Harold George Belafonte was born on March 1, 1927 in New York City. He was educated at the New York Dramatic Workshop. He grew up in Jamaica, British West Indies, and did folk-singing in nightclubs and theaters, and on television and records. His debut was at the Village Vanguard in New York. Also, he appeared in the Broadway revues "'John Murray Anderson' 's Almanac" and "Three for Tonight". He owns his own music publishing firm and film production company. He won a Tony Award in 1953, a Donaldson Award in 1953-1954, a Show Business Award in 1954, a Diners' Club Award in 1955-1956, and an Emmy Award for "Tonight with Belafonte". He has made many records. Joining the ASCAP in 1960, his popular-music compositions include "Turn Around", "Shake That Little Foot" and "Glory Manger".
Attended George Washington High School in New York City, where he was on the track team.
Father, with Julie Robinson , of Gina Belafonte and David Belafonte.
Father, with Marguerite Byrd (aka Marguerite Belafonte ), of Shari Belafonte.
Always outspoken in his beliefs, he created controversy in October 2002 when he made disparaging remarks about Secretary of State Colin Powell. Far from being upset, Powell reportedly took the remarks good-humoredly, refusing to inflame the situation any further.
Recorded the first million-selling LP album with "Calypso" (RCA: 1956), which started a craze for this traditional Jamaican folk music in the United States.
A best-selling artist on RCA Victor records, his most successful albums with the label have included "Calypso", "Belafonte Sings of the Caribbean", "Belafonte at Carnegie Hall", "Belafonte Returns to Carnegie Hall", "Jump Up Calypso", "My Lord, What a Mornin", "Belafonte at the Greek Theater", "The Midnight Special", "Streets I Have Walked", "Belefonte Sings of Love" and "Homeward Bound".
Served in the United States Navy.
Has two grandchildren: Sarafina Belafonte (born 2003) and Amadeus Belafonte (born 2007).
An admirer and personal friend of Cuban President Fidel Castro.
Won Broadways 1954 Tony Award as Best Supporting or Featured Actor for "John Murray Anderson s Almanac", becoming the first Black performer to receive a Tony Award.
Underwent surgery for prostate cancer.
Performed "Turn the World Around" at Jim Henson s memorial service.
He was awarded the American National Medal of the Arts by the National Endowment of the Arts in Washington, D.C..
He was close friends with Burt Lancaster.
Father-in-law of Sam Behrens and Scott McCray and Malena Belafonte.
His album "Midnight Special" featured the first-ever recorded appearance by a then young harmonica player named Bob Dylan.
Was the first African-American man to receive an Emmy Award, with his first solo TV special "Tonight with Belafonte".
He was a Kennedy Center Honoree , he was awarded the National Medal of Arts , and he won a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award .
His triumphant success as an entertainer in the arts did not protect him from racial discrimination, particularly in the South. As a result, he refused to perform in the southern region of the United States from 1954 until 1961.
In 1985, he was one of the organizers behind the Grammy Award winning song "We Are the World", a multi-artist effort to raise funds for Africa, and performed in the Live Aid concert that same year.
Appeared on "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" and performed a controversial "Mardi Gras" number with footage intercut from the 1968 Democratic National Convention riots. CBS censors deleted the entire segment from the program.
In 1968, Belafonte appeared on a Petula Clark TV special on NBC. In the middle of a song, Clark smiled and briefly touched Belafontes arm. The shows sponsor, Plymouth Motors, wanted to cut out the segment, but Clark, who had ownership of the special, told NBC that the performance would be shown intact or not at all. American newspapers published articles reporting the controversy and, when the special aired, it grabbed huge ratings.
Achieved widespread attention for his political views in 2002 when he began making a series of negative comments about President George W. Bush, his administration and the Iraq War.
A veteran critic of U.S. foreign policy, his controversial political statements on this subject in the early 1980s have included opposing the U.S. embargo on Cuba, praising Soviet peace initiatives, attacking the U.S. invasion of Grenada, praising the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, honoring Ethel and Julius Rosenberg and praising Fidel Castro. On a Martin Luther King Day speech at Duke University in 2006, Belafonte compared the American government to the 9/11 terrorists.
Son David Belafonte is executive director of the family-held company Belafonte Enterprises Inc.
Has received Grammy Awards for the albums "Swing That Hammer" and "An Evening with Belafonte/Makeba". The latter album featuring legendary African singer Miriam Makeba dealt with the political plight of black South Africans under apartheid.
Has been awarded six Gold Records.
Appeared in the American Negro Theatre play "Days of Our Youth". Sidney Poitier eventually replaced Harry and was spotted by a talent agent who ignited his Hollywood career.
He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Recording at 6721 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on February 8, 1960.
Is long-time friends with fellow actor and activist Sidney Poitier. They were born nine days apart. They met in New York at age twenty, before either was in show business.
Vocal, public supporter in 2013--along with other celebs such as Susan Sarandon --of Democrat Bill de Blasio as the next Mayor of New York City.
Friends with Ossie Davis , Ruby Dee , Sammy Davis Jr. , Martin Luther King , Danny Glover , Marlon Brando , Tony Bennett , Bea Arthur and James Garner.
To me, faith as practiced all around me was blindly tied to religion,and religion was preachers in Harlem and Jamaica passing the hat for,Jesus and driving off in fancy cars. It was nuns invoking the Christian,spirit and rapping my knuckles with sticks. It was priests blessing,Italian troops on the newsreels, sending them off to slaughter,defenseless Ethiopians. I failed to see any good in the hypocrisy of,that.
I believe that my time was a remarkable one. I am aware that we now live,in a world overrun by cruelty and destruction, and as our earth,disintegrates and our spirits numb we lose moral purpose and creative,vision. But still I must believe, as I always have, that our best times,lie ahead, and in the final analysis, along the way we will be,comforted by one another. That is my song.
[on the March on Washington] In the end, the day was a complete win-win.
We who came back from [World War II], having expectations and finding,that there were none to be harvested, were put upon to make a decision.
When Hughes writes, in the first two lines of his poem, “Let America be America again/ Let it be the dream it used to be,” he acknowledges that America is primarily a dream, a hope, an aspiration, that may never be fully attainable, but that spurs us to be better, to be larger. He follows this with the repeated counterpoint, “America never was America to me,” and through the rest of this remarkable poem he alternates between the oppressed and the wronged of America, and the great dreams that they have for their country, that can never be extinguished.
After all, Paul Robeson said, ‘Artists are the radical voice of civilization. ’ Each and every one of you in this room, with your gifts and your power and your skills, could perhaps change the way in which our global humanity mistrusts itself. Perhaps we as artists and as visionaries, for what’s better in the human heart and the human soul, could influence citizens everywhere in the world to see the better side of who and what we are as a species. .
