change the picture again. the actor sidney poitier, whose pioneering films in the 19505 and 60s shone a light on racism and social predjudice, has died. he was 94. he was the first black man to win an oscar for best actor, and his ground breaking work paved the way for generations of other black artists. our correspondent lizo mzimba looks back on the life of a hollywood icon. # in the heat of the night. sidney poitier s virgil tibbs, a man of authority. i m a police officer. ..intelligence and a steely determination never to back down. the kind of qualities that defined poitier on screen and off. he made his cinema debut playing a doctor, a man of status, something almost unheard of for black performers then. and with roles like an escaped convict in the defiant ones and a struggling husband in a raisin in the sun, he tackled prejudice head on.