What is Inspiring about Sidney Poitiers Life?
At 17, he was thrown out of his apartment for not paying rent, and was subsequently arrested for vagrancy. Yet, he succeeded in defying racial stereotyping, and broke through as a star in the American film industry. Sidney Poitier grew up in a small Bahamas island with a population of 4000, no electricity, and where his parents sold tomatoes for a living. He was considered juvenile delinquent during his middle teen years, and at 17, was even arrested for vagrancy in New York City. He worked a lot of menial jobs during that time, including as a dishwasher, and also got enlisted in the U.S. Army. Eventually, after a successful audition, he tried his luck in the American Negro Theater. But it wasn’t a smooth ride there either, for Poitier, as he was initially rejected by audiences who didn’t see any signs of a great actor in him. Determined to improve his acting skills, Poitier trained for six months, before giving the theater another shot. And then he was noticed. Sidney Poitier on CNN’s
