Harold George "Harry" Belafonte, Jr. (born March 1, 1927) is an American born singer, songwriter, actor and
social activist. He was dubbed the "King of
Calypso" for popularizing the
Caribbean musical style with an international audience in the 1950s. Belafonte is perhaps best known for singing "
The Banana Boat Song", with its signature lyric "Day-O". Throughout his career he has been an advocate for
civil rights and
humanitarian causes and was a vocal critic of the policies of the
George W. Bush Administration.
Born Harold George Bellanfanti, Jr., at Lying-in Hospital,
Harlem,
New York, Belafonte was the son of Melvine (
née Love) – a housekeeper of
Jamaican descent – and Harold George Bellanfanti, Sr., a
Martiniquan who worked as a
chef in the
National Guard. From 1932 to 1940, he lived with his grandmother in her native country of
Jamaica. When he returned to New York City, he attended
George Washington High School after which he joined the
Navy and served during
World War II. In the 1940s, he was working as a janitor's assistant in NYC when a tenant gave him, as a gratuity, two tickets to see the American Negro Theater. He fell in love with the art form and also met
Sidney Poitier. The financially struggling pair regularly purchased a single seat to local plays, trading places in between acts, after informing the other about the progression of the play. At the end of the 1940s, he took classes in acting at the
Dramatic Workshop of
The New School in New York with the influential German director
Erwin Piscator alongside
Marlon Brando,
Tony Curtis,
Walter Matthau,
Bea Arthur and
Sidney Poitier, while performing with the
American Negro Theatre. He subsequently received a
Tony Award for his participation in the Broadway revue ''
John Murray Anderson's Almanac.''
Belafonte started his career in music as a club singer in New York to pay for his acting classes. The first time he appeared in front of an audience, he was backed by the Charlie Parker band, which included
Charlie Parker himself,
Max Roach and
Miles Davis, among others. At first he was a pop singer, launching his recording career on the Roost label in 1949, but later he developed a keen interest in
folk music, learning material through the
Library of Congress' American folk songs archives. With guitarist and friend Millard Thomas, Belafonte soon made his debut at the legendary jazz club
The Village Vanguard. In 1952 he received a contract with
RCA Victor.
His first widely-
released
single, which went on to become his "signature" song with audience participation in virtually all his live performances, was "
Matilda", recorded April 27, 1956. His breakthrough album ''
Calypso'' (1956) became the first
LP to sell over 1 million copies (
Bing Crosby's "
White Christmas" and
Tennessee Ernie Ford's "
Sixteen Tons", both
singles, had previously surpassed that mark). The album is number four on ''
Billboard''s "Top 100 Album" list for having spent 31 weeks at number 1, 58 weeks in the top ten, and 99 weeks on the U.S. charts. The album introduced American audiences to
Calypso music (which had originated in
Trinidad and Tobago in the early 20th century), and Belafonte was dubbed the "King of Calypso", a title he wore with reservations, since he had no claims to any
Calypso Monarch titles.
One of the songs included in the album is the now famous "Banana Boat Song" (listed as "Day O" on the original release), which reached number five on the pop charts, and featured its signature lyric "Day-O." Belafonte based his version on a 1954 recording by Jamaican folk singer Louise Bennett. His other smash hit was "Jump in the Line."
Many of the compositions recorded for ''Calypso,'' including "Banana Boat Song" and "Jamaica Farewell", gave songwriting credit to Irving Burgie, Belafonte and his team, but were really previously recorded Jamaican mento songs sold as calypso. The original Jamaican versions can now be heard on the "Jamaica—Mento1951–1958" CD released in 2010.
While primarily known for Calypso, Belafonte has recorded in many genres, including
blues,
folk,
gospel,
show tunes, and
American standards. His second-most popular hit, which came immediately after "The Banana Boat Song", was the novelty tune "Mama Look at Bubu", also known as "Mama Look a Boo-Boo" (originally recorded by
Lord Melody in 1956), in which he sings humorously about misbehaving and disrespectful children. It reached number eleven on the pop chart.
In 1959 he starred in ''Tonight With Belafonte,'' a nationally televised special that featured Odetta, who sang "Water Boy" and who performed a duet with Belafonte of '"There's a Hole in My Bucket" that hit the national charts in 1961. Belafonte continued to record for RCA through the 1950s to the 1970s. Two live albums, both recorded at Carnegie Hall in 1959 and 1960, enjoyed critical and commercial success. From his 1959 album, Hava Nagila became part of his regular routine and one of his signature songs. He was one of many entertainers recruited by Frank Sinatra to perform at the inaugural gala of President John F. Kennedy in 1961. That same year he released his second calypso album, ''Jump Up Calypso,'' which went on to become another million seller. During the 1960s he introduced several artists to American audiences, most notably South African singer Miriam Makeba and Greek singer Nana Mouskouri. His album ''Midnight Special'' (1962) featured the first-ever record appearance by a then young harmonica player named Bob Dylan.
