Sidney Poitier Net Worth

#Fact1Was born nearly two months prematurely.2Became a father for the 6th time at age 46 when his partner, later 2nd wife, Joanna Shimkus gave birth to their daughter Sydney Tamiia Poitier on November 15, 1973.3Became a father for the 4th time at age 34 when his 1st wife Juanita Hardy gave birth to their daughter Gina Poitier on May 1, 1961.4Became a father for the 1st time at age 25 when his 1st wife Juanita Hardy gave birth to their daughter Beverly Poitier-Henderson on July 4, 1952.5Became a father for the 3rd time at age 29 when his 1st wife Juanita Hardy gave birth to their daughter Sherri Poitier on July 12, 1956.6Became a father for the 2nd time at age 27 when his 1st wife Juanita Hardy gave birth to their daughter Pamela Poitier on April 12, 1954.7Became a father for the 5th time at age 45 when his partner, later 2nd wife, Joanna Shimkus gave birth to their daughter Anika Poitier on February 29, 1972.8When Sidney won his Best Actor Oscar for Lilies of the Field (1963), the statuette was presented to him by Anne Bancroft (Santa Monica Civic Auditorium / April 13, 1964).9With the death of Maximilian Schell on February 1, 2014, he is the earliest surviving actor to have won the Academy Award for Best Actor. He received his award for playing Homer Smith in Lilies of the Field (1963) at The 36th Annual Academy Awards (1964).10Close friends with Richard Widmark.11He was the visual inspiration for the original illustrations of superhero Green Lantern/John Stewart (created in 1971), the first Afro-American to be member of the Corps. Poitier was 44 years old at the time.12Release of his book, "The Measure of a Man: A Spiritual Autobiography". [2000]13Release of the book, "Sidney Poitier" by Carol Bergman. [1988]14Release of the book, "Sidney" by William Hoffman. [1971]15Member of the Board of Directors of The Walt Disney Company. [1998]16Appointed as ambassador of the Bahamas to Japan (he was born in the United States but is a citizen of the Bahamas). [April 1997]17Release of the book, "Sidney Poitier" by David Paige. [1976]18Release of his book, "Life Beyond Measure: Letters to My Great-Granddaughter". [2008]19Release of the book, "Sidney Poitier: Man, Actor, Icon" by Aram Goudsouzian. [2004]20Is a long time friend of singer, fellow actor and activist Harry Belafonte. They were born 9 days apart. They met in New York at age 20 before either was in show business.21Has four grandchildren and two great-granddaughters [2008].22Prostate cancer survivor.23Considered for the male lead for The Owl and the Pussycat (1970), opposite Diana Sands, who had played the part of "Doris" on Broadway.24His role in The Bedford Incident (1965) marked the first time he would play a role in which his character's race was not an issue.25Received the Screen Actors Guild's Life Achievement Award.26Along with his name uttered in the lyrics, a photograph of Poitier is held by Busta Rhymes in the 1998 rap video "Gimme Some More".27His performance as Detective Virgil Tibbs in In the Heat of the Night (1967) is ranked #19 on the American Film Institute's 100 Heroes & Villains.28Along with Gary Cooper, is the most represented actor on the American Film Institute's 100 Most Inspiring Movies of All Time, with five of his films on the list. They are: A Raisin in the Sun (1961) at #65, The Defiant Ones (1958) at #55, Lilies of the Field (1963) at #46, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967) at #35, and In the Heat of the Night (1967) at #21.29During the early 1980s a man named David Hampton conned his way into the homes of several wealthy and prominent New Yorkers (including a dean at Columbia University) by falsely claiming to be Poitier's son. Playwright John Guare, fascinated by the way the story illustrated the magic that the mere mention of Poiter's name held for people of his generation (especially white people), based his play "Six Degrees of Separation" on Hampton's story. The play was adapted into the movie Six Degrees of Separation (1993) in 1993, with Will Smith as the character based upon Hampton.30His performance as Virgil Tibbs in In the Heat of the Night (1967) is ranked #20 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time.31His performance as Virgil Tibbs in In the Heat of the Night (1967) is ranked #55 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Performances of All Time (2006).32Future wife Joanna Shimkus encouraged him to direct his first film, Buck and the Preacher (1972), after he and the original director could not agree creatively.33Was nominated for Broadway's 1960 Tony Award as Best Actor (Dramatic) for "A Raisin in the Sun," a role that he recreated in the film version of the same same, A Raisin in the Sun (1961).34Was named #22 greatest actor on the 50 Greatest Screen Legends by the American Film Institute35Premiere Magazine ranked him as #20 on a list of the Greatest Movie Stars of All Time in their Stars in Our Constellation feature (2005).36First black actor to place autograph, hand, and footprints in the cement at Grauman's Chinese Theatre (June 23, 1967).37Fluent in Russian.38Has an honorary doctorate degree from Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania.39In the 1960s, for many of his films, he was paid in a way known as "dollar one participation" which basically means he begins collecting a cut of the film's gross from the first ticket sold.40Younger brother of Cyril Poitier.41While trying to sing with some fellow actors in Off-Broadway theatre he found he was tone deaf.42Of Haitian ancestry from his father's side.43His Stir Crazy (1980) was the highest grossing film directed by a black filmmaker until Scary Movie (2000), directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans almost 20 years later.44Appointed an Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1974. Although this is often mistaken to have been an honorary knighthood, it is actually a substantive knighthood, as Poitier is a citizen of The Bahamas, a Commonwealth realm which at the time of his appointment recognized the British Honours System. He is thus entitled to be known as Sir Sidney Poitier, but does not himself use this title.45Stanley Kramer approached him about co-starring in The Defiant Ones (1958), which made him a bigger star, but admitted that if he did not take the role of "Porgy" in Porgy and Bess (1959) for Samuel Goldwyn it might kill his chances to get the role in The Defiant Ones (1958) as Goldwyn had that much clout in Hollywood.46Sits on USC School of Cinema-Television's Board of Councilors.47When he came to New York from the Caribbean to become an actor, he was so impoverished at first that he slept in the bus station. To get his first major role in No Way Out (1950), he lied to director Joseph L. Mankiewicz and told him he was 27, when actually only 22 years old.48In 1963 he became the first black man to win an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Lead Role for his role as Homer Smith in Lilies of the Field (1963). The first black man to win an Academy Award was James Baskett (although an Honorary Award) for his role in Song of the South (1946).49Former brother-in-law of light-heavyweight champion Archie Moore.