Harry Belafonte, path-breaking singer, actor, and activist has died aged 96, his spokesman confirmed. The cause of death is stated to be congestive heart failure.
Belafonte broke barriers with his civil rights activism, acting, and singing. An EGOT holder, who won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards passed away at his home in New York, his spokesman said.
The Harlem-born Belafonte shot to fame in the 1950s with his recordings for RCA Victor which included his famous hit “Day O” (the Banana Boat Song) which made him a household name and triggered a craze for Caribbean calypso music.
At a time when America was still segregated and the civil rights movement was still many years away, Belafonte became a heartthrob for both black and white fans, with his stunning looks and signature unbuttoned shirt.
His parents were from the Caribbean who emigrated to New York. His father was from the island of Martinique, and his mother, from Jamaica. His mother who earned a living cleaning houses in America took him back to his native Jamaica where the young Harry imbibed the island’s culture and calypso music tradition, which later resonated in all of his music and singing.
Already widely famous in the 1950s, he went on to become a famous figure in the civil rights movement of the 1960s. He was a friend and ally of the Civil Rights Movement leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