As The Beatles and other stars from Britain began to dominate the U.S. pop charts, Belafonte's commercial success diminished; 1964's ''Belafonte at The Greek Theatre'' was his last album to appear in ''Billboard''s Top 40. His last hit single, "A Strange Song", was released in 1967 and peaked at number 5 on the Adult contemporary music charts. Belafonte has received Grammy Awards for the albums ''Swing Dat Hammer'' (1960) and ''An Evening with Belafonte/Makeba'' (1965). The latter album dealt with the political plight of black South Africans under Apartheid. He earned six Gold Records.
Belafonte's recording activity slowed after leaving RCA in the 1970s. From the mid-1970s to early 1980s he spent the greater part of his time touring Japan, Europe, Cuba and elsewhere. His involvement in
USA for Africa during the mid-1980s resulted in renewed interest in his music, culminating in a record deal with
EMI. He subsequently released his first album of original material in over a decade, ''
Paradise in Gazankulu,'' in 1988. The album contains ten protest songs against the South African former
Apartheid policy and as of 2011 was his last studio album. In the same year Belafonte, as
UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, attended a symposium in
Harare, Zimbabwe to focus attention on child survival and development in Southern African countries. As part of the symposium, he performed a concert for UNICEF. A
Kodak video crew filmed the concert, which was released as a 60-minute concert video entitled "Global Carnival." It features many of the songs from the album ''Paradise in Gazankulu'' and some of his classic hits. Also in 1988,
Tim Burton used "The Banana Boat Song" and "Jump in the Line" in his movie ''
Beetlejuice''.
Following a lengthy recording hiatus, ''An Evening with Harry Belafonte and Friends,'' a soundtrack and video of a televised concert were released in 1997 by Island Records. ''The Long Road to Freedom, An Anthology of Black Music,'' a huge multi-artist project recorded during the 1960s and 1970s with RCA, was finally released by the label in 2001. The album was nominated for the 2002 Grammy Awards for Best Boxed Recording Package, for Best Album Notes and for Best Historical Album.
Belafonte was the first African American to win an Emmy, with his first solo TV special ''Tonight with Belafonte'' (1959). During the 1960s he appeared on TV specials alongside such artists as Julie Andrews, Petula Clark, Lena Horne and Nana Mouskouri. He was also a guest star on a memorable episode of ''The Muppet Show'' in 1978, in which he performed his signature song "Day-O" on television for the first time. The episode is best known for Belafonte's rendition of the spiritual song, "Turn the World Around", which he performed with Muppets that resembled African tribal masks. It became one of the series' most famous performances. It was reportedly Jim Henson's favorite episode, and Belafonte reprised the song at Henson's memorial in 1990. "Turn the World Around" was also included in the 2005 official hymnal supplement of the Unitarian Universalist Association, "Singing the Journey."
Belafonte received the Kennedy Center Honors in 1989. He was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 1994 and he won a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000. He performed sold-out concerts globally through the 1950s to the 2000s. Due to illness he was forced to cancel a reunion tour with Nana Mouskouri planned for the spring and summer of 2003 following a tour in Europe. His last concert was a benefit concert for the Atlanta Opera on October 25, 2003. In a 2007 interview he stated that he had since retired from performing.
Belafonte has starred in several films. His first film role was in ''
Bright Road'' (1953), in which he appeared alongside
Dorothy Dandridge. The two subsequently starred in
Otto Preminger's hit musical ''
Carmen Jones'' (1954). Ironically, Belafonte's singing in the film was dubbed by an
opera singer, as Belafonte's own singing voice was seen as unsuitable for the role. Using his star clout, Belafonte was subsequently able to realize several then-controversial film roles. In 1957's ''
Island in the Sun,'' there are hints of an affair between Belafonte's character and the character played by
Joan Fontaine. The film also starred
James Mason, Dandridge,
Joan Collins,
Michael Rennie and
John Justin. In 1959, he starred in and produced
Robert Wise's ''
Odds Against Tomorrow,'' in which he plays a bank robber uncomfortably teamed with a racist partner (
Robert Ryan). He also co-starred with
Inger Stevens in ''
The World, the Flesh and the Devil.'' Belafonte was offered the role of
Porgy in Preminger's ''
Porgy and Bess,'' where he would have once again starred opposite Dandridge, but he refused the role because he objected to its
racial stereotyping.
