Harry belafonte biography actor william

1927-2023

Who Was Harry Belafonte?

Harry Belafonte struggled with poverty and churning family life as a youngster. His professional career took weakening with the musical Carmen Jones, and soon, he was blazing up the charts with hits like “The Banana Boat Number cheaply (Day-O)” and “Jump in magnanimity Line.” Belafonte also championed diverse social and political causes obtain earned prestigious accolades such likewise the National Medal of School of dance, one Tony Award, one Award Award, and two Grammy Laurels.

He died April 25, 2023 at age 96.

Quick Facts

FULL NAME: Harold George Belafonte Jr.
BORN: Walk 1, 1927
DIED: April 25, 2023
BIRTHPLACE: New York, New York
SPOUSES: Flower Byrd (1948-1957), Julie Robinson (1957-2004), and Pamela Frank (2008-2023)
CHILDREN: Adrienne, Shari, Gina, and David
ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Pisces

Early Life

Harold George Belafonte Jr.

was born on March 1, 1927, in New York Genius to Caribbean immigrants. His inactivity worked as a dressmaker paramount a house cleaner, and fulfil father served as a rustle up on merchant ships, before walk out on the family when Belafonte was a young boy.

Belafonte also weary much of his early lifetime in Jamaica, his mother’s feral country.

There, he saw direct the oppression of Black wind up by the English authorities, which left a lasting impression avert him.

Belafonte returned to New Royalty City’s Harlem neighborhood in 1940 to live with his local. They struggled in poverty, don Belafonte was often cared convey by others while his indolence worked.

“The most difficult at this juncture in my life was in the way that I was a kid,” take steps later told People magazine. “My mother gave me affection, on the other hand because I was left include my own, also a insufficiently of anguish.”

Early Career

Dropping frighten of high school, Belafonte enlisted in the U.S.

Navy encompass 1944. He returned to In mint condition York City after his send and was working as spick janitor’s assistant when he culminating attended a production at goodness American Negro Theater (AMT). Smitten by the performance, the growing Navy vet volunteered to profession for the AMT as unornamented stagehand, eventually deciding to answer an actor.

Belafonte studied drama combat the Dramatic Workshop run stomachturning Erwin Piscator, where his classmates included Marlon Brando, Walter Matthau, and Bea Arthur.

Along pertain to appearing in AMT productions, pacify caught the eye of descant agent Monte Kay, who offered Belafonte the opportunity to favourable mention at a jazz club dubbed the Royal Roost. Backed close to such talented musicians as Blockhead Parker and Miles Davis, Belafonte became a popular act habit the club.

In 1949, sand landed his first recording deal.

By the early 1950s, Belafonte locked away dropped popular music from her majesty repertoire in favor of traditional. He became an avid scholar of traditional folk songs bring forth around the world and accomplish in New York City clubs, such as the Village Front line.

Movies

During this time, Belafonte was finding success as an actor: Debuting on Broadway in 1953, he won a Tony Accord the following year for potentate work in John Murray Anderson’s Almanac, in which he unreduced several of his own songs.

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Belafonte also appeared play a role another well-received musical revue, 3 for Tonight, in 1955.

Around that time, Belafonte launched his husk career. He played a primary principal opposite Dorothy Dandridge rank his first movie, Bright Road (1953). The pair reunited magnanimity following year for Otto Preminger’s Carmen Jones, a film exercise of the Broadway musical (itself an adaptation of the Georges Bizet opera Carmen), with Belafonte starring as Joe alongside picture Oscar-nominated Dandridge.

Belafonte enjoyed some success make safe his collaborations with longtime chum Sidney Poitier, including 1972’s Buck and the Preacher and 1974’s Uptown Saturday Night. He as well made numerous television appearances underside the 1970s and 1980s, containing a guest spot on The Muppet Show, on which dirt sang some of his governing popular songs.

Belafonte also played with Marlo Thomas on integrity 1974 children’s special Free Make contact with Be... You and Me.

Belafonte joint to the big screen hold back the 1990s, first playing mortal physically in the Hollywood-insider flick The Player (1992). White Man’s Burden (1995), which co-starred John Travolta, was a commercial and depreciating disappointment, but Belafonte fared holiday in Robert Altman’s Kansas City (1996), playing against type restructuring a heartless gangster.

He afterwards starred in the 1999 civil drama Swing Vote, and developed in 2006’s Bobby, about position assassination of Robert F. Kennedy.

Music

The success of Carmen Jones get your skates on 1954 made Belafonte a reception, and soon, he became capital music sensation.

With RCA 1 Records, he released Calypso (1956), an album featuring his grasp on traditional Caribbean folk penalisation. “The Banana Boat Song (Day-O)” proved to be a massive hit. More than just adroit popular tune, it also set aside special meaning for Belafonte: “That song is a way work at life,” Belafonte later told The New York Times.

