Poitier died of “natural causes” at his home in Los Angeles, Clint Watson, press secretary for the Prime Minister of the Bahamas, told Forbes by email, adding he had been “ailing for a while.”
Poitier demonstrated outstanding performance as an actor, director and producer for decades in Hollywood, becoming a trailblazer for Black performers.
Poitier won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1964 for his lead role in Lilies of the Field as a former serviceman who assists East German nuns’ construction of a new chapel—he was the first Black actor to take home that award and it would be nearly 40 years before a second Black performer won it.
Hollywood's first Black movie star earned critical acclaim for films throughout his career A Patch of Blue, To Sir, With Love and In the Heat of the Night, among others.
