Harry Belafonte

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."
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.
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 Schonste 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
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)
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
References
Other websites
Harry Belafonte - a site of sites
Harry Belafonte discography
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 Appreciation Group on Imeem
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!
Hear Harry Belafonte on the Pop Chronicles
1927 births
2023 deaths
Deaths from congestive heart failure
Actors from New York City
African American actors
African American musicians
American activists
American folk musicians
American movie actors
American movie producers
American stage actors
American television actors
American television producers
Emmy Award winners
Grammy Award winners
Kennedy Center honorees
Singers from New York City
Socialists
Tony Award winners