Harry Belafonte
Acting
Born: March 1, 1927 · New York City, New York, USA
Died: April 25, 2023 (aged 96)
Highest Rated
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.
Known for
BlacKkKlansman
2018
The Player
1992
Bobby
2006
The Muppet Show
1976
The Greatest Night in Pop
2024
Prêt-à-Porter
1994
Kansas City
1996
Beat Street
1984
Odds Against Tomorrow
1959
Carmen Jones
1954
White Man's Burden
1995
The Oscars
1953
Photos (4)
Movies (18)
BlacKkKlansman
Jerome Turner
The Player
Harry Belafonte
Carmen Jones
Joe
Bobby
Nelson
Odds Against Tomorrow
Johnny Ingram
Buck and the Preacher
Preacher
White Man's Burden
Thaddeus Thomas
Uptown Saturday Night
Geechie Dan Beauford
Island in the Sun
David Boyeur
Kansas City
Seldom Seen
Swing Vote
Will Dunn
CIRILO, A Legacy Untold
2025
The World, the Flesh and the Devil
Ralph Burton
Anecdotes about Fidel
2009
Jim Henson's Memorial Service
1990
The Angel Levine
Alexander Levine
Bright Road
Mr. Williams - School Principal
Mo & Me
2006
TV Shows (3)
Self / Appearances (111)
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Self · 7 eps
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Self - Guest Host · 5 eps
The Mike Douglas Show
Self · 3 eps
The Colbert Report
Self - Guest · 1 eps
Great Performances
Self · 2 eps
DAS!
Self · 1 eps
CBS News Sunday Morning
Self · 1 eps
Tony Awards
Self - Presenter · 5 eps
The Merv Griffin Show
Self · 2 eps
Sacrée soirée
Self · 1 eps
Vivement dimanche
Self · 1 eps
The Oscars
Self · 1 eps
The Dick Cavett Show
Self - Guest · 2 eps
Wetten, dass..?
Self · 1 eps
Champs-Elysées
Self · 1 eps
The Colgate Comedy Hour
Self · 3 eps
What's My Line?
Self · 4 eps
The Ed Sullivan Show
Self · 6 eps
Kulturplatz
Self · 1 eps
The Muppet Show
Self - Special Guest Star · 1 eps
Le Grand Échiquier
Self · 1 eps
The Steve Allen Show
Self - Singer · 1 eps
Numéro un
Self · 1 eps
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
Self (uncredited) · 3 eps
The Bell Telephone Hour
Self · 5 eps
The Danny Kaye Show
Self · 1 eps
The Kennedy Center Honors
Self · 1 eps
Heut' abend
Self · 2 eps
The Flip Wilson Show
Self · 1 eps
Aktuelle Schaubude
Self · 1 eps
ABC Stage 67
Self · 1 eps
The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour
Self · 1 eps
The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour
Self - Cameo · 1 eps
Hollywood Black
Self (archive footage) · 4 eps
Auf los geht's los
Self · 2 eps
The American Film Institute Salute to ...
Self · 1 eps
The Rosie O'Donnell Show
Self · 1 eps
Jim Henson Idea Man
Self (archive footage)
When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts
Self · 4 eps
The Greatest Night in Pop
Self (archive footage)
The Julie Andrews Hour
Self · 1 eps
Prêt-à-Porter
Self
Sidney
Self
Bobby Kennedy for President
Self · 4 eps
Tanner on Tanner
Self · 2 eps
TV Story Superstar
Self (archive footage) · 1 eps
Mama Africa
Self (archive footage)
2022 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
Self - Inductee (archive footage)
We Are the World: The Story Behind the Song
Self
Jackie Robinson
Self · 2 eps
Sunday Best: The Untold Story of Ed Sullivan
Self
Is That Black Enough for You?!?
Self
The World of Jim Henson
Self
The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson
Self
Nationtime: Gary
Self
The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years
Self (archive footage)
King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis
Self (archive footage)
Night of 100 Stars
Self
Sesame Street: Elmo's World: The Street We Live On!
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Following Harry
Self (archive footage)
Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism
Self (archive footage)
The One and Only Dick Gregory
Self
Dangerous Citizen: The Life and Times of Abraham Polonsky
self
Altman on His Own Terms
Self
Scandalize My Name: Stories from the Blacklist
Self
Mr. SOUL!
Self
The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975
Self (voice)
TV in Black: The First Fifty Years
Self (archive footage)
The Muppet Revue
Self
Max Roach: The Drum Also Waltzes
Self
The World of Nat King Cole
Self
Life's Essentials with Ruby Dee
Self
American Renegade: Confessions of a Radical Humanist
Self
Best Ever Muppet Moments
Self
King in the Wilderness
Self
Motherland
Self
Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute
Self
Sing Your Song
Self
Smothered: The Censorship Struggles of the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour
Self (uncredited)
Tony Curtis: Driven to Stardom
Self
Dom Salvador & The Abolition
Self
Free to Be… You and Me
Self
The Sit-In: Harry Belafonte Hosts The Tonight Show
Self
The Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Concert
Self
Lorraine Hansberry: Sighted Eyes / Feeling Heart
Self
Martin Luther King by Trevor Mcdonald
Self - Singer
Whoopi Goldberg Presents Moms Mabley
Self
We Shall Overcome
Self - Narrator
Hava Nagila: The Movie
Self
Marsha Hunt's Sweet Adversity
Self
Året var 1966
Self (archive footage)
Nana Mouskouri, Momente ihres Lebens
Self (archive footage)
The Strolling '20s
Self
Martin Luther King and the March on Washington
Self
Paul Robeson: Here I Stand
Self
The Tallest Tree in Our Forest
Self
Harry Belafonte: Between Calypso and Justice
Self - Subject (archive footage)
Petula
Self
The Best Of Danny Kaye - The Television Years
Self (archive footage)
Rise Up: The Movement that Changed America
Self
Legenden: Audrey Hepburn
Self
The Madding Crowd
Self (archive footage)
Nat King Cole: Afraid of the Dark
Self
The Man Behind the White Guitar
Self
Audrey Hepburn: The Fairest Lady
Self
The Legendary Nat King Cole
Self
The Unforgettable Nat King Cole
Self
Jazz '34
Self - Narrator
The Day of the Oath
Self
The University of Sing Sing
Self
JFK: The Private President
Self
Upcoming (2)
Producing (7)
ABC Stage 67
Executive Producer
Odds Against Tomorrow
Co-Producer
Buck and the Preacher
Producer
The Affair
Executive Producer
The World, the Flesh and the Devil
Producer
The Angel Levine
Producer
Haiti: Killing the Dream
Producer
