CHICAGO - Oprah Winfrey turned to an old acquaintance for her first new book club choice since the James Frey scandal a year ago, announcing Friday on her TV talk show that she had selected actor Sidney Poitier's "The Measure of a Man.''
Poitier's "spiritual autobiography,'' published in 2000, combines memories of such plays and films as "A Raisin in the Sun'' and "The Defiant Ones'' with observations about the Academy Award-winning actor's childhood, his religious faith, his thoughts on racism and the influence of such world leaders as Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi.
"He writes really candidly and passionately about his childhood, his family, relationships and his extraordinary career,'' Winfrey said. "It's a beautifully crafted book, written like poetry. Because just as he speaks so eloquently, he also writes that way, too.''
Poitier did not appear on Friday's broadcast but Winfrey said she will host "a once in a lifetime dinner party'' with Poitier that will include members of her book club.
"The Measure of a Man'' spent several weeks on The New York Times' list of best sellers, and the audio edition, narrated by Poitier, won a Grammy Award for best spoken word album. Poitier wrote a previous memoir, "This Life,'' released in 1980.
Right before Winfrey announced her selection, her 56th book club pick, "The Measure of a Man'' ranked 288,958 on the book-selling website Amazon.com, a number that will likely change, and fast. Winfrey's picks almost inevitably sell hundreds of thousands of copies.
Winfrey has spoken with Poitier before. An interview appeared in her own "O'' magazine in 2000, when the two discussed his life and career, a meeting which Winfrey acknowledged left her feeling like a star-struck fan.
"Poitier and I are sitting across from each other at the Bel-Air hotel in Los Angeles -- and I'm admiring that, at 73, this man still personifies grace, ease, strength and courage,'' Winfrey wrote at the time. "He is a gentleman in every sense of the word. In my more than 25 years as an interviewer, I've talked to hundreds of people -- yet today, I'm giddy.''
In 2005, Poitier made a surprise appearance on "The Oprah Winfrey Show'', when she was marking her 20th anniversary on the air. Just before he came on stage, Winfrey had been telling her audience that after she had interviewed the actor, "I sobbed and cried because I felt I was not good enough for Sidney.'' Poitier, apparently, was also disappointed -- with himself -- and phoned Winfrey to say so.
"It was life-changing,'' Winfrey was recalling, moments before Poitier arrived. "I was like, `Oh my God.' ''
Poitier, who turns 80 Feb. 27, became the first black performer to win the Oscar for best actor in 1964 for the film "Lilies of the Field.'' His other films include "In the Heat of the Night,'' "To Sir, With Love'' and "The Blackboard Jungle.'' In 2002, Poitier received an honorary Oscar for lifetime achievement.
He should be a welcome break from the travesty of Frey, whose "A Million Little Pieces'' was picked by Winfrey for her book club in the fall of 2005, only to have The Smoking Gun website reveal in January 2006 that the memoir was largely fabricated. Winfrey initially defended Frey, then changed her mind, brought him back to the show and chewed him out.
Winfrey's next pick, Elie Wiesel's "Night,'' was announced on Jan. 16, 2006, soon after the Frey scandal broke, but had already been decided upon weeks earlier. More than 1.5 million copies of Wiesel's Holocaust memoir were sold because of Winfrey's selection, according to publisher Farrar, Straus & Giroux.
