Who was the first Black actor to win an Academy Award for ‘Best Actor’?
It wasn’t until the 31st edition of the Academy Awards that a Black actor was even nominated in the ‘Best Actor’ category for the first time, but it wasn’t long before even more history was made.
The first Black performer to be shortlisted for a competitive acting Oscar won at the very first attempt when Hattie McDaniel was named ‘Best Supporting Actress’ for her performance as Mammy in Gone with the Wind, although the social divisions of the time meant that she was segregated from the rest of her fellow cast members during the ceremony.
McDaniel’s groundbreaking victory didn’t quite boot the doors down to immediately widen Hollywood’s eyes and instigate more diversity in the biggest event on the awards calendar, but there was still progress. The second Black Oscar nominee made the cut in the exact same category, with Ethel Waters landing a ‘Best Supporting Actress’ nod of her own in 1949 for Pinky.
The first Black actor to be nominated in one of the leading categories didn’t occur until 1954 when Dorothy Dandridge secured a ‘Best Actress’ nom for playing the title character in Carmen Jones. The women were leading the way in that regard, but it wasn’t long until the first male nominee was announced.
The legendary Sidney Poitier took that distinction when his timeless turn in The Defiant Ones proved irresistible to the Academy in 1958. However, he came up empty-handed when David Niven won ‘Best Actor’ for Separate Tables. The other three nominees – Tony Curtis, Paul Newman, and Spencer Tracy – were all legends in their own right.
Five years later, Poitier went one better: the first Black actor to receive two Oscar nominations, he broke down barriers when Lilies of the Field saw him named ‘Best Actor’. It was a watershed moment that inspired multiple generations, but it would be another four decades before history repeated itself.
It was at least fitting in a way that Denzel Washington followed in Potier’s footsteps and became the first Black man in nearly 40 years to win ‘Best Actor’ when he claimed his second Oscar for Antoine Fuqua’s searing 2001 crime drama Training Day, with Poitier being one of the towering figures who inspired him to become an actor in the first place.
Is Sidney Poitier still alive?
After a career that constantly broke down barriers, Poitier continued his ascent up the Hollywood ladder by starring in films like In the Heat of the Night, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, To Sir, with Love, and Buck and the Preacher, becoming one of the most influential actors of his era by doing little more than being himself.
By the time he made his final feature-length appearance as Henry Cobb in the 2001 made-for-TV movie The Last Brickmaker in America, he was the recipient of an honorary Oscar for lifetime achievement and contributions to cinema, two Silver Bears from the Berlin International Film Festival, two Golden Globes, a Bafta, lifetime achievement awards from both of those organisations, and a Grammy.
Sadly, Poitier is no longer alive after passing away from heart failure at the age of 94 on January 6th, 2022, with Alzheimer’s and prostate cancer listed in his autopsy as underlying causes. He might be gone, but rest assured, his impact on the industry will never be forgotten.
