Civil rights legend and calypso icon, Harry Belafonte has passed on at 96. He became a star in the 1950s with his highly personal brand of folk music, and who went on to become a dynamic force in the civil rights movement.
Reports said he died on Tuesday at his home on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The cause was congestive heart failure, said Ken Sunshine, his spokesman.
At a time when segregation was still widespread and Black faces were still a rarity on screens large and small, Mr. Belafonte’s ascent to the upper echelon of show business was historic.
He was not the first Black entertainer to transcend racial boundaries; Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald and others had achieved stardom before him.
But none had made as much of a splash as he did, and for a few years no one in music, Black or white, was bigger.
Born in Harlem to West Indian immigrants, he almost single-handedly ignited a craze for Caribbean music with hit records like “Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)” and “Jamaica Farewell.” His album “Calypso”.
His songs reached the top of the Billboard album chart shortly after its release in 1956 and stayed there for 31 weeks. Coming just before the breakthrough of Elvis Presley, it was said to be the first album by a single artist to sell more than a million copies.
Mr. Belafonte was equally successful as a concert attraction: Handsome and charismatic, he held audiences spellbound with dramatic interpretations of a repertoire that encompassed folk traditions from all over the world — rollicking calypsos like “Matilda,” work songs like “Lead Man Holler,” tender ballads like “Scarlet Ribbons.”
By 1959 he was the most highly paid Black performer in history, with fat contracts for appearances in Las Vegas, at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles and at the Palace in New York.
Belafonte was a Jamaican-American singer, songwriter, activist, and actor.
He was known as one of the most successful Jamaican-American singers in history, and was nicknamed the ‘King of Calypso’ for popularizing the Caribbean musical style around the world in the 1950s.
He performed in many music genres, including blues, folk, gospel, musicals, and American standards.
He was also an actor, appearing in several films, including Carmen Jones (1954), Island in the Sun (1957), and Odds Against Tomorrow (1959).
Belafonte’s political beliefs were inspired by singer and Communist activist Paul Robeson, who mentored him. Robeson opposed not racial prejudice in the United States and western colonialism in Africa.
Harry Belafonte was an early supporter of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 1960s and was a close confidant of Martin Luther King Jr.
He was an advocate for various political and humanitarian causes, such as the Anti-Apartheid Movement and USA for Africa.
Since 1987, he was a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. He also acts as the American Civil Liberties Union celebrity ambassador for juvenile justice issues.
In 2001, he travelled to South Africa to support the campaign against HIV/AIDS. In 2004, Belafonte went to Kenya to highlight the importance of educating children in the country.
Belafonte was also been involved in prostate cancer advocacy since 1996, when he was diagnosed and successfully treated for the disease.
Harry Belafonte was born on March 1, 1927. He celebrated his 96th birthday in 2023.
He was born Harold George Bellanfanti Jr, in Harlem, New York. He was the son of Melvine (née Love), a housekeeper, and Harold George Bellanfanti Sr, a chef.
His mother was born in Jamaica, and was the child of a Scottish white mother and a black father.
His father also was born in Jamaica, and was the child of a black mother and Dutch Jewish father of Sephardi origins.
Belafonte was married to Marguerite Byrd from 1948 to 1957. They had two daughters: Adrienne and Shari.
Adrienne and her daughter Rachel Blue later founded the Anir Foundation/Experience, which focuses on humanitarian work in southern Africa. Shari is a photographer, model, singer, and actress.
In 1957, Belafonte married his second wife Julie Robinson, a former dancer. They had two children, David and Gina. After 47 years of marriage, Belafonte and Robinson divorced.
David, Belafonte’s only son, is a former model and actor and is an Emmy-winning and Grammy nominated music producer. He is the executive director of the family-held company Belafonte Enterprises Inc.
Gina Belafonte is a TV and film actress, who helped found The Gathering For Justice, a non-profit organization working to reintroduce nonviolence.
In April 2008, Belafonte married photographer Pamela Frank.
Harry Belafonte started his career in music as a club singer in New York, helping to pay for his acting classes.
The first time he performed in front of an audience, was when he was backed by the Charlie Parker band, which featured Charlie Parker, Max Roach and Miles Davis, among
