Sidney Poitier’s Other Talent
And why it cost him an Oscar nomination
The late Sidney Poitier was 15-years old when he fled the South for New York after angering the KKK.
Having a thick accent and being unable to read, the goal to become an actor seemed highly unlikely, but seven years later, the childhood dream became a reality.
According to American Masters, Sidney Poitier would only take roles that showed Black actors and characters in a positive non-stereotypical light.
Maybe in the 1980s, I first saw the 1967 movie In the Heat of the Night on TV.
The film includes my all-time favorite quote uttered by a movie character, Mrs. Colbert, and an unforgettable scene later in the film, with a remarkable backstory.
Clueless, I was about how widespread the racism depicted in the movie mirrored the experience the star, production staff, and film crew endured during filming. (Hollywood Reporter)
Sidney Poitier plays homicide expert Philadelphia Detective Virgil Tibbs, ordered by his boss to assist a small town southern sheriff with solving the murder of a wealthy industrialist. The victim had planned to build a new factory and create badly needed jobs for the town.
When the murder victim’s widow, Mrs. Colbert, played by Lee Grant, sees firsthand the racist treatment meted out to Detective Tibbs by the sheriff, she is outraged.
“My God! What kind of people are you? What kind of place is this? I want this officer given a free hand! Otherwise, I will pack up my husband’s engineers… and leave you… to yourselves.”
And as for that favorite scene, the one that stunned theatergoers in 1967, it was a significant script rewrite and the brainchild of Mr. Poitier. It concerned the visit by Detective Tibbs to the town’s cotton plantation owner.
The original script called for Detective Tibbs to be slapped and to react only with controlled verbal outrage of a biblical nature.
Good grief.
Message to the movie studio
“ If he slaps me, I’m going to slap him back. You will put on paper that the studio agrees that the film will be shown nowhere in the world, with me standing there taking the slap.’’ — Sidney Poitier (CBS News)
“I knew that I would have been insulting every Black person in the world (if I hadn’t).” — Sidney Poitier (CNN)
The studio feared the return slap would cause race riots, so the movie almost was never filmed. But the producers fought to keep the scene in the film. (Huffpost)
And had it not been for Poitier’s business talent that the scene was part of the studio contract, the return slap would have ended up on the cutting room floor in many cases (almost all?).
Arguably, the inclusion of that scene meant there was no chance Sidney Poitier would ever receive one of the five Oscar nominations for the film, which he did not.
A scene that underscored the values of a man who refused to compromise despite the landscape he navigated in Hollywood. Too cool.
Sir, rest well.
Thank you for reading.
