Broadway ought to dim its lights in honor of Sidney Poitier
It is impossible to underestimate Sidney Poitier’s Hollywood legacy. The elegance of his path-breaking example on screen opened the hearts, minds and wallets of the moviegoing public and tugged at the reluctant, mercantile conscience of the film industry.
Poitier, who death at 94 was announced Friday, will always be remembered for being the first Black actor to win the Academy Award for lead actor. But his imprint on theater history, while closely associated with one play, should not go unrecognized.
Poitier’s stage start wasn’t auspicious. His inexperience and “very thick West Indian accent,” as Poitier put it, got him thrown out of his
