Harry Belafonte
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Harry Belafonte

Acting

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.

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Films Featuring Harry Belafonte

The Player

19927.2

Bobby

20066.4

The World, the Flesh and the Devil

19596.4

Kansas City

19966.1

White Man's Burden

19955.1

Martin Luther King by Trevor Mcdonald

2018

Buck and the Preacher

19726.3

Odds Against Tomorrow

19596.8

Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism

20047.0

The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson

19906.8

Uptown Saturday Night

19746.2

Island in the Sun

19576.5

Sunday Best: The Untold Story of Ed Sullivan

20236.8

Harry Belafonte in Concert

Harry Belafonte in Concert

1960

Carmen Jones

19546.2

The Muppet Revue

198510.0

Legenden: Audrey Hepburn

20056.0

Sing Your Song

20126.9

Martin Luther King and the March on Washington

201310.0

Max Roach: The Drum Also Waltzes

2023

Rise Like Lions

Rise Like Lions

2011

The Legendary Nat King Cole

2004

Bright Road

19536.5

Mama Africa

20115.6

The Peace!

The Peace!

20055.0

Hava Nagila: The Movie

20127.0

Jazz '34

19976.5

Whoopi Goldberg Presents Moms Mabley

20136.7

Prêt-à-Porter

19945.2

The Angel Levine

19705.4

Audrey Hepburn: The Fairest Lady

19978.0

Harry Belafonte: Between Calypso and Justice

20228.2

Sidney

20227.0

Tony Curtis: Driven to Stardom

20127.4

Is That Black Enough for You?!?

20226.0

Mo & Me

2006

Swing Vote

19995.8

Free to Be… You and Me

19746.8

The University of Sing Sing

20115.5

Nat King Cole & Friends Unforgettable Hits

The Greatest Night in Pop

20247.9

2022 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony

20228.2

The Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Concert

198810.0

Muppet Music Moments

Muppet Music Moments

2004

The Unforgettable Nat King Cole

1989

The Man Behind the White Guitar

2019

Following Harry

2024

King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis

19707.3

The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975

20117.5

Anecdotes about Fidel

2009

JFK: The Private President

2013

The Strolling '20s

1966

Nat King Cole: Afraid of the Dark

20147.0

TV in Black: The First Fifty Years

20045.3

Lorraine Hansberry: Sighted Eyes / Feeling Heart

20176.2

Grambling's White Tiger

Grambling's White Tiger

19817.0

Rise Up: The Movement that Changed America

2018

King in the Wilderness

20186.9

Smothered: The Censorship Struggles of the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour

20024.5

The World of Nat King Cole

2004

Petula

19688.0

BlacKkKlansman

20187.5

The Best Of Danny Kaye - The Television Years

1993

Marsha Hunt's Sweet Adversity

2015

The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years

19866.2

The World of Jim Henson

19947.4

Best Ever Muppet Moments

20066.0

We Are the World: The Story Behind the Song

19858.3

Nationtime: Gary

19728.0

Life's Essentials with Ruby Dee

20141.5

Dom Salvador & The Abolition

20203.0

The Sit-In: Harry Belafonte Hosts The Tonight Show

20205.9

The Madding Crowd

2017

Mr. SOUL!

20187.0

JFK: The Lost Inaugural Gala

JFK: The Lost Inaugural Gala

2017

Paul Robeson: Here I Stand

19998.0

The One and Only Dick Gregory

20217.9

Night of 100 Stars

19825.8

The Tallest Tree in Our Forest

1977

Året var 1966

2016

Scandalize My Name: Stories from the Blacklist

19988.3

Altman on His Own Terms

20009.0

Nana Mouskouri, Momente ihres Lebens

20206.0

Motherland

20108.0

The Day of the Oath

1965

CIRILO, A Legacy Untold

202510.0

Jim Henson Idea Man

20247.9

American Renegade: Confessions of a Radical Humanist

2009

We Shall Overcome

19897.0

The Royal Variety Performance 1977

The Royal Variety Performance 1977

1977

Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute

19886.5

Donald McKayle: Heartbeats of a DanceMaker

Donald McKayle: Heartbeats of a DanceMaker

2004

Sesame Street: Elmo's World: The Street We Live On!

20047.6

Dangerous Citizen: The Life and Times of Abraham Polonsky

2026

An All-Star Celebration Honoring Martin Luther King Jr.

An All-Star Celebration Honoring Martin Luther King Jr.

1986