Harry Belafonte (born Harold George Bellanfanti Jr.; March 1, 1927 – April 25, 2023) was an American singer, actor and activist, who popularized calypso music with international audiences in the 1950s. Belafonte is one of the few performers to have received an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony (EGOT), although he won the Oscar in a non-competitive category. He earned his career breakthrough with the album Calypso (1956), which was the first million-selling LP by a single artist. Belafonte was best known for his recordings of "Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)", "Jump in the Line (Shake, Senora)", "Jamaica Farewell", and "Mary's Boy Child". He recorded and performed in many genres, including blues, folk, gospel, show tunes, and American standards. He also starred in films such as Carmen Jones (1954), Island in the Sun (1957), Odds Against Tomorrow (1959), Buck and the Preacher (1972), and Uptown Saturday Night (1974). He made his final screen appearance in Spike Lee's BlacKkKlansman (2018). Belafonte considered the actor, singer, and activist Paul Robeson a mentor, and he was a close confidant of Martin Luther King Jr. during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s. He was a vocal critic of the policies of the George W. Bush and Donald Trump administrations. Belafonte acted as the American Civil Liberties Union celebrity ambassador for juvenile justice issues. Belafonte won three Grammy Awards (including a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award), an Emmy Award, and a Tony Award. In 1989, he received the Kennedy Center Honors. He was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 1994. In 2014, he received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at the Academy's 6th Annual Governors Awards and in 2022 was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the Early Influence category. Description above from the Wikipedia article Harry Belafonte, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Filmography

• 2025CIRILO, A Legacy Untold
• 2018BlacKkKlansman — Jerome Turner
• 2009Anecdotes about Fidel
• 2006Bobby — Nelson
• 2006Mo & Me
• 2005Pictoplasma: Characters in Motion, Vol. 1 — Music
• 1999Swing Vote — Will Dunn
• PB&J Otter — The Ice Moose (voice)
• 1998Scandalize My Name: Stories from the Blacklist — Self, Thanks
• 1996Kansas City — Seldom Seen
• Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child — Magic Man (voice)
• 1995The Affair — Executive Producer
• 1995White Man's Burden — Thaddeus Thomas
• 1992Haiti: Killing the Dream — Producer
• 1992The Player — Harry Belafonte
• 1990Jim Henson's Memorial Service
• The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour
• 1986An All-Star Celebration Honoring Martin Luther King Jr.
• 1984Beat Street — Original Music Composer
• 1981Grambling's White Tiger — Coach Eddie Robinson
• 1974Uptown Saturday Night — Geechie Dan Beauford
• 1972Buck and the Preacher — Preacher, Producer
• 1970The Angel Levine — Alexander Levine, Producer
• ABC Stage 67 — Self, Executive Producer
• 1959Odds Against Tomorrow — Johnny Ingram, Co-Producer
• 1959The World, the Flesh and the Devil — Ralph Burton, Producer
• 1957Island in the Sun — David Boyeur
• 1954Carmen Jones — Joe
• 1953Bright Road — Mr. Williams - School Principal
• General Electric Theater — Vince
• King Leopold’s Ghost — Producer

Appearances as themselves (129)

