Harry Belafonte
Personal Info
Known for
Acting
Gender
Male
Birthday
1927-03-01
Day of Death
2023-04-25 (96 years old)
Place of Birth
New York City, New York, USA
Harry Belafonte
Biography
Harry Belafonte (born Harold George Bellanfanti Jr.; March 1, 1927 – April 25, 2023) was an American singer, actor and activist, who popularized calypso music with international audiences in the 1950s. Belafonte is one of the few performers to have received an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony (EGOT), although he won the Oscar in a non-competitive category. He earned his career breakthrough with the album Calypso (1956), which was the first million-selling LP by a single artist.
Belafonte was best known for his recordings of "Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)", "Jump in the Line (Shake, Senora)", "Jamaica Farewell", and "Mary's Boy Child". He recorded and performed in many genres, including blues, folk, gospel, show tunes, and American standards. He also starred in films such as Carmen Jones (1954), Island in the Sun (1957), Odds Against Tomorrow (1959), Buck and the Preacher (1972), and Uptown Saturday Night (1974). He made his final screen appearance in Spike Lee's BlacKkKlansman (2018).
Belafonte considered the actor, singer, and activist Paul Robeson a mentor, and he was a close confidant of Martin Luther King Jr. during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s. He was a vocal critic of the policies of the George W. Bush and Donald Trump administrations. Belafonte acted as the American Civil Liberties Union celebrity ambassador for juvenile justice issues.
Belafonte won three Grammy Awards (including a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award), an Emmy Award, and a Tony Award. In 1989, he received the Kennedy Center Honors. He was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 1994. In 2014, he received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at the Academy's 6th Annual Governors Awards and in 2022 was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the Early Influence category.
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Known For
Acting
Nat King Cole & Friends Unforgettable Hits
as Self (archive footage)
(2024)
The Greatest Night in Pop
as Self (archive footage)
(2024)
Jim Henson Idea Man
as Self (archive footage)
(2024)
Following Harry
as Self (archive footage)
(2023)
(2023)
(2022)
2022 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
as Self - Inductee (archive footage)
(2022)
Sidney
as Self
(2022)
(2022)
Harry Belafonte: Between Calypso and Justice
as Self - Subject (archive footage)
(2021)
(2020)
(2020)
Dom Salvador & The Abolition
as Self
(2019)
(2018)
BlacKkKlansman
as Jerome Turner
(2018)
King in the Wilderness
as Self
(2018)
Mr. SOUL!
as Self
(2018)
Martin Luther King by Trevor Mcdonald
as Self - Singer
(2018)
(2017)
I Am Not Your Negro
as Self (archive footage)
(2017)
JFK: The Lost Inaugural Gala
as Self
(2017)
(2017)
The Madding Crowd
as Self (archive footage)
(2016)
Året var 1966
as Self (archive footage)
(2015)
(2014)
Selma
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
(2014)
(2014)
(2013)
(2013)
Moms Mabley
as Self
(2013)
JFK: The Private President
as Self
(2012)
(2012)
Hava Nagila: The Movie
as Self
(2012)
Sing Your Song
as Self
(2011)
The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975
as Self (voice)
(2011)
Mama Africa
as Self (archive footage)
(2011)
The University of Sing Sing
as Self
(2011)
Rise Like Lions
as Self
(2009)
(2006)
Bobby
as Nelson
(2006)
Best Ever Muppet Moments
as Self
(2006)
(2005)
The Peace!
as Self
(2005)
Legenden: Audrey Hepburn
as Self
(2004)
TV in Black: The First Fifty Years
as Self (archive footage)
(2004)
Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism
as Self (archive footage)
(2004)
Muppet Music Moments
as Self
(2004)
The World of Nat King Cole
as Self
(2004)
The Legendary Nat King Cole
as Self
(2002)
Smothered: The Censorship Struggles of the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour
as Self (uncredited)
(2000)
Altman on His Own Terms
as Self
(1999)
Swing Vote
as Will Dunn
(1999)
Paul Robeson: Here I Stand
as Self
(1998)
(1997)
(1997)
Jazz '34
as Self - Narrator
(1996)
Kansas City
as Seldom Seen
(1995)
White Man's Burden
as Thaddeus Thomas
(1994)
Prêt-à-Porter
as Self
(1994)
The World of Jim Henson
as Self
(1993)
The Best Of Danny Kaye - The Television Years
as Self (archive footage)
(1992)
The Player
as Harry Belafonte
(1990)
(1989)
(1988)
(1986)
The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years
as Self (archive footage)
(1985)
(1985)
The Muppet Revue
as Self
(1982)
Night of 100 Stars
as Self
(1981)
Grambling's White Tiger
as Coach Eddie Robinson
(1977)
(1974)
Uptown Saturday Night
as Geechie Dan Beauford
(1974)
Free to Be… You and Me
as Self
(1972)
Buck and the Preacher
as Preacher
(1972)
Nationtime
as Self
(1970)
King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis
as Self (archive footage)
(1970)
The Angel Levine
as Alexander Levine
(1968)
Petula
as Self
(1966)
The Strolling '20s
as Self
(1960)
Harry Belafonte in Concert
as Self
(1959)
Odds Against Tomorrow
as Johnny Ingram
(1959)
The World, the Flesh and the Devil
as Ralph Burton
(1957)
Island in the Sun
as David Boyeur
(1954)
Carmen Jones
as Joe
(1953)
Bright Road
as Mr. Williams - School Principal
Crew
King Leopold’s Ghost
Producer
Haití: Killing the Dream
Producer
(2005)
(1998)
(1995)
The Affair
Executive Producer
(1984)
Beat Street
Original Music Composer
(1972)
Buck and the Preacher
Producer
(1970)
The Angel Levine
Producer
(1959)
(1959)
Odds Against Tomorrow
Co-Producer