The cause of death of famed actor Sidney Poitier has been revealed, with Los Angeles County coroners reporting it to be due to a mix of heart failure, Alzheimer’s and prostate cancer.
The LA County Department of Public Health published the death certificates. TMZ Tuesday. Poitier passed away on Tuesday, January 6, at 94.
Poitier was known worldwide as the first Black man to win an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in Ralph Nelson’s 1963 film “Lilies of the Field,”He was also nominated for five years before for his work in “The Defiant Ones”Tony Curtis and Poitier, for whom he was awarded a BAFTA. Poitier’s other famous films include “In The Heat of the Night,” “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner”And “A Raisin In Central Recorder.”
Shortly after winning his Oscar, Poitier was one of several actors who joined Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at the March on Washington alongside other actors such as Harry Belafonte was one of Hollywood’s leading faces in the Civil Rights Movement. Poitier was also awarded the Oscars lifetime achievement award in 2001. He won the Oscars the same year Denzel Washington was named Black Best Actor for his performance. “Training Day.”
Martin Scorsese, the director of Martin Scorsese, described Poitier’s passing as “having” “vocal precision and physical power and grace that at moments seemed almost supernatural.” On Wednesday night, the Committee of Theatre Owners in New York will dim the lights on Broadway for one minute in honor of Poitier’s life and career.