Harry Belafonte, the singer, actor, and activist, died at age 96 on April 25, 2023, at his home on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, New York City.
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The cause of death was congestive heart failure, according to his longtime spokesman Ken Sunshine.
Harry Belafonte was an effortlessly graceful singer credited with popularising calypso in the United States in the 1950s.
However, Belafonte’s most significant contributions occurred offstage. He was an important civil rights strategist, fundraiser, and mediator. He put his entertainment career – and, at times, his life – at risk for his activism. He became close to the Rev. Martin.
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Harry Belafonte received three Grammy Awards (including one for Lifetime Achievement), an Emmy Award, and a Tony Award. He was awarded the Kennedy Centre Honours in 1989. In 1994, he received the National Medal of Arts.
In 2014, he received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at the Academy’s 6th Annual Governors Awards and in 2022, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the Early Influence category, making him the oldest living recipient.


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