Harry Belafonte
Harry Belafonte Belafonte at the Tribeca Film Festival Vanity Fair party, 2011 Born Harold George Bellanfanti, Jr. (1927-03-01) March 1, 1927 (age 87) Harlem, Manhattan, New York New York, U.S. Nationality American Other names Harold George Belefonte, Jr. Harry Belafonte, Jr. Occupation Singer-songwriter, actor, social activist Years active 1947–present Spouse(s) Marguerite Byrd (1948–57) Julie Robinson (1957–70) Pamela Frank (2008–present) Academy Awards Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award 2014 Emmy Awards Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program 1960 Tonight with Belafonte, The Revlon Revue Tony Awards Best Featured Actor in a Musical 1954 John Murray Anderson's Almanac Grammy Awards Best Performance - Folk 1961Swing Dat Hamme Best Folk Recording 1966 An Evening With Belafonte/Makeba Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award 2000 Website www.singyoursongthemovie.com Harold George "Harry" Bellanfanti, Jr. (born March 1, 1927), better known as Harry Belafonte, is an American singer, songwriter, actor, and social activist. One of the most successful Caribbean American pop stars in history, he was dubbed the "King of Calypso" for popularizing the Caribbean musical style with an international audience in the 1950s. His breakthrough album Calypso (1956) is the first million selling album by a single artist. Belafonte is perhaps best known for singing "The Banana Boat Song", with its signature lyric "Day-O". He has recorded in many genres, including blues, folk, gospel, show tunes, and American standards. He has also starred in several films, most notably in Otto Preminger's hit musical Carmen Jones (1954), Island in the Sun (1957) and Robert Wise's Odds Against Tomorrow (1959). Belafonte was an early supporter of the civil rights movement in the 1950s, and one of Martin Luther King Jr.'s confidants. Throughout his career he has been an advocate for humanitarian causes, such as the anti-apartheid movement and USA for Africa. Since 1987 he has been a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. In recent years he has been a vocal critic of the policies of both the George W. Bush and Barack Obama presidential administrations. Harry Belafonte now acts as the American Civil Liberties Union celebrity ambassador for juvenile justice issues. Belafonte has 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.