Harry Belafonte was the “King of Calypso,” a singer known for his signature song, “Day-O (The Banana Boat Song),” as well as an actor and a prominent civil rights activist.
- Died: April 25, 2023 (Who else died on April 25?)
- Details of death: Died at his home in New York City of congestive heart failure at the age of 96.
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Rise to stardom
The son of Jamaican immigrants, Belafonte lived with his grandmother in Jamaica as a boy. After returning to his native New York City, he served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and later took acting classes, working as a nightclub singer to help pay his way. With the release of his 1956 album “Calypso,” featuring “Day-O,” Belafonte became a superstar. “Calypso” was the first album ever to sell one million copies.
Musical career
Though “Day-O” may be Belafonte’s most recognizable song today, it was just one of a string of hits from more than 30 albums release over the course of a long career. Belafonte’s first hit was “Matilda,” released in 1953; it became one of his signature songs. “Jump in the Line (Shake, Senora)” was a 1961 hit, and other popular tracks include “Mama Look a Boo Boo,” “Jamaica Farewell,” and “Island Farewell.”
Big screen stardom
Even as his musical career was on the rise, Belafonte was making a name for himself in film. His debut movie, “Bright Road” (1953), featured Belafonte as a school principal. The following year, he starred opposite Dorothy Dandridge (1922–1965) in “Carmen Jones,” though ironically, his singing parts were dubbed by another singer as his voice wasn’t considered right for the musical’s operatic style. In 1957, he starred in “Island in the Sun,” drawing controversy for the then-unusual interracial relationship between his character and Joan Fontaine’s (1917–2013). His later films include “Uptown Saturday Night” (1974), “Kansas City” (1996), and “BLacKkKlansman” (2018).
Commitment to activism
Belafonte was an early supporter of the Civil Rights Movement, becoming a confidant to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929–1968) and supporting the movement with both action and money. He was an organizer of the 1963 March on Washington, he led voter registration drives, and he financially supported the Freedom Rides and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, providing bail funds for King and other civil rights protesters.
“In the 1960s, [Belafonte] served as an essential link between King and the SNCC. He not only bankrolled the young militant activists, but he also listened to their concerns, respected their organizing efforts and communicated their perspectives to influential power brokers.”
Aram Goudsouzian, Bizot Family Professor of History, University of Memphis, writing for The Conversation
Belafonte’s activism didn’t end as civil rights victories were won; he was an organizer of the 1985 “We Are the World” musical fundraiser and became a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in 1987. Belafonte was an anti-apartheid activist, worked to raise prostate cancer awareness, and spoke out against the Iraq War. He was an honorary co-chair of the 2017 Women’s March on Washington.
Honors
Belafonte was widely honored, having won Grammy, Tony, and Emmy Awards as well as the Kennedy Center Honors and the National Medal of Arts. The NAACP honored him with its Springarn Medal, and he received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.
Belafonte on the seed of his activism
“The severity of poverty kept us all deeply preoccupied with our survival. And nobody had survival skills and greater cunning than did my mother. She was tenacious about her dignity not being crushed. And one day she said to me – she was talking about coming back from the day when she couldn’t find work – fighting back tears, she said, ‘Don’t ever let injustice go by unchallenged.’ And that really became a deep part of my life DNA. A lot of people say to me, ‘When as an artist did you decide to become an activist?’ I say to them, ‘I was long an activist before I became an artist.’” —from a 2011 interview with NPR
Tributes to Harry Belafonte
Full obituary: The New York Times
