Poitier Honored in NYC

Apr. 20, 1964 - Sidney Poitier, who last week became the first Negro to win an Oscar for the best performance by an actor, received New York City’s Handel Medallion today from Mayor Robert Wagner. The Mayor described it as “the highest award the city can give in the cultural field.”

The presentation was made in a brief ceremony at City Hall. The Mayor told Poitier that the city was “proud of you as an adopted son.”

“I hope,” Wagner said, “that New York will always give an opportunity to young actors and actresses to develop into great stars.”

Poitier replied that the city’s award “will force me to shape my tools as an actor and as an artist and raise my standards.”

The actor won his Oscar for his portrayal in “Lilies of the Field” of an itinerant construction worker who built a chapel in the Southwest for refugee nuns.

When two reporters repeatedly asked Poitier about civil rights issues, the actor replied repeatedly: “Why don’t you ask me human questions? Why is it everything you guys ask refers to the Negroness of my life and not my acting?”

After his brief flare-up, Poitier refused to answer further questions. He told his questioners that he had intended no offense.

Support this project at patreon.com/realtime1960s