“Acclaimed singer, actor, (…), legendary civil rights figure, Harry Belafonte died this morning of a heart attack at his home in New York,” his wife Pamela said on his page.
Born in Harlem in 1927 to a Jamaican mother and a Martinican father, he grew up partly in Jamaica before immigrating to New York, a childhood of mixed influences that he integrated into his music to become a huge success in prosperous America. 1950s.
In 1956, his album “Calypso” became the first in history to sell a million copies.
As a singer, he filled venues and his recordings, including six gold records, were a worldwide hit and earned him several Grammy Awards in 1960.
At the same time, in the cinema, Belafonte starred in Otto Preminger’s “Carmen Jones” (1954), “The Staircase” (Robert Wise, 1959), Robert Altman’s “Kansas City” (1996), “Buck and His Partner”. , in 1968 John F. With Sidney Poitier (1972) and “Bobby” (Emilio Estevez, 2006) in the assassination of Kennedy’s brother, Robert Kennedy.
Close to JFK and MLK
Later, when the struggle for racial equality took center stage in the United States, the actor-turned-singer became close to political battles and tied himself to the icon of the movement, Martin Luther King, whom he financially supported.
He will be close to President Kennedy and appointed UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.
Through the 2000s, he continued his crusades, opposing the war in Iraq led by Republican President George W. Bush (2001–2009), accusing him of being “terrorist”.
He was an anti-apartheid activist in South Africa and an admirer of the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez.
A dyslexic artist who never counted on success after dropping out of high school, briefly joined the army or worked as a security guard, was crowned with prestigious awards at the end of his life.
So, in 2014, he received an honorary Oscar because “since the beginning of his career he has chosen projects that highlight racism and inequality”.
In December 2021, he was awarded the title of Knight of the Legion of Honor from the hands of the French Ambassador to the United States.