tonight, hollywood and the world are remembering sidney poitier, the pioneer of american cinema died last night at the age of 94. his career shattered racial barriers but he refused to sacrifice his values to achieve stardom. what audiences got as a result was extraordinary as sara sidner shows us, his passion went far beyond the screen. reporter: sidney poitier was so much more than a film legend. he is revered, not just because of what he did on screen, but also because of his tremendous impact off screen as a champion of civil rights. we believe in the central dignity of every human being. reporter: the son of a bahamian tomato farmer, poitier lives a lived firsts, one of the first black people to become a true hollywood star among the
impact off screen as a champion of civil rights. we believe in the central dignity of every human being. the son of a bohemian tomato farmer, poitier lived a life of first, the first black man to win an oscar for best actor, and one of the first black people to become a true hollywood star among the greatest of all time. we have lots and lots and lots of a can american actors. now, when we didn t have any, i appeared, not because i brought so much, but because the time was right reporter: but his career almost ended before it ever began. as a teenager poitier auditioned for the american negro theater, but he was quickly then out because he couldn t read. he was tone deaf, and he had a thick bahamian accent. he said you re no actor,
dignity of every human being. reporter: the son of a bahamian tomato farmer, he lived a life of firsts. the first black man to win an oscar for best actor and one of the first black people to become a true hollywood star among the greatest of all time. we have lots and lots and lots of of african-american actors. now, when we didn t have any, i appeared not because i brought so much because but because the time was right. reporter: but his career almost ended before it ever began. as a teenager, portier auditioned for the american negro theater but he was quickly thrown out because he couldn t read. he was tone deaf, and he had a thick bahamian accent. he says you are no actor. we got next to the door. he opened it, pushed me out, and slam. a determined portier would spend months perfecting his
sara sidner has a look back at his extraordinary life. reporter: sidney poitier was so much more than a film legend. he s revered, not just because of what he did on screen, but also because of his tremendous impact off screen as a champion of civil rights. we believe in the essential dignity of every human being. reporter: the son of a bahamian tomato farmer, he lived a life of firsts, first black man to win an oscar for best actor, and one of the first black people to become a true hollywood star among the greatest of all time. we have lots and lots and lots of african american actors. now, when we didn t have any, i appeared. not because i brought so much, but because the time was right. reporter: but his career