- published: 12 Dec 2015
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Harold George "Harry" Belafonte, Jr. (born March 1, 1927) is an American 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.
Actors: Isaiah Washington (producer), Kim Estes (actor), Isaiah Washington (actor), Terri J. Vaughn (actress), Terri J. Vaughn (producer), Craig Archibald (actor), Craig Archibald (producer), Roger Melvin (writer), Roger Melvin (producer), Roger Melvin (director), Marcus Chong (actor), Marcus Chong (producer), Loren Semmens (editor), Jermaine Jackson (producer), Roni Burks (costume designer),
Plot: Set in the early 1950's, the film is centered around the infamous "Hollywood Blacklist" - the infamous list of entertainers who were singled out and blacklisted for their political leanings and associations (specifically the Communist Party), whether they were proven or just suspected. The movement damaged careers and friendships, and promoted ideological censorship across the entire industry.
Keywords: blacklist, communism, hollywood-ten, red-scareActors: Clement von Franckenstein (actor), Loretta Devine (actress), Raphael Sbarge (actor), William Atherton (actor), Joanne Baron (actress), Halle Berry (actress), Brent Spiner (actor), D.B. Sweeney (actor), Larry Poindexter (actor), Dave Mallow (actor), Klaus Maria Brandauer (actor), Guy Torry (actor), Obba Babatundé (actor), Elmer Bernstein (composer), Halle Berry (producer),
Plot: This biography of Dorothy Dandridge follows her career through early days on the club circuit with her sister to her turn in movies, including becoming the first black actress to win a Best Actress Nomination in 1954 for "Carmen Jones", to her final demise to prescription drugs, which was debated whether it was suicide or accidental. Brent Spiner plays her faithful manager who stood beside her through all of the roller coaster of her career. The film also examines her love affair with director Otto Preminger, which is shown to have probably initially helped her career, but later probably led her to some wrong decisions. The film also examines 50's racism as the black star is not permitted to use white bathrooms or the Vegas pool. In the first situation, she was given a bathroom cup to pee in. In the second situation, the hotel drained the pool and scrubbed it after she dared put her foot in the water.
Keywords: 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, abuse, academy-award, actor, actress, adultery, african-american, alcoholismWe are going down, Jordan
We are going down, Jordan
We are going down, Jordan
Let's walk the heavenly road
I was livin' me life as an Anglican
Let me tell you how I changed to a Baptist man
I was livin' me life as an Anglican
Let me tell you how I changed to a Baptist man
One night I was walking down Fred'rick street
Poor and hungry, no shoes on me feet
I passed a door that said "Down with sin"
It was the smell of food that pull me in
We are going down, Jordan
We are going down, Jordan
We are going down, Jordan
Let's walk the heavenly road
Well, the leader walked up and he shook my hand
Said "I want you to be a holy man"
Right away I made a big decision
Me stomach was a growling for this new religion
I started over to get some food
When some sisters approached me in a mystic mood
They dunked me in the water 'bout four, five times
I couldn't see a thing 'cause I was almost blind
Singing I've got a sword in my hand
I'm going to use it well
I was drenched to me skin and I was feeling cold
But the sight of the food made me take a hold
The sisters started to break away
They said "Kneel, believers, kneel and pray"
I prayed and I prayed in a new-found style
In the meantime me taste buds was running wild
I was about to fall clear out of me seat
When a man jumped up and said "Before you eat
You got to mourn, children, mourn
You got to mourn, children, mourn
And if you want to go to Heaven when you die,
You got to mourn, children, mourn
Well, before I baptized I had plenty pain,
Now I find myself a free man again
Well, before I baptized I had plenty pain,
Now I find myself a free man again
Don't talk 'bout the leaders they treat me good,
Plenty sweet oil and plenty food
Brother it was then that I realized
Ev'ry man on earth should be baptized
Going down, Jordan
We are going down, Jordan
We are going down, Jordan