• 2026Dangerous Citizen: The Life and Times of Abraham Polonsky — Self
• 2024Following Harry — Self (archive footage)
• Hollywood Black — Self (archive footage)
• 2024Jim Henson Idea Man — Self (archive footage)
• 2024The Greatest Night in Pop — Self (archive footage)
• 2023Max Roach: The Drum Also Waltzes — Self
• 2023Sunday Best: The Untold Story of Ed Sullivan — Self
• 20222022 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony — Self - Inductee (archive footage)
• 2022Harry Belafonte: Between Calypso and Justice — Self - Subject (archive footage)
• 2022Is That Black Enough for You?!? — Self
• 2022Sidney — Self
• 2021The One and Only Dick Gregory — Self
• 2020Dom Salvador & The Abolition — Self
• 2020Nana Mouskouri, Momente ihres Lebens — Self (archive footage)
• TV Story Superstar — Self (archive footage)
• 2020The Sit-In: Harry Belafonte Hosts The Tonight Show — Self
• 2019The Man Behind the White Guitar — Self
• Bobby Kennedy for President — Self
• 2018King in the Wilderness — Self
• 2018Martin Luther King by Trevor Mcdonald — Self - Singer
• 2018Mr. SOUL! — Self
• 2018Rise Up: The Movement that Changed America — Self
• 2017JFK: The Lost Inaugural Gala — Self
• 2017Lorraine Hansberry: Sighted Eyes / Feeling Heart — Self
• 2017The Madding Crowd — Self (archive footage)
• Jackie Robinson — Self
• 2016Året var 1966 — Self (archive footage)
• 2015Marsha Hunt's Sweet Adversity — Self
• 2014Life's Essentials with Ruby Dee — Self
• 2014Nat King Cole: Afraid of the Dark — Self
• 2013JFK: The Private President — Self
• 2013Martin Luther King and the March on Washington — Self
• Sternstunde Musik — Self
• 2013Whoopi Goldberg Presents Moms Mabley — Self
• 2012Hava Nagila: The Movie — Self
• 2012Sing Your Song — Self
• 2012Tony Curtis: Driven to Stardom — Self
• Hamburg Journal — self
• 2011Mama Africa — Self (archive footage)
• 2011Rise Like Lions — Self
• 2011The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 — Self (voice)
• 2011The University of Sing Sing — Self
• 2010Motherland — Self
• 2009American Renegade: Confessions of a Radical Humanist — Self
• 2006Best Ever Muppet Moments — Self
• When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts — Self
• 2005Legenden: Audrey Hepburn — Self
• The Colbert Report — Self - Guest
• 2005The Peace! — Self
• 2004Donald McKayle: Heartbeats of a DanceMaker — self
• Kulturplatz — Self
• 2004Muppet Music Moments — Self
• 2004Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism — Self (archive footage)
• 2004Sesame Street: Elmo's World: The Street We Live On! — Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
• 2004TV in Black: The First Fifty Years — Self (archive footage)
• Tanner on Tanner — Self
• 2004The Legendary Nat King Cole — Self
• 2004The World of Nat King Cole — Self
• Menschen bei Maischberger — Self
• Gero von Boehm begegnet... — Self
• 2002Smothered: The Censorship Struggles of the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour — Self (uncredited)
• 2000Altman on His Own Terms — Self
• 1999Paul Robeson: Here I Stand — Self
• Sabine Christiansen — Self
• Vivement dimanche — Self
• 1997Audrey Hepburn: The Fairest Lady — Self
• 1997Jazz '34 — Self - Narrator
• The Rosie O'Donnell Show — Self
• Willemsens Woche — Self
• 1994Prêt-à-Porter — Self
• 1994The World of Jim Henson — Self
• 1993The Best Of Danny Kaye - The Television Years — Self (archive footage)
• DAS! — Self
• Musik liegt in der Luft — Self - Singer
• 1990The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson — Self
• 1989The Unforgettable Nat King Cole — Self
• 1989We Shall Overcome — Self - Narrator
• Flitterabend — Self - Singer
• Nase vorn — Self
• 1988Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute — Self
• 1988The Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Concert — Self
• Sacrée soirée — Self
• 1986The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years — Self (archive footage)
• 1985The Muppet Revue — Self
• 1985We Are the World: The Story Behind the Song — Self
• Goldene Kamera — Self - Laudatio
• Bei Bio — Self
• Champs-Elysées — Self
• 1982Night of 100 Stars — Self
• Wetten, dass..? — Self
• Heut' abend — Self
• CBS News Sunday Morning — Self
• The Kennedy Center Honors — Self
• Auf los geht's los — Self
• 1977The Royal Variety Performance 1977 — Self
• 1977The Tallest Tree in Our Forest — Self
• Club 2 — Self
• The Muppet Show — Self - Special Guest Star
• Numéro un — Self
• 1974Free to Be… You and Me — Self
• The American Film Institute Salute to ... — Self
• Le Grand Échiquier — Self
• 1972Nationtime: Gary — Self
• The Julie Andrews Hour — Self
• Great Performances — Self
• V.I.P. Schaukel — Self
• 1970King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis — Self (archive footage)
• The Flip Wilson Show — Self
• 1968Petula — Self
• Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In — Self (uncredited)
• The Dick Cavett Show — Self - Guest
• The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour — Self, Self - Cameo
• 1966The Strolling '20s — Self
• 1965The Day of the Oath — Self
• The Danny Kaye Show — Self
• The Merv Griffin Show — Self
• The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson — Self, Self - Guest Host
• The Mike Douglas Show — Self
• 1960Harry Belafonte in Concert — Self
• The Bell Telephone Hour — Self
• Aktuelle Schaubude — Self
• The Steve Allen Show — Self - Singer
• Tony Awards — Self - Presenter
• Was bin ich? — Self
• The Oscars — Self
• The Colgate Comedy Hour — Self
• What's My Line? — Self
• The Ed Sullivan Show — Self
• Nat King Cole & Friends Unforgettable Hits — Self (archive footage)