"He will walk with kings."

January 7, 2022 4:24 PM

Sidney Poitier, Oscar-winning actor and Hollywood's first Black movie star, dies at 94.
posted by lharmon (58 comments total)

His book is well worth reading, published around the turn of the century: The Measure of a Man: A Spiritual Autobiography.
posted by Rash at 4:31 PM on January 7, 2022 [5 favorites]

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posted by Ten Cold Hot Dogs at 4:32 PM on January 7, 2022

Rest in Peace, MISTER Tibbs.
posted by Splunge at 4:39 PM on January 7, 2022 [7 favorites]

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posted by marimeko at 4:47 PM on January 7, 2022

Although the line, "They call me MISTER Tibbs." is probably his most famous (and it does help to see the whole scene to understand the power of that line), I'd like to give a special shout out to his role in the sublime "Sneakers", where he clocks a racist security guard and shouts back at him, "Motherfuckers mess with me, I'll split your head!"

A goddamn treasure, he was. RIP.
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 4:48 PM on January 7, 2022 [28 favorites]

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posted by Gray Duck at 4:50 PM on January 7, 2022

Sidney....
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posted by Fukiyama at 4:59 PM on January 7, 2022

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posted by fluffycreature at 5:05 PM on January 7, 2022

Back...a long time ago, when I was in college, I'd record quotes of his from "In The Heat of The Night" as my message on my answering machine (that would be from VHS to cassette). He was so great.

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posted by Gorgik at 5:15 PM on January 7, 2022 [4 favorites]

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posted by blob at 5:16 PM on January 7, 2022

I'm such a sucker for Lilies of the Field; surest cure for a bad mood.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 5:26 PM on January 7, 2022 [5 favorites]

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posted by Ignorantsavage at 5:26 PM on January 7, 2022

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posted by mandolin conspiracy at 5:27 PM on January 7, 2022

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posted by riverlife at 5:31 PM on January 7, 2022

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posted by Cash4Lead at 5:32 PM on January 7, 2022

A fantastic actor and an outstanding human. Rest easy.

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posted by but no cigar at 5:35 PM on January 7, 2022

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posted by humbug at 5:38 PM on January 7, 2022

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posted by Snowflake at 5:39 PM on January 7, 2022

Chapels don’t build themselves. Rest In Peace.
posted by notoriety public at 5:52 PM on January 7, 2022

Loved him in many things! I especially like that he was one of the juvenile delinquents in "Blackboard Jungle," and not too many years later, he was the teacher dealing with juvenile delinquents in "To Sir With Love."
posted by davidmsc at 5:52 PM on January 7, 2022 [10 favorites]

Lifelong fan. Just watched To Sir, with Love a few nights ago. Amazing body of work by an amazing person.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 6:01 PM on January 7, 2022 [2 favorites]

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posted by bz at 6:23 PM on January 7, 2022 [1 favorite]

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posted by kinnakeet at 6:39 PM on January 7, 2022

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posted by pt68 at 6:49 PM on January 7, 2022

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posted by May Kasahara at 7:00 PM on January 7, 2022

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posted by dannyboybell at 7:09 PM on January 7, 2022

"So I'm OK with myself, with history, my work, who I am and who I was."

-Sidney Poitier
posted by clavdivs at 7:09 PM on January 7, 2022 [10 favorites]

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posted by mochapickle at 7:32 PM on January 7, 2022 [1 favorite]

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posted by luckynerd at 7:44 PM on January 7, 2022

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posted by eriphyle at 7:59 PM on January 7, 2022

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posted by Ber at 8:08 PM on January 7, 2022

Listen, for all his great, grand, and groundbreaking work (for which he is rightly honored), he knew how to have some fun, too.

One of those movies I shouldn't have been able to see but was brought along to the theater because there was no available babysitter for 5-year old me in 1974 was Uptown Saturday Night. While I'm sad that the comedy trilogy of that picture, Let's Do It Again, and A Piece of the Action that he both directed and starred in is now tainted by association, those movies are how I first encountered Mr. Poitier, as the excellent straight man of a comedy duo. I saw the other, more serious and celebrated movies as a teen in the 80s, starting with The Defiant Ones.


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posted by droplet at 8:17 PM on January 7, 2022 [10 favorites]

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posted by Halloween Jack at 8:35 PM on January 7, 2022

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posted by praemunire at 9:16 PM on January 7, 2022

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posted by evilDoug at 9:18 PM on January 7, 2022

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posted by mstokes650 at 9:43 PM on January 7, 2022

i concur, droplet!
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posted by lapolla at 10:50 PM on January 7, 2022

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posted by lazaruslong at 12:11 AM on January 8, 2022

I first really paid attention to him in the movie A Patch of Blue. I got such a crush on him. What a legend.
posted by kitten kaboodle at 1:30 AM on January 8, 2022 [1 favorite]

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posted by jadepearl at 3:46 AM on January 8, 2022

Rest in power, Mr. Poitier.

The "slap heard round the world" (In The Heat Of The Night) was an act of courage, then and now.
posted by Sheydem-tants at 4:42 AM on January 8, 2022 [5 favorites]

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posted by Mutant Lobsters from Riverhead at 1:15 PM on January 8, 2022

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posted by detachd at 1:23 PM on January 8, 2022

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posted by Majorita at 5:16 PM on January 8, 2022

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posted by BlueHorse at 5:34 PM on January 8, 2022

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posted by filtergik at 10:17 AM on January 9, 2022

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posted by MythMaker at 12:53 PM on January 9, 2022

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posted by myfavoriteband at 1:51 PM on January 9, 2022