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Harry Belafonte
Actor, Producer, Additional Credits
Born March 1, 1927Died April 25, 2023 (96 years)
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.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Harry Belafonte, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Harry Belafonte, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For
Featured Videos
Filmography
| 2025 | |
| 2024 | Jim Henson: Idea Man · as Self (archive Footage) |
| 2024 | The Greatest Night in Pop · as Self (archive Footage) |
| 2023 | |
| 2023 | Reinventing Elvis: The '68 Comeback · as Self |
| 2023 | Max Roach: The Drum Also Waltzes · as Self |
| 2022 | Is That Black Enough for You?!? · as Self |
| 2022 | The 2022 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony · as Self - Inductee (archive Footage) |
| 2022 | Sidney · as Self |
| 2022 | Harry Belafonte - Zwischen Calypso und Gerechtigkeit · as Self - Subject (archive Footage) |
| 2021 | Lead Belly: Life, Legend, Legacy · as Self |
| 2021 | Song for Cesar · as Self |
| 2021 | Ailey · as Self |
| 2021 | The One and Only Dick Gregory · as Self |
| 2020 | By Whatever Means Necessary: The Times of Godfather of Harlem (TV Series) · as Self - Musician |
| 2020 | |
| 2020 | |
| 2020 | Da 5 Bloods · as Self |
| 2019 | |
| 2019 | The Man Behind the White Guitar · as Self |
| 2018 | Black Hollywood: 'They've Gotta Have Us' (TV Series) · as Self - Actor, Singer, Songwriter, And Activist |
| 2018 | Mr. Soul! · as Self |
| 2018 | Bobby Kennedy for President (TV Series) · as Self |
| 2018 | |
| 2018 | King In The Wilderness · as Self |
| 2017 | |
| 2017 | Sighted Eyes/Feeling Heart · as Self |
| 2017 | Sammy Davis, Jr.: I've Gotta Be Me · as Self |
| 2017 | |
| 2016 | I Am Not Your Negro · as Self (archive Footage) |
| 2016 | Jackie Robinson (TV Series) · as Self |
| 2016 | Året var 1966 · as Self (archive Footage) |
| 2015 | Marsha Hunt's Sweet Adversity · as Self |
| 2015 | What Happened, Miss Simone? · as Self |
| 2015 | Sinatra: All or Nothing at All (TV Series) · as Self |
| 2015 | The Oscars · as Self - Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award Recipient |
| 2014 | Selma · as Self (archive Footage) (uncredited) |
| 2014 | Nat King Cole: Afraid of the Dark · as Self |
| 2013 | Birth of the Living Dead · as Self |
| 2013 | The March · as Self |
| 2013 | The 2013 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony · as Self - Presenter |
| 2013 | Whoopi Goldberg Presents Moms Mabley · as Self |
| 2013 | The '80s: The Decade That Made Us (TV Series) · as Self |
| 2013 | 44th NAACP Image Awards · as Self |
| 2013 | JFK: The Private President · as Self |
| 2012 | The Last White Knight · as Self |
| 2012 | Hava Nagila · as Self |
| 2012 | Under African Skies · as Self |
| 2012 | Tony Curtis: Driven to Stardom · as Self |
| 2012 | 43rd NAACP Image Awards · as Self |
| 2011 | Sing Your Song · as Self |
| 2011 | PoliticsNation with Al Sharpton (TV Series) · as Self - Guest |
| 2011 | Mama Africa · as Self (archive Footage) |
| 2011 | The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 · as Self (voice) |
| 2011 | Zero Percent · as Self |
| 2011 | Tony Curtis, le gamin du Bronx · as Self |
| 2010 | In Confidence (TV Series) · as Self - Guest |
| 2010 | Motherland · as Self |
| 2010 | When I Rise · as Self |
| 2009 | |
| 2009 | |
| 2009 | Soundtrack for a Revolution · as Self - Interviewee |
| 2008 | King · as Self |
| 2007 | The 12th Annual Critics' Choice Awards · as Self |
| 2007 | Classified X · as Self |
| 2006 | When The Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts (TV Series) · as Self |
| 2006 | BET Awards 2006 · as Self |
| 2006 | Best Ever Muppet Moments · as Self |
| 2005 | The Colbert Report (TV Series) · as Self - Guest |
| 2005 | The Peace! DVD · as Self |
| 2005 | Legenden: Audrey Hepburn · as Self |
| 2005 | USA the Movie · as Self |
| 2004 | Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism · as Self (archive Footage) |
| 2004 | Tanner on Tanner (TV Series) · as Self |
| 2004 | TV in Black: The First Fifty Years · as Self (archive Footage) |
| 2004 | Tavis Smiley (TV Series) · as Self |
| 2003 | Get Up, Stand Up (TV Series) · as Self - Interviewee |
| 2003 | Menschen bei Maischberger (TV Series) · as Self |
| 2003 | A Century of Black Cinema · as Self |
| 2003 | Real Time with Bill Maher (TV Series) · as Self |
| 2003 | XXI Century (TV Series) · as Self - Actor & Singer |
| 2002 | Smothered: The Censorship Struggles of the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour · as Self (uncredited) |
| 2001 | Democracy Now! (TV Series) · as Self |
| 2001 | Fidel · as Self |
| 2000 | 2000 Essence Awards · as Self |
| 1999 | Independent Lens (TV Series) · as Self |
| 1999 | 30th NAACP Image Awards · as Self |
| 1998 | Roll on Sunday (TV Series) · as Self |
