Career: Poitier initially proved unpopular with audiences as he was judged to be tone deaf and not a talented singer or dancer, something that was expected of black actors at the time. He resolved to rid himself of his Bahamian accent and achieve stage success. After receiving excellent theatrical reviews, he left the stage for the screen in 1950 for the film noir No Way Out. His breakout role came at the age of 27, when he appeared in Blackboard Jungle, and was the first black actor to be nominated for a competitive Academy Award for The Defiant Ones in 1958. He went on to win the Oscar for Best Actor five years later for his performance in Lilies of the Field. By this time, Poitier had risen to become the first major black star in Hollywood, a role he took very seriously, and was the biggest box office draw in 1967. It was this year that he starred in his most acclaimed films To Sir, with Love and In the Heat of the Night. He reprised his role as Virgil Tibbs from the latter film two more times in the following decade. His last major role was as FBI deputy director Carter Preston in 1997's The Jackal. Poitier also directed a number of films, including Stir Crazy, Hanky Panky and Ghost Dad.