One of my all-time favorite actors, Sir Sidney Poitier, turned 92 this week – 20th February. He’s an Aquarian like me, yey!

I can remember as a child admiring him, and not only because he reminded me of my father but the roles he played made me aware of the virtues I wanted from men who would be part of my life to be.

The New York Times produced an interesting article on Sir Sidney, about his life in the Bahamas where he was born, to his struggles in Miami where he later resided. It’s title was apt:

“On the actor’s 92nd birthday, photos from early in his career show how he elegantly carried “the terrific burden” of the hopes and aspirations of an entire people.”

The article observed, “In Times articles over the years, he describes feeling the heft of his career moves, in one instance saying that he turned down offers to play subservient characters, like butlers, because he rejected how Hollywood stereotyped his race. “I felt very much as if I were representing 15, 18 million people with every move I made,”  he once wrote.”

I learned from article writer Amisha Padnani, that with only a year and a half of schooling he began working to support himself. Auditioning at the American Negro Theatre, he struggled to read the script, his West Indian accent made him difficult to understand, so he bought a radio and spend hours training himself to enunciate words clearly and he bought newspapers and magazines and taught himself to read.

I met him briefly, many years ago, and I wish I knew then, what I knew now about him.

Happy Belated Birthday Sir Sidney!