The cause of death of legendary Hollywood actor Sidney Poitier has been revealed.
Sidney, the first black man to win a Best Leading Actor Oscar, died aged 94 from a combination of heart failure, Alzheimer’s dementia and prostate cancer, according to his death certificate which was obtained by TMZ.
The actor who starred in films such as To Sir With Love, In the Heat of the Night, and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner was pronounced dead on Friday, January 7.
He won his Best Leading Actor Oscar at the 36th Academy Awards for the 1963 film, Lilies of the Field.
According to a statement from the press secretary for the Prime Minister of the Bahamas, Clint Watson, Sidney Poitier died of "natural causes."
Sidney Poitier's last film appearance was in the 2008 Don Rickles documentary, Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project.
The Academy Award winner's death was confirmed by Bahamas Minister of Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell.
Mr Mitchell said he was "conflicted with great sadness and a sense of celebration when I learned of the passing of Sir Sidney Poitier."
He told the Guardian Nassau: "Sadness that he would no longer be here to tell him how much he means to us, but a celebration that he did so much to show the world that those from the humblest beginnings can change the world and that we gave him his flowers while he was with us."
Sidney Poitier was married to Juanita Hardy, who he shares four daughters with, between 1956 and 1965 before they split.
He married his second wife Joanna Shimkus, on January 23, 1976. They have two daughters Anika and Sydney Tamiia, who is also an actor.
Sidney also published many autobiographies during his career including, This Life, The Measure of a Man: A Spiritual Autobiography (2007) and Life Beyond Measure: Letters to My Great-Granddaughter (2008).
He was also awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by former US President Barack Obama at the White House in 2009.
After Sidney's death his celebrity pals rushed to social media to pay tributes to him.
No Time To Die actor Jeffrey Wright wrote: “What a landmark actor. One of a kind. What a beautiful, gracious, warm, genuinely regal man. RIP, Sir. With love.”
Whoopi Goldberg quoted the lyrics to the song To Sir With Love, the soundtrack to Poitier’s 1967 film, which had the same name, saying: “If you wanted the sky i would write across the sky in letters that would soar a thousand feet high.. To Sir… with Love. Sir Sidney Poitier R.I.P. He showed us how to reach for the stars.”
Star Trek actor George Takei described the actor as "a trailblazer who will be mourned by so many for whom he opened the very doors of Hollywood".
Bob Iger, former chairman of the Walt Disney Company, which Poitier served as a former board member, said he "was the most dignified man I’ve ever met. Towering… gentle… passionate… bold… kind… altogether special".
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