Sidney Poitier filmography
Sidney Poitier (1927–2022) was an actor and director. He was best known for his groundbreaking and trailblazing work in the 1950s and 1960s. His breakthrough performances in film include The Defiant Ones (1958), Porgy and Bess (1959), A Raisin in the Sun (1961), Paris Blues (1961), Lilies of the Field (1963), A Patch of Blue (1965), To Sir, with Love, In the Heat of the Night and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (all 1967).
Filmography
Actor
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1947 | Sepia Cinderella | Extra | Uncredited | |
| 1950 | No Way Out | Dr. Luther Brooks | [1] | |
| 1951 | Cry, the Beloved Country | Reverend Msimangu | ||
| 1952 | Red Ball Express | Corporal Andrew Robertson | ||
| 1954 | Go Man Go | Inman Jackson | ||
| 1955 | Blackboard Jungle | Gregory W. Miller | ||
| 1956 | Good-bye, My Lady | Gates Watson | ||
| 1957 | Edge of the City | Tommy Tyler | ||
| Something of Value | Kimani Wa Karanja | |||
| Band of Angels | Rau-Ru Ponce de Leon | |||
| The Mark of the Hawk | Obam | |||
| 1958 | Virgin Island | Marcus | ||
| The Defiant Ones | Noah Cullen | |||
| 1959 | Porgy and Bess | Porgy | ||
| 1960 | All the Young Men | Sergeant Eddie Towler | ||
| 1961 | A Raisin in the Sun | Walter Lee Younger | [2] | |
| Paris Blues | Eddie Cook | |||
| 1962 | Pressure Point | Doctor, Chief Psychiatrist | ||
| 1963 | The Long Ships | King Aly Mansuh | ||
| Lilies of the Field | Homer Smith | |||
| 1965 | The Bedford Incident | Ben Munceford | ||
| The Greatest Story Ever Told | Simon of Cyrene | |||
| A Patch of Blue | Gordon Ralfe | |||
| The Slender Thread | Alan Newell | |||
| 1966 | Duel at Diablo | Toller, Contract Horse Dealer | ||
| 1967 | To Sir, with Love | Mr. Mark Thackeray | [3] | |
| In the Heat of the Night | Detective Virgil Tibbs | [4] | ||
| Guess Who's Coming to Dinner | Dr. John Wade Prentice | [5] | ||
| 1968 | For Love of Ivy | Jack Parks | ||
| 1969 | The Lost Man | Jason Higgs | ||
| 1970 | They Call Me Mister Tibbs! | Lieutenant Virgil Tibbs | ||
| 1971 | Brother John | John Kane | ||
| The Organization | Lieutenant Virgil Tibbs | |||
| 1972 | Buck and the Preacher | Buck | ||
| 1973 | A Warm December | Dr. Matt Younger | ||
| 1974 | Uptown Saturday Night | Steve Jackson | ||
| 1975 | The Wilby Conspiracy | Shack Twala | ||
| Let's Do it Again | Clyde Williams | |||
| 1977 | A Piece of the Action | Manny Durrell | ||
| 1979 | Paul Robeson: Tribute to an Artist | The Narrator | Short subject | |
| 1988 | Shoot to Kill | FBI Agent Warren Stantin | ||
| Little Nikita | Roy Parmenter | |||
| 1992 | Sneakers | Donald Crease | ||
| 1997 | The Jackal | Carter Preston | [6] | |
| 1991 | Separate but Equal | Thurgood Marshall | Television film | |
| 1995 | Children of the Dust | Gypsy Smith | 2 episodes | [7] |
| 1996 | To Sir, with Love II | Mark Thackeray | Television film | [8] |
| 1997 | Mandela and de Klerk | Nelson Mandela | [9] | |
| 1998 | Free of Eden | Will Cleamons | [10] | |
| David and Lisa | Dr. Jack Miller | [11] | ||
| 1999 | The Simple Life of Noah Dearborn | Noah Dearborn | [12] | |
| 2001 | The Last Brickmaker in America | Henry Cobb | [13] |
Documentary appearances
- From Whence Cometh My Help (1949)
- King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis (1970) (Narrator)
- A Century of Cinema (1994)
- Wild Bill: Hollywood Maverick (1996)
- Ralph Bunche: An American Odyssey (2001) (Narrator)
- Tell Them Who You Are (2004)
- Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project (2008)
- Sidney (2022)
Director
- Buck and the Preacher (1972) (Also uncredited as producer)
- A Warm December (1973)
- Uptown Saturday Night (1974)
- Let's Do it Again (1975)
- A Piece of the Action (1977)
- Stir Crazy (1980)
- Hanky Panky (1982)
- Fast Forward (1985)
- Ghost Dad (1990)
Television
Performer
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1952 | CBS Television Workshop | Episode: Careless Love |
| Omnibus | Episode: The Trial of Anne Boleyn |
Talk show appearances
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1962 | The Jack Paar Tonight Show | 1 episode |
| 1969 | The Mike Douglas Show | |
| 1972 | The Dick Cavett Show | |
| The New Bill Cosby Show | ||
| 1975 | The Merv Griffin Show | |
| 1979 | The Mike Douglas Show | |
| 2000–2007 | The Oprah Winfrey Show | 5 episodes |
| 2008 | Larry King Live | 1 episode |
References
- ^ "THE SCREEN: TWO NEWCOMERS ON LOCAL SCENE; 'No Way Out,' Fox Film Study of Racial Prejudice, Opens at the Rivoli Theatre Barbara Stanwyck and Walter Huston in 'The Fuaries,' Big Western at Paramount At the Paramount". The New York Times. August 17, 1950. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
- ^ Crowther, Bosley (March 30, 1961). "Poitier Heads Cast of Fine Adaptation". The New York Times. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
- ^ Crowther, Bosley (June 15, 1967). "Screen: Poitier Meets the Cockneys:He Plays Teacher Who Wins Pupils Over". The New York Times. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
- ^ Murphy, A. D. (June 21, 1967). "In the Heat of the Night". Variety. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
- ^ Murphy, A. D. (December 6, 1967). "Film Review: Guess Who's Coming to Dinner". Variety. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
- ^ McCluskey 2007, p. 381.
- ^ McCluskey 2007, p. 143.
- ^ McCarthy, John P. (April 4, 1996). "Cbs Sunday Movie to Sir with Love II". Variety. Retrieved July 11, 2025.
- ^ Rosenberg, Howard (February 15, 1997). "'Mandela and de Klerk' Embraces History". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 11, 2025.
- ^ Richmond, Ray (February 19, 1999). "Free of Eden". Variety. Retrieved July 11, 2025.
- ^ McCluskey 2007, p. 189.
- ^ Speier, Michael (May 7, 1999). "The Simple Life of Noah Dearborn". Variety. Retrieved July 11, 2025.
- ^ McCluskey 2007, p. 420.
Works cited
- McCluskey, Audrey T., ed. (2007). Frame by Frame III: a Filmography of the African Diasporan Image, 1994-2004. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-34829-6.