Photo: David Shankbone / CC BY 3.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Harry Belafonte is one of those names that makes me straighten up. He carried calypso to the world, and Calypso (1956) became the first million-selling album by a solo artist, with Day-O still lodged in the collective ear. But the music is only half the story. At the peak of his fame he poured that capital into the civil rights movement, using stardom for peace and equality when it cost him to do so. Tony, Emmy, Kennedy Center Honors, a National Medal of Arts, and a life that ran to 96 without his convictions bending. Talent plus conscience, sustained over a lifetime, is what I think a legend actually is.
Overview
Harry Belafonte ( BEL-ə-FON-tee; born Harold George Bellanfanti Jr.; March 1, 1927 – April 25, 2023) was an American singer, actor, and civil rights activist who popularized calypso music with international audiences in the 1950s and 1960s. Belafonte's career breakthrough album Calypso (1956) was the first million-selling LP by a single artist.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Harry Belafonte
- Name (Japanese)
- ハリー・ベラフォンテ
- Reading
- はりー・べらふぉんて
- Born
- March 1, 1927 – April 25, 2023
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Pisces / Rabbit
- Origin
- Seraing, Province of Liege, Belgium
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- 2 cm
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- singer / entertainer / civil rights advocate / peace activist / recording artist
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Private
- University
- Private
Awards & achievements
- 1954 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical
- 1960 Primetime Emmy Award for Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program
- 1979 Paul Robeson Award
- 1989 Kennedy Center Honors
- 1994 National Medal of Arts
- 1998 Marian Anderson Award
- Library of Congress Living Legend
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
5. Works & records
| Category | Title | Role | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notable work | Calypso | — | |
| Notable work | Banana Boat (Day-O) | — |
6. Links
Singer — see all → · Entertainer — see all → · More people from Belgium →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.