New York: Singer, actor, and human rights activist Harry Belafonte died on Tuesday of congestive heart failure, he was 96, media reports said.
One of the most successful African-American pop stars in history, he scored hits with Island In The Sun, Mary’s Boy Child, and the UK number one Day-O.
As an actor, Belafonte made his Broadway debut in the musical John Murray Anderson’s Almanac in 1953, for which he won a Tony Award for supporting actor, according to media reports.
Hollywood soon came calling, and he scored his first lead role in Island in the Sun, where he starred alongside James Mason, Joan Fontaine, and Joan Collins, with whom he had an affair.
In 1957, he was described in Look magazine as the first black matinee idol in entertainment history, according to BBC News.
His achievements were all the more remarkable in an era when black actors were usually cast as maids and laborers, stereotypes that he refused to bow to.
In 1959, he famously turned down the musical Porgy and Bess, describing the lead role as demeaning.
He continued making films into his 80s, making his final appearance in Spike Lee’s BlacKkKlansman.
In his music career, he recorded more than 30 albums, including collaborative records with Nana Mouskouri, Lena Horne, and Miriam Makeba.
Bob Dylan even made his first recorded appearance playing harmonica on Belafonte’s 1962 album, Midnight Special.
“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.
