Harry Belafonte, the Jamaican-American singer, songwriter, actor and activist whose music helped break Caribbean music through to a global audience, and whose humanitarian efforts changed the world, has died. He was 96.
Reps for the musician confirmed in a press release that Belafonte died Tuesday morning “of congestive heart failure at his New York home at the age of 96, his wife Pamela [Frank] by his side.”
Last year, the “Jump in the Line” performer was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the Early Influence category. He was the oldest living person to join the organization.
In one of his final acts of charity, the singer celebrated his 94th birthday in March 2021 with a star-studded virtual party that raised money for The Gathering for Justice, a social justice organization he founded in 2005.
The Gathering for Harry featured performances and guest appearances from entertainers and religious and political leaders like Common, Danny Glover, Chuck D, Bernie and Jane Sanders, Stacey Abrams, Aloe Blacc, Tamika D. Mallory, Rev. Al Sharpton and Jackie Cruz.
Born Harold George Bellanfanti Jr. in Harlem, New York on March 1, 1927, Belafonte spent his youth shuffling between the city and his mother’s native Jamaica (his father was from Martinique, and he had two White grandparents).
After a brief stint in the Navy, he befriended Paul Robeson, who would go on to become his mentor, and began his recording career in 1949 after working his way through the New York City club scene.
Though he began as a jazz act, and then a pop singer, he’d started performing folk music by 1950, and soon, his star was on the rise, according to a 1996 New Yorker article.
Following the release of his first album in 1954, Belafonte expanded his talents to the silver screen, breaking racial barriers in critically acclaimed hits like Carmen Jones, which co-starred Dorothy Dandridge. He also won a Tony Award for his performance in the Broadway musical Almanac.
In addition to his music successes, Belafonte also carried on his screen career, winning an Emmy in 1960 for outstanding performance in a variety or musical program for The Revlon Revue: Tonight With Belafonte. The honor made him the first Black person to win an Emmy, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
It was around that time that Belafonte’s popularity soared, with Look magazine declaring him “one of the most acclaimed entertainers in America today, [and] the first Negro matinée idol in our entertainment history,” according to the New Yorker.
Harry Belafonte was also known for his activism, and had advocated over the years for civil rights and other political and humanitarian causes, such as the Anti-Apartheid Movement and USA for Africa. In 1968, he became the first Black person to host a late-night TV show when he assumed hosting duties on The Tonight Show amid national civil rights protests, welcoming guests like Martin Luther King, Jr. and Bobby Kennedy.
Harry Belafonte has also received honorary degrees from several higher learning institutions, including Spelman College, City University of New York, Tufts University, Brandeis University, Long Island University, Bard College, and Columbia University, from which he received a Doctor of Humane Letters.
