Sidney Poitier's ex-mistress calls him a cad

New York, Sept 15 : Oscar-winner Sidney Poitier's ex-mistress Diahann Carroll claims in her new book that the actor was a cad who prompted her to divorce her husband to be with him, and later double-crossed her.

Carroll is the Bronx-born beauty who made history as TV's first black sitcom star in "Julia".

Titled "The Legs Are the Last to Go", her memoirs portray Poitier as a heel who convinced her and first hubby Monte Kay to divorce after confronting Kay.

He even said that he loved Carroll, and was also leaving his wife to be with her.

However, the actor didn't keep his word, and Carroll eventually had to date another man in frustration. "Sidney called me at my hotel . . . 'You bitch, whore, tramp,' he yelled. 'I know he just left your bed. I won't have you running around with other men. You belong to me!' " the New York Post quoted her as writing in the book.

She said that Poitier later told her he'd finally called it quits with his wife, Juanita Hardy. He even bought her a ring and made her decorate a 10-room Riverside Drive apartment he'd bought.

"I was only home a few days when he called to say his wife was having second thoughts. Our wedding plans would have to be postponed," wrote Carroll.

She added: "When the apartment was ready and I was about to move my daughter in with me, Sidney told me he didn't want her there . . . He changed the locks so I couldn't get in. Then he made me write him a check to offset his purchase and decorating costs. I did as I was told, submissive and desperate."

However, Poitier, who did not comment on the book, still remains friends with Carroll.

"Sidney and I are now friends. That's a lovely thing that comes as you age - forgiveness and perhaps a relaxing of standards," wrote Carroll.

The book, from Amistad, will be on the shelves next week.

ANI