Happy 86th Birthday to absolutely magisterial Sidney Poitier! In this 1965 photo, Mr. Poitier is on the set of “The Slender Thread,” a 1966 film he did with Anne Bancroft (Sydney Pollack’s directorial debut - and Quincy Jones did the music!) Photo: Cat’s Collection/Corbis.
Judy Pace and Godfrey Cambridge in a scene from the film ‘Cotton Comes To Harlem’ in 1970. The film, based on the Chester Himes novel of the same name, was co-written and directed by Ossie Davis. Photo by United Artists/Getty Images.
One of the most underrated and underused actresses of our time, @LonetteMcKee, as “Sister” in the original “Sparkle,” 1976. Photo: Gilles Petard/Redfern/Getty
Dorothy Dandridge and Alex Cressan, her co-star in the 1958 film “Tamango” (he played the title role, the leader of a slave revolt) at Maxim’s in Paris in April, 1957. Mr. Cressan was a medical student in Martinique before he made “Tamango,” his only film. Photo: Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images.
Diana Ross owning the runway in “Mahogany,” 1975. Photo: Gianni Lami. Condé Nast Archive/Corbis
Diana Ross at the London premiere of “Lady Sings the Blues” with Tony Bennett on April 5, 1973. Photo: Hulton-Deutsch Collection/Corbis.
Trailer for Diana Ross’ Mahogany, 1974.
