Harry Belafonte

Harry Belafonte
Belafonte in 1996
Belafonte in 1996
Background information
Birth nameHarold George Bellanfanti Jr.
Born(1927-03-01)March 1, 1927
Manhattan, New York, U.S.
DiedApril 25, 2023(2023-04-25) (aged 96)
Manhattan, New York, U.S.
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Singer
  • actor
  • activist
Years active1949–2023
LabelsRCA Victor
CBS
EMI
Island

Harold George "Harry" Belafonte Jr. (originally Belafonete or Bellanfanti; March 1, 1927 – April 25, 2023) was an American singer, actor, and activist. His father was from Martinique; his mother was of Jamaican descent. He was a very successful pop singer. Some call him the "King of Calypso," because he popularized this Caribbean musical style in the 1950s. Belafonte is well known for singing the "Banana Boat Song", with the words "Day-O."[1]

He worked for civil rights and humanitarian causes. He criticized the policies of George W. Bush. He endorsed Barack Obama for President of the United States in 2008 and Bernie Sanders for president in 2016.

Belafonte died from congestive heart failure on April 25, 2023 at his home on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, at the age of 96.[2]

Filmography

  • Bright Road (1953)
  • Carmen Jones (1954)
  • Island in the Sun (1957)
  • The Heart of Show Business (1957) (short subject)
  • The World, the Flesh and the Devil (1959)
  • Odds Against Tomorrow (1959)
  • King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis (1970) (documentary) (narrator)
  • The Angel Levine (1970)
  • Buck and the Preacher (1972)
  • Uptown Saturday Night (1974)
  • A veces miro mi vida (1982)
  • Drei Lieder (1983) (short subject)
  • Sag nein (1983) (documentary)
  • Der Schönste Traum (1984) (documentary)
  • We Shall Overcome (1989) (documentary) (narrator)
  • The Player (1992) (Cameo)
  • Ready to Wear (1994) (Cameo)
  • Hank Aaron: Chasing the Dream (1995)
  • White Man's Burden (1995)
  • Jazz '34 (1996)
  • Kansas City (1996)
  • Scandalize My Name: Stories from the Blacklist (1998) (documentary)
  • Fidel (2001) (documentary)
  • XXI Century (2003) (documentary)
  • Conakry Kas (2003) (documentary)
  • Ladders (2004) (documentary) (narrator)
  • Mo & Me (2006) (documentary)
  • Bobby (2006)
  • Motherland(2009) (documentary)

Television work

Stage work

  • John Murray Anderson's Almanac (December 10, 1953 - June 26, 1954)
  • 3 for Tonight (April 6 - June 18, 1955)
  • Moonbirds (October 9 - October 10, 1959) (producer)
  • Belafonte at the Palace (December 15, 1959 - closing date unknown)
  • Asinamali! (April 23 - May 17, 1987) (producer)

Quotation

“ The sham engineers of the music industry, who steer the wheels of public opinion, are driving the good features of calypso into the ground. I shudder to think what these greedy men will eventually do to this true art form. ”

— NME - May 1957[3]

References

  1. ↑ Show 18 - Blowin' in the Wind: Pop discovers folk music. [Part 1] : UNT Digital Library
  2. ↑ Keepnews, Peter (April 25, 2023). "Harry Belafonte, 96, Dies; Barrier-Breaking Singer, Actor and Activist". The New York Times. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
  3. ↑ Tobler, John (1992). NME Rock 'N' Roll Years (1st ed.). London: Reed International Books Ltd. p. 40. CN 5585.

Other websites

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