Academy Award winner Sidney Poitier, is another revolutionary contestant in this competition. He was the first black actor to be given serious roles and helped to form and change the way the world thought about race and racial depiction in film.
His immense talent led to him winning an Oscar in 1963 and to eventually become the top box office star of 1967.
Plus he has a dreamy voice!
My favourite Sidney Poitier films:
No Way Out (1950)
Blackboard Jungle (1955)
The Defiant Ones (1958)
Porgy and Bess (1959)
A Raisin in the Sun (1961)
Lilies of the Field (1963) (Actually, I found this one a little on the boring side, but it was on Oscar winning performance so I put it on the list)
A Patch of Blue (1965)
To Sir, With Love (1967)
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967)
In the Heat of the Night (1967)
Goodness that is one long list!! I never realised exactly how many of my favourite films he has been in!
Did you know that Sidney Poitier is the Bahamian ambassador to Japan?
But:
Marlon Brando is considered by many to be the greatest actor of all time. Studying the Stanislavksi System of acting, when he first appeared in Streetcar Named Desire his talent and style revolutionised the movie world.
Nominated for 8 Oscars, he won two, although, in a controvesial move, he officially turned one of them down in protest of the way Native Americans were depicted on screen.
As far as his personal life, Marlo Brando was a bad boy and according to some biographers shagged anything that moved. He has admitted to having a very long term affair with Marilyn Monroe, as well as Laurence Olivier.
Some memorable Marlon Brando films
Streetcar Named Desire (1951) - (One of my favourite films)
The Wild One (1953)
On the Waterfront (1953)
Guys and Dolls (1955)
The Ugly American (1963)
The Godfather (1972)
Apocalypse Now (1979)
Did you know that according Wikipedia, Marlon Brando had 11 kids?!
Do I really need to post more than that photo? Hello!
I suppose I should also mention that Paul Newman won the Oscar for his role in Hud. He was was placed on Nixon's Enemy List, after which Mr Newman stated that is was one his greatest acomplishments.
Films of note:
Cat on Hot Tin Roof (1958) - My favourite!
The Hustler (1961)
Hud (1963)
Cool Hand Luke (1967)
The Sting (1973)
Road to Perdition (2002)
Have you tried Paul Newman's pasta sauce? I love it!
To make up for my disgusting misuse of power (when I, without your vote or consent, knighted Rock Hudson the king of Hula Hank) I am calling an election to vote for who is YOUR favourtite Leading Man of the Silver Screen.
There will be five candidates vying for this hot spot. Over the next two days, I will do a quick briefing on each one and then open up a poll for your to cast your vote.
First contestant: CARY GRANT
Can anyone remember seeing Cary Grant when was NOT wearing a tuxedo??
Cary Grant rose to stardom in 1933 when Mae West hand picked him off of the Paramount lot to star as her leading man in She Done Him Wrong and I'm No Angel.
Although Grant has a reputation for starring in classic screwball comedies, he was the only actor that director Alfred Hitchcock like and there for starred in many of Hitchcock's films, one of the most famous being North by Northwest.
Nominated for two Oscars, winning them proved to be elusive. Mr Grant eventually received a Lifetime Achievement Oscar in 1970.
Cary Grant was married five times and rumoured to be bisexual, although this has yet to proven without a doubt. His third wife, Betsy Drake sums it up perfectly, "Why would I believe that Cary was a homosexual when we were busy fucking? Maybe he was bisexual. He lived 43 years before he met me. I don't know what he did."
Some of Cary Grant's more memorable films:
I'm No Angel (1933)
Bringing Up Baby (1938)
The Philadelphia Story (1940)
The Bishop's Wife (1947)
To Catch a Thief (1955)
An Affair to Remember (1955) (My second favourite)
North by Northwest (1959)
Charade (1963) (My very favourite)
Does Cary Grant do it for you?
