GOLDEN era thespians, Sidney Poitier and Harry Belafonte, were friends beyond the motion picture screen.
Poitier and Belafonte are both Hollywood legends, who were also longtime pals with a number of years to their history and friendship.
Sidney Poitier and Harry Belafonte had a lot in common.
Both were notable, groundbreaking black actors of a West Indian background in the Golden Era of Hollywood.
Even though their careers caused them to cross paths multiple times, the two actors met long before either one of them broke through the Hollywood mainstream.
In 1946, Sidney Poitier and Harry Belafonte struck up a friendship while they both lived in New York and worked at The American Negro Theatre.
While taking on parts in stage production, Poitier was Belafonte’s understudy at one point.
On February 20, 2017, Belafonte tweeted Poitier a happy birthday while replying to a New York Times op-ed story about the two’s history.
The King of Calypso posted on Twitter: “Soul Brothers indeed! Happy birthday to my good friend, Sidney Poitier.”
In the span of his film career, Sidney Poitier also took on the director’s seat for a number of motion pictures.
Poitier’s directorial debut was the 1972 Western film, Buck and the Preacher.
Besides directing the movie, he also starred in the cinematic outing with his good friend, Harry Belafonte.
Buck and the Preacher consisted of themes that included civil rights, a movement they were both passionate about.
Belafonte said of his friendship with Poitier: “For over 80 years, Sidney and I laughed, cried and made as much mischief as we could.”
He continued in a statement regarding Poitier’s death: “He was truly my brother and partner in trying to make this world a little better. He certainly made mine a whole lot better.”
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In the wake of Sidney Poitier’s death, many celebrities expressed their condolences on social media platforms such as Twitter.
Singer Dionne Warwick tweeted: “He once caught me following him. He said ‘little girl what do you want’ I muttered “can I have your autograph.”
She continued: “From that day he always called me little girl and asked if I wanted his autograph. It was something we laughed about.”
“He was my hero & great friend. May he RIP,” Dionne concluded.
Elijah Wood tweeted a picture of the late actor: “So long to the groundbreaking titan, Sidney Poitier.”
Actress Kerry Washington also posted on Twitter, saying: “We lost an elegant King today. Thank you Sidney Poitier.”
Other celebrities including Oprah Winfrey, Bob Iger, Whoopi Goldberg, and others chimed in with their thoughts and memories of Sidney Poitier.
