Harry Belafonte: King of Calypso dies at 96- Take a look at his career, songs, net worth & family

Pop singer and civil rights activist, Harry Belafonte died on Tuesday after suffering from congestive heart failure. He, on one hand, started the calypso craze in the US with his music and on the other, became a vigil for the civil rights of the African-American community. He was one of the most successful African-American pop stars in history, but his greatest achievements were as a campaigner for black civil rights in the US.

Belafonte died at his Manhattan home and was 96 years old. His wife Pamela was by his side.

An award-winning Broadway performer and a versatile recording and concert star of the ’50s, the handsome Belafonte became one of the first Black leading men in Hollywood. He later branched into production work on theatrical films and telepics. As he garnered a lot of fame, his commitment to social causes never took a back seat to his professional work.

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Harry Belafonte: Life as a Singer and an Activist

Harry Belafonte was a Jamaican-American singer and activist who popularised calypso music among international audiences. His breakthrough album was Calypso, which became the first million-selling album by a single artist. He was often dubbed the 'King of Calypso'.

Belafonte was born in Harlem, New York in 1927 as the son of poor Caribbean immigrants. He dropped out of school and joined the Navy during the Second World War. He worked as a munitions loader at a base in New Jersey.

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After the war culminated, he pursued his dream of becoming an actor. He went to Erwin Piscstor’s famed Dramatic Workshop to study drama. He also liked Marlon Brando, Walter Matthau and Tony Curtis. To pay for the classes, he used to sing at New York clubs, where he was backed by groups that included Miles Davis and Charlie Parker.

That led to a recording contract and, in a search for material, Belafonte began to study the folk song archives at the US Library of Congress, alighting on the Calypso music his parents had grown up with.

The handsome young star sparked a fad for the genre with songs like Jamaica Farewell and Day-O (a song about Caribbean dock workers), both of which featured on his third album, Calypso. Released in 1956, it topped the Billboard charts.

His success was such that he was the first black person allowed to perform in many upmarket US venues - including some that had been off-limits to artists like Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald.

Watch |Harry Belafonte, singer, actor and activist, dies aged 96

A close friend of Martin Luther King, the artist was a notable and visible supporter of the civil rights movement, he bankrolled several anti-segregation organisations and was known to have bailed Dr King and other activists out of jail.

He was one of the organisers of the 1963 March on Washington and also part of the Selma to Montgomery in 1965.

"Belafonte's global popularity and his commitment to our cause is a key ingredient to the global struggle for freedom and a powerful tactical weapon in the Civil Rights movement," Dr King once observed.

"We are blessed by his courage and moral integrity."

The star also campaigned against poverty, apartheid and Aids in Africa; and became an ambassador for Unicef, the United Nations children's fund.

Harry Belafonte: Songs and movies

Here are some of the most famous songs by Belafonte:

1. "Day-O"(The Banana Boat Song)

2. "Jump in the Line"(Shake, Senora)

3. "Jamaica Farewell"

4. "Mary’s Boy Child"

He starred in the following films:

1. Carmen Jones

2. Island in the Sun

3. Odds Against Tomorrow

Harry Belafonte: Awards and recognition

Belafonte won three Grammy Awards, including Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and a Tony Award. In 1989, he received the Kennedy Center Honours. 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.

Harry Belafonte: Wife and children

Belafonte married three times, his first wife was Marguerite Byrd, and with her, he had two daughters, Adrienne and Shari Belafonte. He divorced his wife in 1953 and then had an affair with actress Joan Collins during the filming of Island in the Sun.

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In 1957, Belafonte married his second wife Julie Robinson and divorced her in 2008. His third marriage was with the photographer Pamela Frank.

Harry Belafonte: Net worth

Harry Belafonte gained recognition over the years as a flawless singer and actor. This contributed to his earnings throughout his successful career and according to CelebrityNetWorth, his net worth was estimated to be around $30 million.

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