Harry Belafonte RIP

**Master** · 04-26-2023 11:59 AM

Increasingly, however, Belafonte was lending his time to promoting the causes of the civil rights movement. The entertainer had supported the political movement and campaign since the 1950s, and was a close confidant of Martin Luther King Jr. Belafonte is pictured in 1960 addressing a crowd of over 10,000 civil rights marchers gathered in Manhattan, during which he also sang.

Dividing his time between attending protest rallies and recording, Belafonte introduced several overseas artists to US audiences, notably South African singer Miriam Makeba and Greek singer Nana Mouskouri. He continued also to promote homegrown talent. Playing harmonica on the opening track of his 1962 album, 'The Midnight Special,' is a young man called Bob Dylan.

Belafonte and South African singer Miriam Makeba won a Grammy awards for Best Folk Album recognizing 'An Evening With Belafonte and Makeba.' The album dealt with the political plight of black South Africans under apartheid.

On August 28, 1963, more than 200,000 demonstrators took part in the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in the nation's capital. Among them was Harry Belafonte, seen here with fellow celebrities Charlton Heston, Burt Lancaster, and Sidney Poitier. During this event, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous "I Have a Dream" speech. The gathering was successful in pressuring the administration of John F. Kennedy to initiate a strong federal civil rights bill in Congress.

Harry Belafonte and Sammy Davis Jr. joined Martin Luther King Jr. at a benefit concert called "Broadway Answers Selma," held on April 4, 1965 in the aftermath of the Selma to Montgomery Marches. The event drew a capacity audience of civil rights advocates and helped raise funds for the civil rights movement. Among those billed to perform that night were Martin Sheen, Barbra Streisand, Ossie Davis, and Walter Matthau.

Kirk Douglas and Harry Belafonte attend the 21st Annual Tony Awards party on March 26, 1967 at Sardi's Restaurant in New York City. That year saw Belafonte enjoy contemporary music chart success with 'A Strange Song,' his last big hit single. Meanwhile, he continued using his celebrity to further promote civil rights activism.

In 1968, Belafonte appeared with British singer Petula Clark on her NBC-TV special. While duetting 'On the Path of Glory,' an antiwar song that she had composed, Clark took hold of his arm. The gesture prompted a complaint from an advertising representative, who insisted the segment be retaped. Clark, who had ownership of the show, argued that the performance would be broadcast intact or she would not allow the show to be aired at all. The executive was later fired, and when it aired the special attracted high ratings. The singers are pictured rehearsing in the studio.

The Petula special was aired on April 2, 1968. Within 48 hours of its broadcast, Martin Luther King Jr. was dead. On April 8, 1968, a heartbroken Harry Belafonte joined huge crowds in Memphis, Tennessee, following King's assassination in the city. He's pictured left of center with King's widow, Coretta Scott King, and Jesse Jackson, among the many thousands of mourners paying their respects to the slain civil rights leader.

In 1970, Harry Belafonte returned to the big screen in the poorly-received 'The Angel Levine' which he produced, and which costarred Zero Mostel. Belafonte's next film, however, fared better. 'Buck and the Preacher' paired him with old buddy Sidney Poitier. While the film was not an immediate success financially, the on-screen chemistry between the two stars was noted by several critics.

Belafonte and Poitier would make another movie together, 'Uptown Saturday Night,' an action crime comedy that opened to positive reviews.

The next 10 years saw Belafonte involved mostly in documentary production projects and business ventures. In 1985, he was one of the performers invited to appear at the Live Aid benefit concert at Veteran's Stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

By now enjoying a reputation as one of the entertainment industry's elder statesmen, the veteran performer was appointed a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in 1987. The singer embraced his new responsibilities with enthusiasm, his first task being a trip to Dakar in Senegal, where he served as chairman of the International Symposium of Artists and Intellectuals for African Children. His humanitarian efforts have helped raise the profile of those around the world suffering from disease, poverty, and discrimination.

In 1989, Harry Belafonte was one of those who received a Kennedy Center Honor, an annual award given to those in the performing arts for their lifetime of contributions to American culture.

Five years later in 1994, he was a recipient of the National Medal of Arts Award, which is bestowed by the White House for outstanding contributions to cultural life.

Throughout the 1990s, Belafonte enjoyed cameos in a number of movies, but was offered a more substantial role in Robert Altman's crime drama 'Kansas City.' The movie was well received and garnered Belafonte the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor.

After 47 years of marriage, Belafonte and Julie Robinson divorced. He tied the knot for the third time with Pamela Frank, in 2008.

In his mid-eighties and still in remarkably good health, Belafonte remained active in movie and television production, and was still making personal appearances such as that alongside Spike Lee at the 28th Annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in April 2013 (Lee would later offer Belafonte a small role in his 2018 movie 'BlacKkKlansman'). Less than 10 years after this image was taken, in 2022, Belafonte was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the Early Influence category.

In June of 2013, the actor, singer, and activist was named a Grand Marshal of the New York City Pride Parade.

A career highpoint arrived in 2014 when Harry Belafonte was awarded the prestigious Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award during the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' 2014 Governors Awards in Hollywood. The accolade acknowledges an individual's "outstanding contributions to humanitarian causes."

Belafonte's 93rd birthday bash at Harlem's Apollo Theater was one of the hottest tickets in town. Soon afterwards his vast personal archive was acquired by the New York Public Library's Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.

In his nineties, Harry Belafonte refused to stand still, and remained a robust voice in politics and entertainment.

Here, the singer is pictured in December 2021 with Baptist minister and fellow civil rights activist Al Sharpton after Belafonte received the National Order of the Legion of Honour, the highest award bestowed by the French government for individual merit.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/entertainm...i=173#image=37

**Dark Lord Al** · 04-27-2023 06:09 AM

Great voice and entertainer, he recovered so well from losing his money half way through his career when his then girlfriend robbed him.
I remember him saying -

" Oh Matilda, Oh Matilda, Oh Matilda she take me money and run Venezuela ! "