Harry Belafonte, the dashing singer, actor and activist who became an indispensable supporter of the civil rights movement, has died, his publicist Ken Sunshine told CNN. He was 96. Belafonte died Tuesday morning of congestive heart failure, Sunshine said.
Harry Belafonte was a Jamaican-American singer, actor, and social activist. He was born on March 1, 1927, in Harlem, New York, and grew up in poverty. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and then began his career as a performer in the late 1940s.
Belafonte became a popular singer in the 1950s and 1960s, known for his smooth baritone voice and his ability to blend different musical styles, including pop, jazz, and Caribbean music. He had many hits during this time, including "Banana Boat Song (Day-O)" and "Jump in the Line."
In addition to his musical career, Belafonte was also a prominent civil rights activist. He worked closely with Martin Luther King Jr. and was an important figure in the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s. He also fought against apartheid in South Africa and was instrumental in organizing the "We Are the World" charity single in 1985 to raise money for famine relief in Africa.
Belafonte has received numerous awards for his work, including three Grammy Awards, an Emmy Award, and the National Medal of Arts. He has also been recognized for his humanitarian efforts, receiving the Gandhi Peace Award in 1987 and the Ambassador of Conscience Award from Amnesty International in 2003.
Today, Harry Belafonte was widely regarded as a cultural icon and a trailblazer for social justice.
Source: Some or all of the content was generated using an AI language model
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