Harry Belafonte
Acting
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).
Known For
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
The Colbert Report
The Oscars
The Muppet Show
BlacKkKlansman
The Player
The Greatest Night in Pop
Bobby
Carmen Jones
When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts
Prêt-à-Porter
White Man's Burden
Buck and the Preacher
Kansas City
Odds Against Tomorrow
The World, the Flesh and the Devil
Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism
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