Singer Harry Belafonte Dies At 96

The world has lost a true legend. Harry Belafonte, the singer who broke through racial barriers with his folk music in the 1950s, has passed away at the age of 96. Born in Harlem in 1927, Belafonte moved to Jamaica with his family as a child, but returned to New York in 1940 after his mother left him and his brother with relatives.

After serving in the Navy, Belafonte joined Erwin Piscator’s Dramatic Workshop, where he became friends with the likes of Marlon Brando and Tony Curtis. He later befriended Sidney Poitier, who remained a lifelong friend.

Belafonte’s talent was undeniable, and he quickly landed a recording contract with RCA. He won a Tony Award for his performance in the 1953 revue “John Murray Anderson’s Almanac” and was cast in the film of “Carmen Jones,” an all-black version of Bizet’s opera “Carmen.”

By 1959, Belafonte was the highest-paid Black performer in history, with contracts for appearances in Las Vegas, at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles, and at the Palace in New York. He immortalized songs such as “Day-O” and “Jamaica Farewell,” and in 1960, his special “Tonight With Belafonte” won an Emmy.

But Belafonte was more than just a talented musician. He was also a political activist, using his platform to raise funds for Dr. Martin Luther King’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference and even providing funds to bail King out of jail. King stayed at Belafonte’s apartment in New York several times, and Belafonte maintained an insurance policy for King with King’s family as the beneficiaries.

Belafonte was never afraid to speak his mind, even if it meant making controversial statements. He called former President George W. Bush “the greatest terrorist in the world” in 2006, supported Bill de Blasio in the 2013 New York mayoral election, and likened the Koch brothers to the Ku Klux Klan.

In an opinion piece published by The New York Times on Election Day 2016, Belafonte called Donald Trump “feckless and immature” and warned that black voters had everything to lose if he were elected. Sadly, Belafonte’s words proved prophetic, and he echoed them in 2020, saying, “We have learned exactly how much we had to lose — a lesson that has been inflicted upon Black people again and again in our history — and we will not be bought off by the empty promises of the flimflam man.”

Belafonte was married three times and had four children. His first wife was Marguerite Byrd, whom he met while in the Navy. They later divorced, and he married Julie Robinson, with whom he had two children. They divorced in 2004, and he married Pamela Frank, a photographer, in 2008, who survives him.

Harry Belafonte was a true icon, whose music and activism will continue to inspire generations to come. He will be deeply missed.

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