Singer, actor and civil rights activist Harry Belafonte dies

Harry Belafonte, the vocalist and histrion who became a civilian rights activist, has died astatine 96.

The Grammy, Emmy and Tony winning prima died of congestive bosom nonaccomplishment astatine his New York location connected Tuesday, with his woman by his side, according to a spokesperson.

Reluctantly nicknamed "The King of Calypso", helium was mostly liable for bringing Caribbean euphony to an planetary assemblage successful the 1950s, and the archetypal vocalist - successful immoderate genre -to merchantability a cardinal records successful a year.

His opus Jump In The Line (Shake, Senora) had a caller resurgence, going viral connected TikTok successful 2020, and featuring successful the 1988 movie Beetlejuice, arsenic did his signature opus Banana Boat (Day-O).

One of the archetypal achromatic performers to summation a wide pursuing connected film, helium starred successful movies including Carmen Jones, Island successful the Sun and Odds Against Tomorrow.

Just past year, helium was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame, becoming the oldest idiosyncratic ever to person the honour.

Alongside his sparkling Hollywood career, helium was a committed activist, moving intimately with Martin Luther King Jr during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s.

More recently, helium reached retired to younger achromatic celebrities, scolding Jay Z and Beyonce for failing to conscionable their "social responsibilities," and mentoring stars including vocalist Usher, rapper Common and histrion Danny Glover.

Fittingly, Belafonte made an apt cameo quality successful Spike Lee's Oscar winning 2018 movie BlacKkKlansman, playing an elder statesman schooling young activists astir America's past.

Paying tribute to Belafonte connected Instagram, Lee wrote: "May God Have My Dear Friend Harry Belafonte At A Peaceful Rest. We Are Losing Our Giants Left And Right. We Have To Celebrate Our Elders While They Are With Us."

Born Harold George Bellanfanti Jr connected 1 March, 1927, successful Harlem, New York, helium was sent to unrecorded with a grandma successful Jamaica aged five, wherever helium stayed until helium was bought location aged 13, astatine the commencement of World War II.

Joining the Navy aft attending High School successful New York, helium served for astir 2 years arsenic a munitions loader earlier being honourably discharged.

On his instrumentality to New York, helium worked arsenic a caretaker, and aft being talented a theatre summons successful instrumentality for immoderate repairs, fell successful emotion with the theatre.

He went connected to bid arsenic an histrion with the Dramatic Workshop of the New School of Social Research, with classmates including Marlon Brando, Walter Matthau, Bea Arthur, Rod Steiger and Tony Curtis.

Sidney Poitier, the archetypal achromatic histrion to triumph an Oscar for champion actor, went connected to go a bully friend, and Belafonte's enactment successful some showbiz and authorities would pb to friendships with friendships with radical including Frank Sinatra, Eleanor Roosevelt and Fidel Castro.

Also a person of jazz, helium performed astatine clubs including the Blue Note and the Vanguard, and was backed for 1 show by Charlie Parker and Max Roach.

Belafonte's archetypal Broadway quality successful 1954 won him a Tony Award for his starring relation successful John Murray Anderson's Almanac.

Five years later, helium became the archetypal achromatic performer to triumph an Emmy for his TV peculiar Tonight with Harry Belafonte.

Appointed by President John F Kennedy, helium served for 5 years successful the Peace Corps, and decades aboriginal went connected to go a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF.

Although helium aboriginal became disillusioned with acting, helium won galore awards during his career, including the question representation academy's Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, a National Medal of Arts, and a Grammy for beingness achievement.

He wrote later, successful his 2011 memoir My Song, that winning a New York Film Critics Award successful 1996 for his enactment arsenic a gangster successful Robert Altman's Kansas City was 1 of his proudest vocation achievements.

Married 3 times, helium had 4 children, with 3 of them going connected to go actors.

Belafonte leaves down his wife, lensman Pamela Frank; his children Adrienne Belafonte Biesemeyer, Shari Belafonte, Gina Belafonte and David Belafonte; 2 stepchildren, Sarah Frank and Lindsey Frank; and 8 grandchildren.