Harry Belafonte

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Biography

Harold George "Harry" Belafonte, Jr. (born March 1, 1927) is an American born singer, songwriter, actor and social activist . He was dubbed the "King of Calypso music|Calypso " for popularizing the Caribbean musical style with an international audience in the 1950s. Belafonte is perhaps best known for singing " The Banana Boat Song ", with its signature lyric "Day-O". Throughout his career he has been an advocate for civil rights and humanitarian causes and was a vocal critic of the policies of the Presidency of George W. Bush|George W. Bush Administration .

Early life

Born Harold George Bellanfanti, Jr., at Lying-in Hospital, Harlem , New York , Belafonte was the son of Melvine ( married and maiden names|née Love) – a housekeeper of Jamaican descent – and Harold George Bellanfanti, Sr., a Martiniquan who worked as a chef in the National Guard .. Filmreference.com. Retrieved on 2011-08-02.The African American Registry , "Calypso: A World Music" University of Southern Florida From 1932 to 1940, he lived with his grandmother in her native country of Jamaica . When he returned to New York City, he attended George Washington High School (Manhattan)|George Washington High School Arenson, Karen W. , '' The New York Times ", June 2, 2000. Accessed April 16, 2008. "(He said that he had not gotten past the first year at George Washington High School, and that the only college degrees he had were honorary ones.)" after which he joined the United States Navy|Navy and served during World War II . In the 1940s, he was working as a janitor's assistant in NYC when a tenant gave him, as a gratuity, two tickets to see the American Negro Theater . He fell in love with the art form and also met Sidney Poitier . The financially struggling pair regularly purchased a single seat to local plays, trading places in between acts, after informing the other about the progression of the play.NPR interview http://www.npr.org/2011/10/12/141243628/harry-belafonte-out-of-struggle-a-beautiful-voice At the end of the 1940s, he took classes in acting at the Dramatic Workshop of The New School in New York with the influential German director Erwin Piscator alongside Marlon Brando , Tony Curtis , Walter Matthau , Bea Arthur and Sidney Poitier , while performing with the American Negro Theatre . He subsequently received a Tony Award for his participation in the Broadway revue '' John Murray Anderson's Almanac .

Music career

Belafonte started his career in music as a club singer in New York to pay for his acting classes. The first time he appeared in front of an audience, he was backed by the Charlie Parker band, which included Charlie Parker himself, Max Roach and Miles Davis , among others. At first he was a pop singer, launching his recording career on the Roost label in 1949, but later he developed a keen interest in folk music , learning material through the Library of Congress ' American folk songs archives. With guitarist and friend Millard Thomas, Belafonte soon made his debut at the legendary jazz club The Village Vanguard . In 1952 he received a contract with RCA Victor .

Calypso

His first widely- release (music)|release d Single (music)|single , which went on to become his "signature" song with audience participation in virtually all his live performances, was " Matilda (song)|Matilda ", recorded April 27, 1956. His breakthrough album Calypso (album)|Calypso (1956) became the first LP album|LP to sell over 1 million copies. The album is number four on Billboard (magazine)|Billboard s "Top 100 Album" list for having spent 31 weeks at number 1, 58 weeks in the top ten, and 99 weeks on the U.S. charts. The album introduced American audiences to Calypso music (which had originated in Trinidad and Tobago in the early 20th century), and Belafonte was dubbed the "King of Calypso", a title he wore with reservations, since he had no claims to any Calypso Monarch titles.

One of the songs included in the album is the now famous " Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)|Banana Boat Song " (listed as "Day O" on the original release), which reached number five on the pop charts, and featured its signature lyric "Day-O." Belafonte based his version on a 1954 recording by Jamaican folk singer Louise Bennett .The Louise Bennett version of Day O (The Banana Boat Song) is available and documented in both French and English on the . His other smash hit was " Jump in the Line ."

Many of the compositions recorded for Calypso (album)|Calypso , including "Banana Boat Song" and " Jamaica Farewell ", gave songwriting credit to Irving Burgie , Belafonte and his team, but were really previously recorded Jamaican mento songs sold as calypso. The original Jamaican versions can now be heard on the "Jamaica—Mento1951–1958" CD released in 2010.

Middle career

While primarily known for Calypso, Belafonte has recorded in many genres, including blues , folk music|folk , gospel music|gospel , show tune s, and Great American Songbook|American standards . His second-most popular hit, which came immediately after "The Banana Boat Song", was the novelty tune "Mama Look at Bubu", also known as "Mama Look a Boo-Boo" (originally recorded by Lord Melody in 1956), in which he sings humorously about misbehaving and disrespectful children. It reached number eleven on the pop chart.

