Sidney Poitier to Give Bryan Series Lecture, "The Oneness of the Human Family," Dec. 2

Legendary actor Sidney Poitier will deliver a Bryan Series lecture, "The Oneness of the Human Family," Dec. 2 at 7 p.m. at Dana Auditorium.

The lecture caps the series' fall emphasis on "Arts and the Human Experience" and is a focal point for The Year of the Arts at Guilford. The event is free and open to the public, with seating beginning at 6 p.m.

Poitier has ranked among the most respected and honored performers of screen and stage for more than five decades. He made his motion picture debut in 1950 in No Way Out, garnered critical acclaim and national recognition in 1955 for Blackboard Jungle, received his first Academy Award nomination in 1958 for The Defiant Ones and won the coveted Oscar for Best Actor in 1963 for his performance in Lilies of the Field.

He is known around the world for his consistent, sensitive and powerful portrayals in other socially charged films, including Something of Value (1957), A Raisin in the Sun (1961), A Patch of Blue (1965), In the Heat of the Night (1967) and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967).

Poitier was born in Miami, Fla., and grew up on Cat Island, Bahamas, where his father owned and worked a tomato farm. He was educated at secondary schools in Nassau, Bahamas. At 15, he returned to the United States, where he first experienced racism. At 18, he went to New York, did menial jobs and slept in a bus terminal.

After a brief stint in the Army during World War II, an impulsive audition at the American Negro Theatre was rejected so forcefully that Poitier dedicated the next six months to overcoming his accent and performance ineptness. He worked backstage in exchange for acting lessons. His first professional role was in Lysistrata, which led to a screen test for No Way Out.

In 1969, Poitier joined forces with Paul Newman, Barbra Streisand, Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman to form First Artists Productions Ltd. He made his directorial debut in 1972 with Buck and the Preacher, in which he co-starred with Harry Belafonte.

Poitier has received lifetime achievement awards from the American Film Institute, the Kennedy Center and the Screen Actors Guild. He has written two autobiographies, This Life (1980) and The Measure of a Man: A Spiritual Autobiography (2000). He serves as the Ambassador to Japan from the Commonwealth of the Bahamas and was knighted by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in 1968.

For more information about the Bryan Series, call 316-2308 or visit www.guilford.edu/bryanseries.

Dec. 2, 2003