Poitier Receives 2006 Marian Anderson Award

November 14, 2006 (WPVI) -- In Center City Philadelphia Tuesday night, it was a night to honor two giant names on the American cultural landscape: Marian Anderson and Sidney Poitier. It was Poitier who received the Marian Anderson award at the Kimmel Center.

The Marian Anderson award honors artists who are also humanitarians. It is of course named after the great opera singer from South Philadelphia. And this year it was given to a man, who back in the 1950's started to have a profound impact on society, and still does.

It is one of Philadelphia's most prestigious awards, and Tuesday night it was awarded to one of Hollywood's break-through figures. Sidney Poitier is the first African American to win the Oscar for Best Actor.

The 82-year-old Poitier's career goes back 56 years. Born in the Bahamas, he went on to break down racial barriers, never compromising his dignity on screen, and winning millions of fans from all backgrounds.

Tuesday night the Kimmel Center was filled with people who have followed this legendary actor's remarkable life story.

Poitier's predecessors for the award include Gregory Peck, Oprah, Elizabeth Taylor, and Harry Belafonte.

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