Dissatisfied with the film roles available to him, he returned to music during the 1960s. In the early 1970s Belafonte appeared in more films among which are two with Poitier: ''Buck and the Preacher'' (1972) and ''Uptown Saturday Night'' (1974). In 1984 Belafonte produced and scored the musical film ''Beat Street,'' dealing with the rise of hip-hop culture. Together with Arthur Baker, he produced the gold-certified soundtrack of the same name. Belafonte next starred in a major film again in the mid-1990s, appearing with John Travolta in the race-reverse drama ''White Man's Burden'' (1995); and in Robert Altman's jazz age drama ''Kansas City'' (1996), the latter of which garnered him the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor. He also starred as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States in the TV drama ''Swing Vote'' (1999). In late 2006, Belafonte appeared in the role of Nelson, a friend of an employee of the Ambassador Hotel played by Anthony Hopkins, in ''Bobby,'' Emilio Estevez's ensemble drama about the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy.
Belafonte and Marguerite Byrd were married from 1948 to 1957. They have two daughters: Adrienne and Shari.
Shari Belafonte, married to
Sam Behrens, is a
photographer,
model,
singer and
actress. In 1997 Adrienne Biesemeyer and her daughter Rachel Blue founded the Anir Foundation/Experience. Anir focuses on humanitarian work in southern Africa.
On March 8, 1957, Belafonte married second wife Julie Robinson (former dancer with the Katherine Dunham Company). They had two children, David and Gina Belafonte. David Belafonte (a former model and actor) is an Emmy-winning producer and the executive director of the family-held company Belafonte Enterprises Inc. A music producer, he has been involved in most of Belafonte's albums and tours. David married Danish model, singer and TV personality Malena Belafonte, born Mathiesen, who won silver in ''Dancing with the Stars'' in Denmark in 2009. Malena Belafonte founded Speyer Legacy School, an award winning private elementary school for gifted and talented children. David and Malena's daughter Sarafina attended this school. Gina Belafonte is a TV and film actress and worked with her father as coach and producer on more than six films. Gina helped found The Gathering For Justice, an intergenerational, intercultural non-profit organization working to reintroduce nonviolence to stop child incarceration. She is married to actor Scott McCray.
In April 2008, Belafonte married photographer Pamela Frank. Belafonte lived in a 21-room apartment at 300 West End Avenue (corner of 74th Street) in New York City for 50 years. In 2007 he sold his fifth-floor apartment to Abigail Disney for 10.8 million dollars. In October 1998 Belafonte contributed a letter to Liv Ullmann's book ''Letter to My Grandchild.''
Belafonte's political beliefs were greatly inspired by the singer, actor and activist
Paul Robeson, who mentored him. Robeson opposed not only racial prejudice in the United States, but also western
colonialism in
Africa. Belafonte's success did not protect him from racial discrimination, particularly in the
American South. Belafonte refused to perform there from 1954 until 1961. In 1960 he appeared in a campaign commercial for
Democratic Presidential candidate
John F. Kennedy. Kennedy later named Belafonte cultural advisor to the
Peace Corps.
Belafonte gave the keynote address at the ACLU of Northern California's annual Bill of Rights Day Celebration In December 2007 and was awarded the Chief Justice Earl Warren Civil Liberties Award. The 2011 Sundance Film Festival featured the documentary film "Sing Your Song", a biographical film focusing on Belafonte's contribution to and his leadership in the civil rights movement in America and his endeavours to promote social justice globally. In 2011 Belafonte also presented his biography "My Song".
Belafonte supported the
Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and was one of
Martin Luther King Jr.'s confidants. He provided for King's family, since King made only $8,000 a year as a preacher. Like many other civil rights activists, Belafonte was
blacklisted during the
McCarthy era. He
bailed King out of Birmingham City Jail and raised thousands of dollars to release other civil rights protesters. He financed the
Freedom Rides, supported
voter registration drives, and helped to organize the
March on Washington in 1963.
During "Freedom Summer" in 1964 Belafonte bankrolled the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, flying to Mississippi that August with Sidney Poitier and $60,000 in cash and entertaining crowds in Greenwood.