In 1959 he starred in Tonight With Belafonte, a nationally televised special that featured Odetta , who sang " Waterboy (song)|Water Boy " and who performed a duet with Belafonte of '" There's a Hole in My Bucket " that hit the national charts in 1961.. Spclarke.com (1999-09-29). Retrieved on 2011-08-02. Belafonte continued to record for RCA through the 1950s to the 1970s. Two live albums, both recorded at Carnegie Hall in 1959 and 1960, enjoyed critical and commercial success. From his 1959 album, Hava Nagila became part of his regular routine and one of his signature songs. He was one of many entertainers recruited by Frank Sinatra to perform at the United States presidential inaugural balls|inaugural gala of President John F. Kennedy in 1961. That same year he released his second calypso album, Jump Up Calypso , which went on to become another million seller. During the 1960s he introduced several artists to American audiences, most notably South African singer Miriam Makeba and Greek singer Nana Mouskouri . His album Midnight Special (Harry Belafonte album)|Midnight Special (1962) featured the first-ever record appearance by a then young harmonica player named Bob Dylan .

As The Beatles and other stars from Britain began to dominate the U.S. pop charts, Belafonte's commercial success diminished; 1964's Belafonte at The Greek Theatre was his last album to appear in Billboard Magazine|Billboard s Top 40. His last hit single, "A Strange Song", was released in 1967 and peaked at number 5 on the Adult contemporary music charts. Belafonte has received Grammy Award s for the albums Swing Dat Hammer (1960) and An Evening with Belafonte/Makeba (1965). The latter album dealt with the political plight of black South Africans under Apartheid . He earned six Gold Record s.

Later recordings and other activities

Belafonte's recording activity slowed after leaving RCA in the 1970s. From the mid-1970s to early 1980s he spent the greater part of his time touring Japan, Europe, Cuba and elsewhere. His involvement in USA for Africa during the mid-1980s resulted in renewed interest in his music, culminating in a record deal with EMI . He subsequently released his first album of original material in over a decade, Paradise in Gazankulu , in 1988. The album contains ten protest songs against the South African former Apartheid policy and as of 2011 was his last studio album. In the same year Belafonte, as UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, attended a symposium in Harare, Zimbabwe to focus attention on child survival and development in Southern African countries. As part of the symposium, he performed a concert for UNICEF. A Kodak video crew filmed the concert, which was released as a 60-minute concert video entitled "Global Carnival." It features many of the songs from the album Paradise in Gazankulu and some of his classic hits. Also in 1988, Tim Burton used "The Banana Boat Song" and "Jump in the Line" in his movie Beetlejuice .

Following a lengthy recording hiatus, An Evening with Harry Belafonte and Friends , a soundtrack and video of a televised concert were released in 1997 by Island Records . The Long Road to Freedom, An Anthology of Black Music, a huge multi-artist project recorded during the 1960s and 1970s with RCA, was finally released by the label in 2001. The album was nominated for the 2002 Grammy Awards for Best Boxed Recording Package, for Best Album Notes and for Best Historical Album.
Belafonte was the first African American to win an Emmy , with his first solo TV special Tonight with Belafonte (1959). During the 1960s he appeared on TV specials alongside such artists as Julie Andrews , Petula Clark , Lena Horne and Nana Mouskouri . He was also a guest star on a memorable episode of The Muppet Show in 1978, in which he performed his signature song "Day-O" on television for the first time. The episode is best known for Belafonte's rendition of the spiritual song, "Turn the World Around", which he performed with Muppets that resembled African tribal masks. It became one of the series' most famous performances. It was reportedly Jim Henson 's favorite episode, and Belafonte reprised the song at Henson's memorial in 1990. "Turn the World Around" was also included in the 2005 official hymnal supplement of the Unitarian Universalist Association , "Singing the Journey.". Uua.org (2011-06-17). Retrieved on 2011-08-02.

Belafonte received the Kennedy Center Honors in 1989. He was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 1994 and he won a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000. He performed sold-out concerts globally through the 1950s to the 2000s. Due to illness he was forced to cancel a reunion tour with Nana Mouskouri planned for the spring and summer of 2003 following a tour in Europe. His last concert was a benefit concert for the Atlanta Opera on October 25, 2003. In a 2007 interview he stated that he had since retired from performing.

