Harry Belafonte Wife: Was Harry Belafonte Married? – Harry Belafonte was a prominent American singer, actor, and activist who was born on March 1, 1927.
He gained popularity as a Caribbean-American pop star and introduced Jamaican mento folk songs to an international audience as Trinbagonian Calypso musical style in the 1950s. His album Calypso (1956) was a massive hit and the first million-selling LP by a single artist.
Belafonte was known for his exceptional recordings of various songs such as “The Banana Boat Song”, “Jump in the Line”, and “Jamaica Farewell” in genres including blues, folk, gospel, show tunes, and American standards. He also starred in several films such as Carmen Jones (1954), Island in the Sun (1957), and Odds Against Tomorrow (1959).
He was mentored by Paul Robeson and a close confidant of Martin Luther King Jr. during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s. He was a strong advocate for various political and humanitarian causes, such as the Anti-Apartheid Movement and the USA for Africa, and served as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador from 1987 until his death.
He was a vocal critic of the policies of the George W. Bush presidential administrations and was an American Civil Liberties Union celebrity ambassador for juvenile justice issues.
Belafonte was a recipient of several prestigious awards throughout his career, including three Grammy Awards (including a Lifetime Achievement Award), an Emmy Award, and a Tony Award. He was also awarded the National Medal of Arts in 1994 and the Kennedy Center Honors in 1989.
He received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at the Academy’s 6th Annual Governors Awards in 2014 and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the Early Influence category in 2022, making him the oldest living person to have received this honor.
Belafonte spent his childhood in Jamaica and later returned to New York City, where he attended George Washington High School and served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. In the 1940s, he was working as a janitor’s assistant when a tenant gave him two tickets to see the American Negro Theater, which sparked his love for the art form.
He then took acting classes at the Dramatic Workshop of The New School in New York and performed with the American Negro Theater. He received a Tony Award for his participation in the Broadway revue John Murray Anderson’s Almanac (1954) and starred in the 1955 Broadway revue 3 for Tonight with Gower Champion.
Harry Belafonte Wife: Was Harry Belafonte Married?
Harry Belafonte, the American singer, actor, and activist, has been married three times. His first wife was Marguerite Byrd, whom he married in 1948. They were together for nine years.
Belafonte’s second wife was Julie Robinson, a former dancer with the Katherine Dunham Company. They married in 1957. After 47 years of marriage, Belafonte and Robinson divorced.
In April 2008, Belafonte married his third wife, photographer Pamela Frank.
Source: thpttranhungdao.edu.vn/en/
Categories: Biography
Source: thpttranhungdao.edu.vn/en/