| 1998 | The Last Days of Kennedy and King · as Self |
| 1998 | Sabine Christiansen (TV Series) · as Self |
| 1998 | |
| 1996 | Jazz '34 · as Self - Narrator |
| 1996 | The Rosie O'Donnell Show (TV Series) · as Self |
| 1996 | The 50th Annual Tony Awards · as Self - Presenter |
| 1995 | Hank Aaron: Chasing the Dream · as Self |
| 1995 | The 22nd Annual American Music Awards · as Self |
| 1994 | Ready to Wear · as Self |
| 1994 | The World of Jim Henson · as Self |
| 1994 | Sidewalks Entertainment (TV Series) · as Self - Guest |
| 1992 | The Player · as Harry Belafonte |
| 1991 | The Very Best of the Ed Sullivan Show 2 · as Self |
| 1991 | Charlie Rose (TV Series) · as Self - Guest |
| 1991 | DAS! (TV Series) · as Self |
| 1990 | The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson · as Self |
| 1990 | Intimate Portrait (TV Series) · as Self |
| 1990 | I'm a Negro - I'm an American · as Self |
| 1989 | The Kennedy Center Honors: A Celebration of the Performing Arts · as Self - Honoree |
| 1989 | The Arsenio Hall Show (TV Series) · as Self - Guest |
| 1988 | Flitterabend (TV Series) · as Self - Singer |
| 1988 | LIVE with Kelly and Mark (TV Series) · as Self |
| 1988 | |
| 1987 | Biography (TV Series) · as Self - Actor |
| 1987 | Eyes on the Prize (TV Series) · as Self |
| 1986 | Our World (TV Series) · as Self |
| 1986 | The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years · as Self (archive Footage) |
| 1986 | |
| 1985 | American Masters (TV Series) · as Self |
| 1985 | Larry King Live (TV Series) · as Self |
| 1985 | We Are the World · as Self |
| 1984 | Black Hollywood · as Self |
| 1982 | Night of 100 Stars · as Self |
| 1982 | Champs-Elysees (TV Series) · as Self |
| 1981 | |
| 1981 | Wetten, dass..? (TV Series) · as Self |
| 1981 | Fundi: The Story of Ella Baker · as Self |
| 1980 | The 22nd Annual Grammy Awards · as Self |
| 1979 | The 31st Annual Primetime Emmy Awards · as Self |
| 1979 | Parkinson in Australia (TV Series) · as Self |
| 1979 | CBS Sunday Morning With Jane Pauley (TV Series) · as Self |
| 1978 | The Kennedy Center Honors (TV Series) · as Self |
| 1978 | |
| 1978 | 20/20 (TV Series) · as Self |
| 1977 | On Your Marks, Get Set, Go (TV Series) · as Self |
| 1977 | The Tallest Tree in Our Forest · as Self |
| 1976 | The Muppet Show (TV Series) · as Self - Special Guest Star |
| 1976 | Live from Lincoln Center (TV Series) · as Self |
| 1974 | Am laufenden Band (TV Series) · as Self - Guest |
| 1974 | Free to Be... You & Me · as Self |
| 1973 | AFI Life Achievement Award (TV Series) · as Self |
| 1972 | Nationtime · as Self |
| 1972 | The Julie Andrews Hour (TV Series) · as Self |
| 1972 | The New Bill Cosby Show (TV Series) · as Self - Guest |
| 1971 | V.I.P.-Schaukel (TV Series) · as Self |
| 1971 | The 43rd Annual Academy Awards · as Self - Presenter |
| 1971 | Great Performances (TV Series) · as Self |
| 1970 | A World of Love · as Self |
| 1970 | The Flip Wilson Show (TV Series) · as Self |
| 1969 | King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis · as Self (archive Footage) |
| 1969 | Sesame Street (TV Series) · as Self |
| 1969 | The 23rd Annual Tony Awards · as Self - Presenter |
| 1968 | 60 Minutes (TV Series) · as Self - Singer (segment "belafonte") |
| 1968 | |
| 1968 | Petula · as Self |
| 1968 | The Dick Cavett Show (TV Series) · as Self - Guest |
| 1967 | Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In (TV Series) · as Self |
| 1967 | The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour (TV Series) · as Self |
| 1966 | ABC Stage 67 (TV Series) · as Self |
| 1966 | The Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon (TV Series) · as Self |
| 1964 | Cinema (TV Series) · as Self |
| 1963 | The Danny Kaye Show (TV Series) · as Self |
| 1962 | The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson (TV Series) · as Self |
| 1962 | The Merv Griffin Show (TV Series) · as Self |
| 1962 | President Kennedy's Birthday Salute · as Self |
| 1961 | The Mike Douglas Show (TV Series) · as Self |
| 1959 | The Bell Telephone Hour (TV Series) · as Self |
| 1957 | America After Dark (TV Series) · as Self - Opening At The Cocanut Grove |
| 1956 | The Nat King Cole Show (TV Series) · as Self - Singer |
| 1956 | The Steve Allen Show (TV Series) · as Self - Singer |
| 1956 | Tony Awards (TV Series) · as Self - Presenter |
| 1956 | The 28th Annual Academy Awards · as Self - Performer |
| 1955 | Was bin ich? (TV Series) · as Self |
| 1953 | Person to Person (TV Series) · as Self |
| 1953 | The Academy Awards (TV Series) · as Self |
| 1952 | Today (TV Series) · as Self - Guest |
| 1950 | The Colgate Comedy Hour (TV Series) · as Self |
| 1950 | What's My Line? (TV Series) · as Self - Mystery Guest |
| 1949 | Cavalcade of Stars (TV Series) · as Self - Guest Vocalist |
| 1948 | The Perry Como Show (TV Series) · as Self - Guest |
| 1948 | The Ed Sullivan Show (TV Series) · as Self |