This person died in 2022 at age 94. In 2009, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Although often simmering with repressed anger, his characters responded to injustice with quiet determination. He once wrote “I felt very much as if I were representing 18 million people with every move I made.” In a departure from acting, he directed the 1980 comedy “Stir Crazy”, starring Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor. He was the first black performer to win the Academy Award for Best Actor. His acting credits include “Blackboard Jungle”, “The Defiant Ones”, and “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner”. Today’s dead celebrity is Sidney Poitier.

Famous & Gravy is created and co-hosted by Amit Kapoor and Michael Osborne. This episode was produced by Jacob Weiss. Visit our website at famousandgravy.com and also enjoy our free mobile quiz game at deadoraliveapp.com

If you enjoyed this episode, you may also like Episode 43 “Poetic Justice” (Maya Angelou) and Episode 31 “The Greatest” (Muhammad Ali)

LINKS:

Transcript of this episode

New York Times Obituary for Sidney Poitier

Trailer for ‘The Defiant Ones’

“How many African Americans have won an Oscar in all of history”

“Level 5 Leadership: The Triumph of Fierce Resolve”

“When Sidney Poitier Risked His Life For Civil Rights”

Dead or Alive quiz game

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Famous & Gravy official website

In reflecting on the life of Sidney Poitier, this episode of Famous & Gravy examines how fame and mortality intersect as part of a famous lives reframed and known for life lessons from celebrities, via exploration of public roles, mythmaking, and generational appeal. It examines how biography becomes mythology — and what that reveals about us. This legacy podcast explores dead celebrity podcast and contributes to smart pop culture podcast.

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