Scene from the 1967 film “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” with John Prentice (Sidney Poitier) being introduced to his fiancee Joey Drayton’s (Katharine Houghton) father, Matt Drayton (Spencer Tracy). (John Springer / Getty Images)
Lee Grant and Sidney Poitier star in “In the Heat of the Night,” the winner of the 1967 Oscar for best picture. (Alvin H. Marill)
Sidney Poitier with a group a nuns in a scene from “Lilies of the Field.” The role won him the Oscar for lead actor. (Handout)
Director Norman Jewison, left, takes a moment with Sidney Poitier during the making of the movie “In the Heat of the Night.” (United Artists)
Actor Sidney Poitier participates in Hands Across America on Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills in 1986. (Marsha Traeger/Los Angeles Times)
Sidney Poitier attends the grand opening concert gala at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles in 2003. (Gary Friedman/Los Angeles Times)
Actors Sidney Poitier and Angelina Jolie appear backstage at the 86th annual Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre in 2014. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
Sidney Poitier and his daughter, Sydney Tamiia Poitier, arrive at the 86th annual Academy Awards in 2014. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
Actor Sidney Poitier reunites with Lee Grant, his co-star from “In the Heat of the Night.” (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)
Sidney Poitier photographed in Pasadena in 2000. (Kirk McKoy/Los Angeles Times)
