The Tribune

THE country’s flags, which were flown at half-mast at home and at embassies around the world after the death of Sir Sidney Poitier, will return to full-mast on Saturday.

The Cabinet Office said plans are underway to give further recognition to Sir Sidney on his birthday, February 20.

The details will be released at a later date.

Sir Sidney died on January 6 at his Beverly Hills, California, home. He was 94 years old.

According to CNN, his autopsy said the celebrated Bahamian-American actor died of cardiopulmonary failure. Alzheimer’s dementia and prostate cancer are listed as underlying health issues, the certificate states, according to CNN.

Sir Sidney was the first Black actor to win an Academy Award – for his role in Lilies of the Field – in 1964.

He served as the Bahamas’ Ambassador to Japan from 1997 to 2007 and, in 2009, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Sir Sidney was born prematurely on February 20, 1927, weighing just three pounds, in Miami, where his parents had gone to deliver tomatoes from their farm on Cat Island. He spent his early years on Cat Island and he quit school at 12 to help support the family. Three years later, he was sent to live with a brother in Miami. When he was 16, he moved to New York and enlisted in the army before pursuing career in acting.