In 1968 Belafonte appeared on a Petula Clark primetime television special on NBC. In the middle of a song, Clark smiled and briefly touched Belafonte's arm, which made the show's sponsor, Plymouth Motors, nervous. Plymouth wanted to cut the segment, but Clark, who had ownership of the special, told NBC that the performance would be shown intact or she would not allow the special to be aired at all. Newspapers reported the controversy, and when the special aired it attracted high ratings.
Belafonte appeared on ''The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour'' and performed a controversial "Mardi Gras" number intercut with footage from the 1968 Democratic National Convention riots. CBS censors deleted the segment.
In 1985, he helped organize the
Grammy Award winning song "
We Are the World", a multi-artist effort to raise funds for
Africa. He performed in the
Live Aid concert that same year. In 1987 he received an appointment to
UNICEF as a goodwill ambassador. Following his appointment Belafonte traveled to
Dakar,
Senegal, where he served as chairman of the International Symposium of Artists and Intellectuals for African Children. He also helped to raise funds—alongside more than 20 other artists—in the largest concert ever held in
sub-Saharan Africa. In 1994 he went on a mission to
Rwanda and launched a media campaign to raise awareness of the needs of Rwandan children.
In 2001 he went to South Africa to support the campaign against HIV/AIDS. In 2002 Africare awarded him the Bishop John T. Walker Distinguished Humanitarian Service Award for his efforts to assist Africa. In 2004 Belafonte went to Kenya to stress the importance of educating children in the region.
Belafonte has been involved in prostate cancer advocacy since 1996, when he was diagnosed and successfully treated for the disease.
On June 27, 2006, Belafonte was the recipient of the BET Humanitarian Award at the 2006 BET Awards. He was named one of nine 2006 Impact Award recipients by ''AARP The Magazine.''
On October 19, 2007, Belafonte represented UNICEF on Norwegian television to support the annual telethon (TV Aksjonen) in support of that charity and helped raise a world record of $10 per inhabitant of Norway. Belafonte was also an ambassador for the Bahamas. He is on the board of directors of the Advancement Project.
Belafonte has been a longtime critic of
U.S. foreign policy. He began making controversial political statements on this subject in the early 1980s. He has at various times made statements opposing the U.S. embargo on
Cuba; praising
Soviet peace initiatives; attacking the
U.S. invasion of Grenada; praising the
Abraham Lincoln Brigade; honoring
Ethel and Julius Rosenberg and praising
Fidel Castro. Belafonte is additionally known for his visit to Cuba which helped ensure
hip-hop’s place in Cuban society. According to Geoffrey Baker’s article “Hip hop, Revolucion! Nationalizing Rap in Cuba,” in 1999 Belafonte met with representatives of the rap community immediately before meeting with Fidel Castro. This meeting resulted in Castro’s personal approval of, and hence the government’s involvement in, the incorporation of rap into his country’s culture. In a 2003 interview Belafonte reflected upon this meeting’s influence:
“When I went back to Havana a couple years later, the people in the hip-hop community came to see me and we hung out for a bit. They thanked me profusely and I said, 'Why?' and they said, 'Because your little conversation with Fidel and the Minister of Culture on hip-hop led to there being a special division within the ministry and we've got our own studio'."
Belafonte was active in the anti-apartheid movement. He was the Master of Ceremonies at a reception honoring African National Congress President Oliver Tambo at Roosevelt House, Hunter College, in New York City. The reception was held by the American Committee on Africa (ACOA) and The Africa Fund.
He is a current board member of the TransAfrica Forum and the Institute for Policy Studies.
In 2004 he was awarded the Domestic Human Rights Award by Global Exchange, in San Francisco.
In December 2007 he endorsed John Edwards for the 2008 Presidential Election.
Belafonte achieved widespread attention for his political views in 2002 when he began making a series of comments about President
George W. Bush, his administration and the
Iraq War. During an interview with
Ted Leitner for
San Diego's 760 KFMB, in October 2002 Belafonte referred to a quote made by
Malcolm X. Belafonte said:
Belafonte used the quote to characterize former United States Secretaries of State Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice, both African-Americans. Powell and Rice both responded, with Powell calling the remarks "unfortunate" and Rice saying "I don't need Harry Belafonte to tell me what it means to be black."
