Harry Belafonte

Actor · 1927–2023 · New York City, New York, USA

Biography

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). Belafonte considered the actor, singer, and activist Paul Robeson a mentor, and he was a close confidant of Martin Luther King Jr. during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s. He was a vocal critic of the policies of the George W. Bush and Donald Trump administrations. Belafonte acted as the American Civil Liberties Union celebrity ambassador for juvenile justice issues. Belafonte won three Grammy Awards (including a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award), an Emmy Award, and a Tony Award. In 1989, he received the Kennedy Center Honors. He was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 1994. In 2014, he received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at the Academy's 6th Annual Governors Awards and in 2022 was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the Early Influence category. Description above from the Wikipedia article Harry Belafonte, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Acted in 21

2020s

2025
CIRILO, A Legacy Untold
Movie · Documentary · History

2010s

2018
BlacKkKlansman
Jerome Turner
81

2000s

2009
Anecdotes about Fidel
Movie
2006
Bobby
Nelson
61
Mo & Me
Movie

1990s

1999
Swing Vote
Will Dunn
1998
PB&J Otter
The Ice Moose (voice) · 1 episode
70
1996
Kansas City
Seldom Seen
60
1995
White Man's Burden
Thaddeus Thomas
45
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child
Magic Man (voice) · 1 episode
67
1992
The Player
Harry Belafonte
81
1990
Jim Henson's Memorial Service
Movie

1970s

1974
Uptown Saturday Night
Geechie Dan Beauford
1972
Buck and the Preacher
Preacher
69
1970
The Angel Levine
Alexander Levine

1950s

1959
Odds Against Tomorrow
Johnny Ingram
The World, the Flesh and the Devil
Ralph Burton
1957
Island in the Sun
David Boyeur
1954
Carmen Jones
Joe
67
1953
Bright Road
Mr. Williams - School Principal
General Electric Theater
Vince · 1 episode

Produced 8

1990s

1995
The Affair
Executive Producer
1992
Haiti: Killing the Dream
Producer

1970s

1972
Buck and the Preacher
Producer
69
1970
The Angel Levine
Producer

1960s

1966
ABC Stage 67
Executive Producer

1950s

1959
Odds Against Tomorrow
Co-Producer
The World, the Flesh and the Devil
Producer

No release date

King Leopold’s Ghost
Producer

Sound 2

2000s

2005
Pictoplasma: Characters in Motion, Vol. 1
Music

1980s

1984
Beat Street
Original Music Composer
65

Appearances114

2020s

2026
Dangerous Citizen: The Life and Times of Abraham Polonsky
Self
2024
Hollywood Black
Self (archive footage) · 4 episodes
Following Harry
Self (archive footage)
Jim Henson Idea Man
Self (archive footage)
80
The Greatest Night in Pop
Self (archive footage)
84
2023
Sunday Best: The Untold Story of Ed Sullivan
Self
82
Max Roach: The Drum Also Waltzes
Self
2022
2022 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
Self - Inductee (archive footage)
Is That Black Enough for You?!?
Self
79
Sidney
Self
74
Harry Belafonte: Between Calypso and Justice
Self - Subject (archive footage)
2021
The One and Only Dick Gregory
Self
2020
Harry Chapin: When in Doubt, Do Something
Self
Dom Salvador & The Abolition
Self
The Sit-In: Harry Belafonte Hosts The Tonight Show
Self
Nana Mouskouri, Momente ihres Lebens
Self (archive footage)
Shared Legacies: The African-American Jewish Civil Rights Alliance
Self
TV Story Superstar
Self (archive footage) · 1 episode

2010s

2019
The Man Behind the White Guitar
Self
2018
Mr. SOUL!
Self
Bobby Kennedy for President
Self · 4 episodes
80
Rise Up: The Movement that Changed America
Self
Martin Luther King by Trevor Mcdonald
Self - Singer
King in the Wilderness
Self
86
2017
Lorraine Hansberry: Sighted Eyes / Feeling Heart
Self
The Madding Crowd
Self (archive footage)
2016
Jackie Robinson
Self · 2 episodes
Året var 1966
Self (archive footage)
2015
Marsha Hunt's Sweet Adversity
Self
2014
Life's Essentials with Ruby Dee
Self
Nat King Cole: Afraid of the Dark
Self
2013
JFK
Self (archive footage) · 1 episode
Whoopi Goldberg Presents Moms Mabley
Self
76
Martin Luther King and the March on Washington
Self
JFK: The Private President
Self
2012
Hava Nagila: The Movie
Self
Tony Curtis: Driven to Stardom
Self
Sing Your Song
Self
2011
Mama Africa
Self (archive footage)
The University of Sing Sing
Self
The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975
Self (voice)
2010
Motherland
Self

2000s

2009
American Renegade: Confessions of a Radical Humanist
Self
2006
When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts
Self · 4 episodes
85
Best Ever Muppet Moments
Self
2005
The Colbert Report
Self - Guest · 1 episode
80
Legenden: Audrey Hepburn
Self
2004
The Legendary Nat King Cole
Self
Tanner on Tanner
Self · 2 episodes
Kulturplatz
Self · 1 episode
Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism
Self (archive footage)
The World of Nat King Cole
Self
Sesame Street: Elmo's World: The Street We Live On!
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
TV in Black: The First Fifty Years
Self (archive footage)
2002
Smothered: The Censorship Struggles of the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour
Self (uncredited)
2001
Democracy Now!
Self (archive footage), Self · 1 episode
2000
Altman on His Own Terms
Self