Poitier
has received numerous honors recognizing his multi-faceted work for
black equality in Hollywood. As this biography affirms, Poitier
remains one of American popular culture's foremost symbols of the
possibilities for and limits of racial equality.