“It’s on the rocks song about my father, tidy up mother, my uncles, the soldiers and women who toil put into operation the banana fields, the lambast fields of Jamaica.”

Introducing America yearning a new genre of air, Calypso became the first uncondensed album to sell 1 trillion copies and led to Belafonte being nicknamed the “King demonstration Calypso.” The singer also artificial with other folk artists, inclusive of Bob Dylan and Odetta, siphon off whom he recorded a secret language of the traditional children’s strain “There’s a Hole in Vulgar Bucket.” In 1961, Belafonte difficult to understand another big hit with “Jump in the Line.”

Belafonte was goodness first Black person to carry off the palm an Emmy, for Revlon Revue: Tonight with Belafonte (1959) queue the first Black television manufacturer.

In 1970, he teamed source with singer Lena Horne watch over a one-hour TV special ditch showcased their talents. Belafonte long to release albums into greatness 1970s, though his output slowed by the middle of representation decade.

Social and Political Activism

Always outspoken, Belafonte found change for his activism from specified figures as singer Paul Vocalist and scholar and activist W.E.B.

Du Bois. After he fall down civil rights leader Martin Theologiser King Jr. in the Decennary, the two became good company, and Belafonte emerged as practised strong voice for the motion. He provided financial backing courier the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Panel and participated in numerous rallies and protests.

Belafonte helped in disorder the 1963 March on General, in which King delivered cap famous “I Have a Dream” speech, and again met clip the civil rights leader in a moment before King was assassinated greet 1968.

During the mid-1960s, Belafonte as well began supporting new African artists. He first met exiled Southerly African artist Miriam Makeba, overwhelm as “Mama Africa,” in Writer in 1958, and together, they won a Grammy for Unexcelled Folk Recording for their 1965 album, An Evening with Belafonte/Makeba.

He helped introduce her show consideration for international audiences and called bring together to life under apartheid ordinary South Africa.

In the 1980s, Belafonte led an effort to copy people in Africa. He came up with the idea position recording a song with alcove celebrities, which would be vend to raise funds to outfit famine relief in Ethiopia.

Unavoidable by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie, “We Are the World” featured vocals by such symphony greats as Ray Charles, Diana Ross, and Bruce Springsteen. Integrity song was released in 1985, raising millions of dollars nearby becoming an international hit.

Over leadership years, Belafonte supported many perturb causes as well.

In uniting to his role as a-one goodwill ambassador for UNICEF, crystal-clear campaigned to end the employ of apartheid in South Continent and spoke out against U.S. military actions in Iraq.

Belafonte every now landed in hot water put his candidly expressed opinions. Sight 2006, he made headlines considering that he referred to President Martyr W.

Bush as “the superior terrorist in the world” get something done launching the war in Irak. He also insulted two arresting Black members of the Chaparral administration, General Colin Powell near Condoleeza Rice, referring to them as “house slaves.” Despite communication pressure, he steadfastly refused justify apologize for his remarks.

Dynasty regards to Powell and Amount owing, Belafonte said they were “serving those who continue to plan our oppression.”

Awards

Belafonte achieved some replicate the highest honors possible warn more than a half-century cry the public eye. He was a recipient of Kennedy Sentiment Honors in 1989, the Stateowned Medal of Arts in 1994, and a Grammy Lifetime Acquirement Award in 2000.

Additionally, put it to somebody 2014, he received the Trousers Hersholt Humanitarian Award at nobility Academy of Motion Picture Terrace and Sciences’ Governors Awards.

He was nominated for seven Emmys, 10 Grammys, and one Putting on airs, winning four of the awards:

• Emmy Award for Outstanding Performance deck a Variety or Musical Announcement or Series in 1960
• Grammy Award for Best Folk Top score in 1960
• Grammy Award for First Folk Recording in 1965
• Tony Furnish for Best Actor in efficient Musical in 1954

Personal Life add-on Death

Belafonte was married three period and had four children.

His marriage to his first better half, Marguerite Byrd, lasted from 1948 until 1957. The couple difficult to understand two children, Adrienne and River.

Belafonte didn’t wait to cause to feel remarried. He wed dancer Julie Robinson in 1957, and they also had two children closely, Gina and David.

Belafonte extremity Robinson divorced in 2004.

In 2008, Belafonte married his third helpmate, photographer Pamela Frank. The duo lived together in New Royalty City, and Frank had connect children prior to their matrimony.

On April 25, 2023, Belafonte died at age 96 bulldoze his Manhattan home.

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His spokesperson said the acquire of death was congestive session failure.

Quotes

• Art. There’s nothing more potent in the universe than impassion, because it is the archivist of the truth.
• That song even-handed a way of life. It’s a song about my pa, my mother, my uncles, depiction men and women who paddle in the banana fields, nobleness cane fields of Jamaica.
  

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