Film career

Belafonte has starred in several films. His first film role was in Bright Road (1953), in which he appeared alongside Dorothy Dandridge . The two subsequently starred in Otto Preminger 's hit musical Carmen Jones (film)|Carmen Jones (1954). Ironically, Belafonte's singing in the film was dubbed by an opera singer, as Belafonte's own singing voice was seen as unsuitable for the role. Using his star clout, Belafonte was subsequently able to realize several then-controversial film roles. In 1957's Island in the Sun (film)|Island in the Sun , there are hints of an affair between Belafonte's character and the character played by Joan Fontaine . The film also starred James Mason , Dandridge, Joan Collins , Michael Rennie and John Justin . In 1959, he starred in and produced Robert Wise 's Odds Against Tomorrow , in which he plays a bank robber uncomfortably teamed with a racist partner ( Robert Ryan ). He also co-starred with Inger Stevens in The World, the Flesh and the Devil (1959 film)|The World, the Flesh and the Devil . Belafonte was offered the role of Porgy in Preminger's Porgy and Bess (film)|Porgy and Bess , where he would have once again starred opposite Dandridge, but he refused the role because he objected to its racial stereotype|racial stereotyping .

Dissatisfied with the film roles available to him, he returned to music during the 1960s. In the early 1970s Belafonte appeared in more films among which are two with Poitier: Buck and the Preacher (1972) and Uptown Saturday Night (1974). In 1984 Belafonte produced and scored the musical film Beat Street , dealing with the rise of hip hop|hip-hop culture. Together with Arthur Baker (musician)|Arthur Baker , he produced the gold-certified soundtrack of Beat Street (soundtrack)|the same name . Belafonte next starred in a major film again in the mid-1990s, appearing with John Travolta in the race-reverse drama '' White Man's Burden (film)|White Man's Burden '' (1995); and in Robert Altman 's jazz age drama Kansas City (1996 film)|Kansas City (1996), the latter of which garnered him the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor. He also starred as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States in the TV drama Swing Vote (1999 film)|Swing Vote (1999). In late 2006, Belafonte appeared in the role of Nelson, a friend of an employee of the Ambassador Hotel played by Anthony Hopkins , in Bobby (2006 film)|Bobby , Emilio Estevez 's ensemble drama about the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy .

Personal life

Belafonte and Marguerite Byrd were married from 1948 to 1957. They have two daughters: Adrienne and Shari. Shari Belafonte , married to Sam Behrens , is a photographer , model (person)|model , singer and actor|actress . In 1997 Adrienne Biesemeyer and her daughter Rachel Blue founded the Anir Foundation/Experience.. Anirfoundation.org. Retrieved on 2011-08-02. Anir focuses on humanitarian work in southern Africa.

On March 8, 1957, Belafonte married second wife Julie Robinson (former dancer with the Katherine Dunham Company ). They had two children, David and Gina Belafonte. David Belafonte (a former model and actor) is an Emmy -winning producer and the executive director of the family-held company Belafonte Enterprises Inc. A music producer , he has been involved in most of Belafonte's albums and tours. David married Danish people|Danish model, singer and TV personality Malena Belafonte , born Mathiesen, who won silver in Dancing with the Stars in Denmark in 2009. Malena Belafonte founded Speyer Legacy School, an award winning private elementary school for gifted and talented children. David and Malena's daughter Sarafina attended this school. Gina Belafonte is a TV and film actress and worked with her father as coach and producer on more than six films. Gina helped found The Gathering For Justice, an intergenerational, intercultural non-profit organization working to reintroduce nonviolence to stop child incarceration. She is married to actor Scott McCray.

In April 2008, Belafonte married photographer Pamela Frank.. Community-2.webtv.net. Retrieved on 2011-08-02. Belafonte lived in a 21-room apartment at 300 West End Avenue (corner of 74th Street) in New York City for 50 years. In 2007 he sold his fifth-floor apartment to Abigail Disney for 10.8 million dollars. In October 1998 Belafonte contributed a letter to Liv Ullmann 's book Letter to My Grandchild.

Political and humanitarian activism

Belafonte's political beliefs were greatly inspired by the singer, actor and activist Paul Robeson , who mentored him. Robeson opposed not only racial prejudice in the United States, but also western colonialism in Africa . Belafonte's success did not protect him from racial discrimination, particularly in the American South . Belafonte refused to perform there from 1954 until 1961. In 1960 he appeared in a campaign commercial for Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Presidential candidate John F. Kennedy .. Livingroomcandidate.org. Retrieved on 2011-08-02. Kennedy later named Belafonte cultural advisor to the Peace Corps .

