His spokesperson informed CBS News that Harry Belafonte, a pioneering musician, and actor who rose to fame as an advocate for civil rights, has passed away. He was 96.
The renowned actor and stage performer Harry Belafonte passed away on Tuesday morning at his home in New York City from congestive heart failure, according to his longtime publicist Ken Sunshine. Belafonte is famous for his groundbreaking mainstream success in the 1950s music industry.
Many people still associate Belafonte with his iconic song “Banana Boat (Day-O),” a classic Jamaican folk tune from his groundbreaking 1956 studio album “Calypso,” which became a blockbuster hit and the first record to sell more than one million copies.
Other popular songs on the album included “Jamaica Farewell,” now recognized for introducing Caribbean sounds to American pop music’s mainstream. “Calypso” quickly rose to Billboard’s “Top 100” chart and held that position for 31 weeks after its release.
Belafonte embarked on a long music, television, and film career following his ascent to global fame.
He was a member of the EGOT group of celebrities, which stands for Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Award winners. In 1989 and 1994, he also won the Kennedy Center Honors and the National Medal of Arts.
Born in Harlem on March 1, 1927, Belafonte spent some of his early years in Jamaica before moving to New York City with his family.
Belafonte made headlines as a civil rights activist and became a strong supporter of the Civil Rights Movement and a confidant of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., even though his notable success in Hollywood and beyond as a Caribbean-American was historic in and of itself.
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In addition to being a lifelong supporter of causes including the anti-Apartheid movement, women’s rights, juvenile justice, and climate change, Belafonte assisted in the planning of the 1963 March on Washington. Additionally, he represented the American Civil Liberties Union and UNICEF as an ambassador.
Before becoming a household name as a performer, Belafonte recognized his place in a long line of musicians who used their platforms to advocate for social change. Paul Robeson, a singer, actor, and activist whose career was destroyed by McCarthyism, served as his inspiration.
In an interview with Vladimir Duthiers for CBS News in 2018, Belafonte directly connected his time traversing the world with King and something Robeson taught him when he started.
“He said, artists are the gatekeepers of truth. He said only through the world of the arts do we know who and what we are in the history of civilization,” Belafonte told Duthiers. “Long before historians. Long before people ascribe themselves as the caretakers of life and culture. The song did that, and in the black community, it was our primary tool of communication. So I saw the song as having something far more than something to delight audiences and people could dance and sing. It had content, and I began to see this content of black protest music.”
Belafonte had four children, all of whom survived him, and was married three times. Adrienne Belafonte Biesemeyer and Shari Belafonte were born to him and Marguerite Byrd, whom he married in 1948. David Belafonte and Gina Belafonte were born to him and Julie Robinson, whom he wed in 1957.
He wed the photographer Pamela Frank in 2004, and she and their two stepchildren, Sarah and Lindsey, survived him. According to his publicist, Belafonte’s wife was by his side when he passed away on Tuesday.
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