Harry Belafonte

Acting

Born: 1927-03-01
Died: 2023-04-25
From: New York City, New York, USA
Gender: Male
Height: 1.82 m
Popularity: 0.6

Also Known As

Harold George Bellanfanti Jr.

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. Description above from the Wikipedia article Harry Belafonte, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Photos4

Awards & Nominations20 won · 0 nominated

🏆 Won

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

2022
🏆 Won

Four Freedoms Award – Freedom Medal

2017
🏆 Won

Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award

2014
🏆 Won

Ambassador of Conscience Award

2013
🏆 Won

Spingarn Medal

2012
🏆 Won

Bishop John T. Walker Distinguished Humanitarian Service Award

2002
🏆 Won

Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award

2000
🏆 Won

Marian Anderson Award

1998
🏆 Won

National Medal of Arts

1994
🏆 Won

honorary degree from Spelman College

1990
🏆 Won

Kennedy Center Honors

1989
🏆 Won

Paul Robeson Award

1979
🏆 Won

Primetime Emmy Award for Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program

1960
🏆 Won

Theatre World Award

1954
🏆 Won

Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical

1954
🏆 Won

Order of the Companions of O. R. Tambo

🏆 Won

Library of Congress Living Legend

🏆 Won

star on Hollywood Walk of Fame

🏆 Won

Order of Jamaica

🏆 Won

NAACP Image Award – Chairman's Award

Acting129 titles

Production8 titles

Sound2 titles

Crew1 title