Paul Newman Tony Curtis Tim Gray David Niven Spencer Tracy Sidney Poitier With Love USA Chicago state Virginia county Loving film stars Landmark Paul Newman Tony Curtis Tim Gray David Niven Spencer Tracy Sidney Poitier With Love USA Chicago state Virginia county Loving

Sidney Poitier left behind a legacy of landmark roles, but some smaller gems as well

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(CNN)Sidney Poitier left behind a legacy of landmark performances, from his Oscar win for "Lilies of the Field" to the Oscar-winning "In the Heat of the Night," the latter coming in a year, 1967, that also saw him star in "To Sir, With Love" and "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner."The richness of the filmography assembled by Poitier, who died Thursday at the age of 94, makes it difficult to choose a favorite film or role.

On different days, that might be "Porgy and Bess;" "A Raisin in the Sun," reprising his part in from the play about a struggling Chicago family; or "The Defiant Ones," which earned him his first best-actor Oscar nomination as an escapee on the run chained to a Southern bigot played by Tony Curtis. (In a loaded year, both Curtis and Poitier earned nominations, along with Spencer Tracy and Paul Newman, but the award went to David Niven for "Separate Tables.")Those movies only scratch the surface of a half-century of screen work, which helped pave a path for other performers of color -- a burden the actor bore with considerable grace, despite the challenges and strictures he faced.As Variety's Tim Gray noted in framing the decades when Poitier's career peaked, the US Supreme Court ruling against miscegenation laws in Loving v.

Virginia occurred only months before the release of "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner." "While the message of tolerance in 'Guess Who's Coming' may seem hoary," he wrote, "it was an eye-opener to many."Still, there are other movies and TV miniseries to add to any Poitier watch list, yielding a by-no-means comprehensive roster of additional recommendations -- presented in chronological order -- that might not have been mentioned as prominently in initial remembrances and tributes.Blackboard.

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