What Was Harry Belafonte Ethnicity And Nationality

Harry Belafonte was an American singer, activist, and actor. Harry became famous for his album titled Calypso which sold over a million. He died on 25 April 2023 from congestive heart failure due to natural causes at his American home on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, at the age of 96. What Was Harry

Harry Belafonte was an American singer, activist, and actor. Harry became famous for his album titled “Calypso” which sold over a million. He died on 25 April 2023 from congestive heart failure due to natural causes at his American home on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, at the age of 96. What Was Harry Belafonte’s Ethnicity And Nationality? Let’s find out more below.

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Harry Belafonte Biography

Harry Belafonte, born Harold George Bellanfanti Jr. on March 1, 1927, was a Jamaican American singer, actor, and civil rights activist. He grew up in Harlem, New York City, in a diverse family with Jamaican and Afro-American roots. Despite being raised Catholic, he spent time with his grandmother in Jamaica during his childhood.

After returning to New York, Belafonte attended George Washington High School and later joined the U.S. Navy to serve during World War II. Following the war, he worked as a janitor’s assistant before discovering his love for theatre. A gratuity from a tenant gave him two tickets to see the American Negro Theater, where he befriended Sidney Poitier and regularly traded places with him during local plays.

Belafonte continued his education at The New School in New York, taking acting classes with Erwin Piscator alongside Marlon Brando, Tony Curtis, Walter Matthau, Bea Arthur, and Poitier. He performed with the American Negro Theater and won a Tony Award for his participation in the Broadway revue John Murray Anderson’s Almanac in 1954. He also starred in the Broadway revue 3 for Tonight with Gower Champion in 1955.

Belafonte started his music career as a club singer in New York, paying for his acting classes. He launched his recording career as a pop singer on the Roost label in 1949 but soon developed a keen interest in folk music. With guitarist Millard Thomas, Belafonte made his debut at the legendary jazz club The Village Vanguard. He signed a contract with RCA Victor in 1953, recording regularly for the label until 1974.

Belafonte introduced several artists to American audiences, most notably South African singer Miriam Makeba and Greek singer Nana Mouskouri. His album Midnight Special (1962) included a young harmonica player named Bob Dylan. Belafonte also performed during the Rat Pack era in Las Vegas, featuring at the Sands Hotel and Casino and the Dunes Hotel.

In addition to his successful entertainment career, Belafonte was a civil rights activist who supported the movement in the 1950s and 1960s. He was one of Martin Luther King Jr.’s confidants, providing for King’s family since King made only $8,000 a year as a preacher. During the 1963 Birmingham Campaign, he bailed King out of Birmingham City Jail and raised $50,000 to release other civil rights protesters. He contributed to the 1961 Freedom Rides, supported voter registration drives, and helped to organize the 1963 March on Washington.

Belafonte was blacklisted during the McCarthy era, but he continued his activism, using his star clout to realize several then-controversial film roles. In 1959, he starred in and produced Robert Wise’s Odds Against Tomorrow, in which he plays a bank robber uncomfortably teamed with a racist partner (Robert Ryan).

Harry Belafonte died on April 25, 2023, due to congestive heart failure from natural causes at his American home on the Upper West Side of Manhattan at the age of 96.

What Was Harry Belafonte’s Ethnicity And Nationality

Harry Belafonte’s nationality is American, as he was born in Harlem, New York. However, his ethnicity is a mix of Jamaican, Scottish, Afro-Jamaican, Black American, Dutch-Jewish, and Sephardic Jewish descent. His mother was of mixed Scottish Jamaican and Afro-Jamaican heritage, while his father was of mixed Black American and Dutch-Jewish ancestry with roots in the Sephardic Jewish community.

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