Belafonte gave the keynote address at the ACLU of Northern California's annual Bill of Rights Day Celebration In December 2007 and was awarded the Chief Justice Earl Warren Civil Liberties Award. The 2011 Sundance Film Festival featured the documentary film " Sing Your Song ", a biographical film focusing on Belafonte's contribution to and his leadership in the civil rights movement in America and his endeavours to promote social justice globally.'Sing Your Song' recounts Harry Belafonte's life, Moira Macdonald, Seattle Times, January 26, 2012 http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/movies/2017343454_mr27sing.html? prmid=head_main In 2011 Belafonte also presented his biography "My Song".

Civil rights activist

Belafonte supported the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and was one of Martin Luther King Jr. 's confidants. He provided for King's family, since King made only $8,000 a year as a preacher. Like many other civil rights activists, Belafonte was Hollywood blacklist|blacklisted during the McCarthyism|McCarthy era . He bail ed King out of Birmingham City Jail and raised thousands of dollars to release other civil rights protesters. He financed the Freedom Rides , supported voter registration drive s, and helped to organize the March on Washington in 1963.

During " Freedom Summer " in 1964 Belafonte bankrolled the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee , flying to Mississippi that August with Sidney Poitier and $60,000 in cash and entertaining crowds in Greenwood.
In 1968 Belafonte appeared on a Petula Clark primetime television special on NBC . In the middle of a song, Clark smiled and briefly touched Belafonte's arm, which made the show's sponsor, Plymouth Motors , nervous. Plymouth wanted to cut the segment, but Clark, who had ownership of the special, told NBC that the performance would be shown intact or she would not allow the special to be aired at all. Newspapers reported the controversy, and when the special aired it attracted high ratings.

Belafonte appeared on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour and performed a controversial " Mardi Gras " number intercut with footage from the 1968 Democratic National Convention riots. CBS censors deleted the segment.

Humanitarian activist

In 1985, he helped organize the Grammy Awards|Grammy Award winning song " We Are the World ", a multi-artist effort to raise funds for Africa . He performed in the Live Aid concert that same year. In 1987 he received an appointment to UNICEF as a goodwill ambassador. Following his appointment Belafonte traveled to Dakar , Senegal , where he served as chairman of the International Symposium of Artists and Intellectuals for African Children. He also helped to raise funds—alongside more than 20 other artists—in the largest concert ever held in sub-Saharan Africa . In 1994 he went on a mission to Rwanda and launched a media campaign to raise awareness of the needs of Rwandan children.

In 2001 he went to South Africa to support the campaign against HIV/AIDS . In 2002 Africare awarded him the Bishop John T. Walker Distinguished Humanitarian Service Award for his efforts to assist Africa. In 2004 Belafonte went to Kenya to stress the importance of educating children in the region.

Belafonte has been involved in prostate cancer advocacy since 1996, when he was diagnosed and successfully treated for the disease.. Phoenix5.org (1997-04-21). Retrieved on 2011-08-02.

On June 27, 2006, Belafonte was the recipient of the Black Entertainment Television|BET Humanitarian Award at the 2006 BET Awards. He was named one of nine 2006 Impact Award recipients by AARP The Magazine . . Aarpmagazine.org. Retrieved on 2011-08-02.

On October 19, 2007, Belafonte represented UNICEF on Norway|Norwegian television to support the annual telethon () in support of that charity and helped raise a world record of $10 per inhabitant of Norway. Belafonte was also an ambassador for the Bahamas . He is on the board of directors of the Advancement Project.

Political activist

Belafonte has been a longtime critic of U.S. foreign policy . He began making controversial political statements on this subject in the early 1980s. He has at various times made statements opposing the U.S. embargo on Cuba ; praising Soviet peace initiatives; attacking the U.S. invasion of Grenada ; praising the Abraham Lincoln Brigade ; honoring Ethel and Julius Rosenberg and praising Fidel Castro .. Frontpagemag.com (2007-06-26). Retrieved on 2011-08-02. Belafonte is additionally known for his visit to Cuba which helped ensure hip-hop ’s place in Cuban society. According to Geoffrey Baker’s article “Hip hop, Revolucion& #33; Nationalizing Rap in Cuba,” in 1999 Belafonte met with representatives of the rap community immediately before meeting with Fidel Castro. This meeting resulted in Castro’s personal approval of, and hence the government’s involvement in, the incorporation of rap into his country’s culture.Baker, Geoffrey. 2005. "Hip hop Revolucion& #33; Nationalizing Rap in Cuba." Ethnomusicology, 49 , no. 3: 368–402 In a 2003 interview Belafonte reflected upon this meeting’s influence:

“When I went back to Havana, Cuba|Havana a couple years later, the people in the hip-hop community came to see me and we hung out for a bit. They thanked me profusely and I said, 'Why? ' and they said, 'Because your little conversation with Fidel and the Minister of Culture on hip-hop led to there being a special division within the ministry and we've got our own studio'."Sandra Levinson . Cuba Now 10/25/03

Belafonte was active in the anti- apartheid movement. He was the Master of Ceremonies at a reception honoring African National Congress President Oliver Tambo at Roosevelt House, Hunter College, in New York City . The reception was held by the American Committee on Africa (ACOA) and The Africa Fund.
He is a current board member of the TransAfrica Forum and the Institute for Policy Studies .. Ips-dc.org. Retrieved on 2011-08-02.

