Harry Belafonte actor, singer, and activist died on April 25, 2023, at age 96.
According toThe New Yorker, he was the first artist of any color to have an album go platinum.
Much of Belafonte’s career was marred by the indignities he and Black Americans suffered under Jim Crow.
Even worse, Harry’s father was an alcoholic and abusive toward his mother.
Harry lived in Jamaica for several years but returned to New York City as a teen.
Belafonte quickly joined the company and became immersed in theater.
Young offered Belafonte a gig at the club, where he became very successful.
“I had a voice the crowd liked, and a look,” Belafonte told The Times.
“And for white audiences, I carried a reassuring presence, enhanced by my Caribbean diction.
Black, but not too Black.”
Belafonte’s success continued to grow as he developed his signature musical style.
After performing at other nightclubs, Belafonte landed a record contract and made his first calypso album.
He also used his talents and celebrity to fund the movement, viaThe King Institute.
Belafonte’s financial assistance during the civil rights era proved to be essential.
When Dr. King was assassinated in 1968, Belafonte was appointed the executor of his estate.
Harry Belafonte remained an activist for the rest of his life.
Belafonte was also an anti-apartheid activist and a UNICEF goodwill ambassador, per The History Makers.
The couple had two daughters together, Adrienne and Shari, viaSmooth Radio.
He held her over the water until she said yes to his proposal.
“I just found the show-biz world to be shallow, and false,” she also confessed.
Interestingly, Robinson had been previously involved withMarlon Brando, a close friend of Belafonte’s.
They divorced in 1957, and Belafonte and Robinson got married later that same year.
They had two children, David and Gina, and stayed together for 47 years of marriage.
In 2008, Belafonte married photographer Pamela Frank, perBiography.
