Denzel Washington Pays Tribute to Late Mentor and Friend Sidney Poitier: ‘He Opened Doors for All of Us’
Denzel Washington paid tribute to his longtime mentor Sidney Poitier after the pioneering actor’s death on Friday at the age of 94, calling him a friend.
“It was a privilege to call Sidney Poitier my friend,” Washington said in a statement provided to The Daily Beast. “He was a gentle man and opened doors for all of us that had been closed for years. God bless him and his family.”
Poitier was instrumental in breaking down racial barriers in Hollywood, becoming the first Black man to take home the Oscar for Best Actor in 1963 for Lilies of the Field.