The actor's kin remembered him as "a person who at all times put household first" after he died Thursday evening at 94.
Sidney Poitier’s household is sharing heartfelt recollections of the star after his dying Thursday evening. He was 94.
In a press release despatched to The Hollywood Reporter, his family described their grief following the Oscar winner’s passing. “There are not any phrases to convey the deep sense of loss and disappointment we're feeling proper now,” the assertion learn. “We're so grateful he was capable of spend his final day surrounded by his household and mates.”
The message praised the actor, whose completed profession included such memorable movies as Lilies of the Subject, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner and Within the Warmth of the Night time, as “a person who at all times put household first. He's our guiding gentle who lit up our lives with infinite love and surprise. His smile was therapeutic, his hugs the warmest refuge, and his laughter was infectious.”
Many Hollywood notables have additionally provided heartfelt condolences and remembrances. Denzel Washington, Oprah Winfrey, Harry Belafonte, Ted Sarandos, Viola Davis and Tyler Perry are amongst those that have paid tribute to Poitier.
Within the Warmth of the Night time director Norman Jewison advised THR that he's “heartbroken” following Poitier’s dying. Jewison, who loved a friendship with the star for greater than 50 years, recalled, “He was most likely one of the clever actors I ever labored with.”
Learn the household’s full assertion under.
There are not any phrases to convey the deep sense of loss and disappointment we're feeling proper now. We're so grateful he was capable of spend his final day surrounded by his household and mates. To us Sidney Poitier was not solely a superb actor, activist, and a person of unimaginable grace and ethical fortitude, he was additionally a loyal and loving husband, a supportive and adoring father, and a person who at all times put household first. He's our guiding gentle who lit up our lives with infinite love and surprise. His smile was therapeutic, his hugs the warmest refuge, and his laughter was infectious. We might at all times flip to him for knowledge and solace and his absence seems like an enormous gap in our household and our hearts. Though he's not right here with us on this realm, his stunning soul will proceed to information and encourage us. He'll stay on in us, his grandchildren and great-grandchildren — in each stomach snicker, each curious inquiry, each act of compassion and kindness. His legacy will stay on on the earth, persevering with to encourage not solely together with his unimaginable physique of labor, however much more so together with his humanity.
We wish to lengthen our deepest appreciation to each single one in all you for the outpouring of affection from world wide. So many have been touched by our dad’s extraordinary life, his unwavering sense of decency and respect for his fellow man. His religion in humanity by no means faltered, so know that for all of the love you’ve proven him, he beloved you again.