thumb|Harry Belafonte at the 61st Berlin International Film Festival in February 2011The comment was brought up again in an interview with Amy Goodman for ''Democracy Now!'' in 2006. In January 2006, Belafonte led a delegation of activists including actor Danny Glover and activist/professor Cornel West to meet with President of Venezuela Hugo Chávez. In 2005 Chávez, an outspoken Bush critic, initiated a program to provide cheaper heating oil for poor people in several areas of the United States. Belafonte supported this initiative. Belafonte was quoted as saying, during the meeting with Chávez, "No matter what the greatest tyrant in the world, the greatest terrorist in the world, George W. Bush says, we're here to tell you: Not hundreds, not thousands, but millions of the American people support your revolution." Belafonte and Glover met again with Chávez in 2006. The comment ignited a great deal of controversy. Hillary Clinton refused to acknowledge Belafonte's presence at an awards ceremony that featured both of them. AARP, which had just named him one of its 10 Impact Award honorees 2006, released this statement following the remarks: "AARP does not condone the manner and tone which he has chosen and finds his comments completely unacceptable." During a Martin Luther King, Jr. Day speech at Duke University in 2006 Belafonte compared the American government to the 9/11 hijackers, saying, "What is the difference between that terrorist and other terrorists?" In response to criticism about his remarks Belafonte asked, "What do you call Bush when the war he put us in to date has killed almost as many Americans as died on 9/11 and the number of Americans wounded in war is almost triple? [...] By most definitions Bush can be considered a terrorist." When he was asked about his expectation of criticism for his remarks on the war in Iraq, Belafonte responded: "Bring it on. Dissent is central to any democracy."
In another interview Belafonte remarked that while his comments may have been "hasty", nevertheless he felt the Bush administration suffered from "arrogance wedded to ignorance" and its policies around the world were "morally bankrupt." In January 2006, in a speech to the annual meeting of the Arts Presenters Members Conference, Belafonte referred to "the new Gestapo of Homeland Security" saying, "You can be arrested and have no right to counsel!" During the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day speech at the Duke University in January 2006 Belafonte said that if he could choose his epitaph it would be, "Harry Belafonte, Patriot."
''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)
''Fundi: The Story of Ella Baker'' (1981) (documentary)
''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)
''Sing Your Song'' (2011) (documentary)
''Sugar Hill Times'' (1949–1950)
''Tonight With Belafonte'' (1959)
''Petula'' (1968)
''A World in Music'' (1969)
''Harry & Lena, For The Love Of Life (1969)
''A World in Love'' (1970)
''Free to Be… You and Me'' (1974)
''The Muppet Show'' (1978)
''Grambling's White Tiger'' (1981)
''Don't Stop The Carnival'' (1985)
''An Evening With Harry Belafonte And Friends'' (1997)
''Swing Vote'' (1999)
''Tanner on Tanner'' (2004)
''That's What I'm Talking About'' (2006) (miniseries)
''When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts'' (2006) (miniseries)
''Don't Stop The Carnival'' (1985)
''Global Carnival'' (1988)
''An Evening With Harry Belafonte And Friends'' (1997)
''John Murray Anderson's Almanac'' (December 10, 1953 – June 26, 1954)
''3 for Tonight'' (April 6 – June 18, 1955)
''Moonbirds'' (October 9–10, 1959) (producer)
''Belafonte at the Palace'' (December 15, 1959 – closing date unknown)
''Asinamali!'' (April 23 – May 17, 1987) (producer)
Harry Belafonte discography
English version of the text found at the bottom of the page.
2004 Global Exchange Human Rights Award – Belafonte's acceptance speech in San Francisco
Ubben Lecture at DePauw University
Democracy Now! transcript/MP3/video of interview by Amy Goodman, January 30, 2006
''The Bigotry of Belafonte'' – by Andrew Sullivan, Salon.com, Oct. 25, 2002
"The Man Behind Belafonte's Music – Irving Burgie" – by Ronald David Jackson, with video
Discography at SonyBMG Masterworks
The HistoryMakers Biography and video clips
Harry Belafonte: Belafonte At Carnegie Hall
Belafonte and Nat King Cole sing "Mama Look at Bubu"
Belafonte: "Iraq & Afghanistan Wars Are Immoral" – video report by ''Democracy Now!''
Category:American anti-war activists
Category:American folk singers
Category:People from Manhattan
Category:People from Harlem
Category:American socialists
Category:International opponents of apartheid in South Africa
Category:Calypsonians
Category:Emmy Award winners
Category:Grammy Award winners
Category:Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners
Category:American musicians of Jamaican descent
Category:People of Martiniquais descent
Category:World music musicians
Category:Jubilee Records artists
Category:RCA Victor artists
Category:Kennedy Center honorees
Category:Tony Award winners
Category:United States National Medal of Arts recipients
Category:1927 births
Category:Living people
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