In 2004 he was awarded the Domestic Human Rights Award by Global Exchange , in San Francisco .

In December 2007 he endorsed John Edwards for the 2008 Presidential Election .

Opposition to the George W. Bush Administration

Belafonte achieved widespread attention for his political views in 2002 when he began making a series of comments about President George W. Bush , his administration and the Iraq War . During an interview with Ted Leitner for San Diego 's 760 KFMB, in October 2002 Belafonte referred to a quote made by Malcolm X .. Mediaresearch.org. Retrieved on 2011-08-02. Belafonte said:

Belafonte used the quote to characterize former United States Secretary of State|United States Secretaries of State Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice , both African-Americans. Powell and Rice both responded, with Powell calling the remarks "unfortunate" and Rice saying "I don't need Harry Belafonte to tell me what it means to be black."

In another interview Belafonte remarked that while his comments may have been "hasty", nevertheless he felt the Bush administration suffered from "arrogance wedded to ignorance" and its policies around the world were " morally bankrupt ." In January 2006, in a speech to the annual meeting of the Arts Presenters Members Conference, Belafonte referred to "the new Gestapo of Homeland Security " saying, "You can be arrested and have no right to counsel !" During the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day speech at the Duke University in January 2006 Belafonte said that if he could choose his epitaph it would be, "Harry Belafonte, Patriot.". Duke Today. January 16, 2006

Discography

Filmography

Bright Road (1953)

Carmen Jones (film)|Carmen Jones (1954)

Island in the Sun (film)|Island in the Sun (1957)

The Heart of Show Business (1957) (short subject)

The World, the Flesh and the Devil (1959 film)|The World, the Flesh and the Devil (1959)

Odds Against Tomorrow (1959)

King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis (1970) (documentary) (narrator)

The Angel Levine (1970)

Buck and the Preacher (1972)

Uptown Saturday Night (1974)

Fundi: The Story of Ella Baker (1981) (documentary)

A veces miro mi vida (1982)

Drei Lieder (1983) (short subject)

Sag nein (1983) (documentary)

Der Schönste Traum (1984) (documentary)

We Shall Overcome (1989) (documentary) (narrator)

The Player (1992) (Cameo)

Prêt-à-Porter (film)|Ready to Wear (1994) (Cameo)

Hank Aaron: Chasing the Dream (1995)

'' White Man's Burden (film)|White Man's Burden (1995)

''Jazz '34 (1996)

Kansas City (1996 film)|Kansas City (1996)

Scandalize My Name: Stories from the Blacklist (1998) (documentary)

Fidel (2001 documentary)|Fidel (2001) (documentary)

XXI Century (2003) (documentary)

Conakry Kas (2003) (documentary)

Ladders (2004) (documentary) (narrator)

Mo & Me (2006) (documentary)

Bobby (2006 film)|Bobby (2006)

Motherland (film)|Motherland (2009) (documentary)

Sing Your Song (2011) (documentary)

Television work

Sugar Hill Times (1949–1950)

Tonight With Belafonte (1959)

Petula (1968)

A World in Music (1969)

Harry & Lena, For The Love Of Life (1969)

A World in Love (1970)

Free to Be… You and Me (1974)

The Muppet Show (1978)

'' Grambling's White Tiger (1981)

''Don't Stop The Carnival (1985)

An Evening With Harry Belafonte And Friends (1997)

Swing Vote (1999)

Tanner on Tanner (2004)

''That's What I'm Talking About (2006) (miniseries)

When the Levees Broke|When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts (2006) (miniseries)

Concert videos

''Don't Stop The Carnival (1985)

Global Carnival (1988)

An Evening With Harry Belafonte And Friends (1997)

Stage work

''John Murray Anderson's Almanac (December 10, 1953 – June 26, 1954)

3 for Tonight (April 6 – June 18, 1955)

Moonbirds (October 9–10, 1959) (producer)

Belafonte at the Palace (December 15, 1959 – closing date unknown)

Asinamali! (April 23 – May 17, 1987) (producer)

Copyright Citations

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