Harry Belafonte is a successful Jamaican-American pop star, singer, songwriter, activist, and actor.
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Harry Belafonte was born on March 1, 1927, at Lying-in Hospital in Harlem, New York, the United States to parents Harold George Bellanfanti, Sr., and Melvine Love Bellanfanti.
Harry Belafonte’s parents are Jamaican-born. His mother Melvine was a housekeeper while his father Harold worked as a chef. He attended Wolmer’s Schools and then attended George Washington High School. He started his music career as a club singer while taking acting classes at the time.
Harry Belafonte received a Tony Award for his participation in the Broadway revue John Murray Anderson’s Almanac (1954). He made his breakthrough after the success of his first widely released single “Matilda.” His breakthrough album Calypso (1956) made history as the first million-selling LP by a single artist.
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Harry Belafonte made popular the Trinbagonian Caribbean musical style with an international audience in the 1950s. He is a recipient of three Grammy Awards, an Emmy Award, and the Kennedy Center Honors in 1989. He received the National Medal of Arts in 1994 as well as the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at the Academy’s 6th Annual Governors Awards in 2014.
Are Sidney Poitier and Harry Belafonte friends?
Yes, Sidney Poitier and Harry Belafonte are friends. They first met at the American Negro Theatre in Harlem and have been best friends for the last 70 years.
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