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Harry Belafonte, born Harold George Belafonte Jr., is a renowned singer, actor, producer, and activist.
He played a vital role in popularizing the Caribbean folk songs known as calypsos after releasing his debut album Harry Belafonte: Calypso, in 1956. The album was a huge hit with songs’ Day-O (Banana Boat Song)’ and ‘Jamaica Farewell.’
In addition, it became the first album to sell a million copies, making Belafonte the first artist to achieve that feat. His influence earned him the title of King of Calypso. But music was just one of Belfonte’s many pursuits.
Before his album release, the actor had dabbled in Broadway and movies.
In 1953, he made his Broadway debut in the musical John Murray Anderson’s Almanac, which earned him a Tony award for best-featured actor in a musical.
Around the same time, he also broke into Hollywood with the musical film Carmen Jones opposite Dorothy Dandridge. The movie was nominated for two Oscars and led to a starring role in the film Island in the Sun opposite Joan Fontaine.
However, the movie was banned in several cities as it featured the controversial interracial romance between Belafonte and Fontaine’s characters.
Harry Belafonte and James Garner at the poker table in 1964. (Source: Twitter)
He also starred in the TV special Tonight with Belafonte, a musical program dedicated to African American music.
Belafonte won an Emmy Award for his work on the show and became the first African American person to win an Emmy.
Over the years, Belafonte’s presence on the screen and the entertainment has descended, and understandably so. The legendary singer, born in Harlem, New York, on March 1, 1927, turned 95 in 2022.
However, it has raised curiosity regarding his whereabouts and if he is still alive, especially since he has always been surrounded by death hoaxes.
Is Harry Belafonte Still Alive?
Some reports on the internet read Belafonte passed away a few months after his 95th birthday on July 5, 2022. Right after the reports surfaced, hundreds of messages started pouring in from his fans.
People were doubtful of the news and did a little digging. Thankfully, this turned out to be fake and just another death hoax targeted at him.
The fake news of Belafonte’s death has surfaced on the internet time and again. Back in 2016, Frances Fisher had to go on Twitter to affirm Belafonte was alive. “harrybeafonte is alive & well,” she wrote in the post while also attaching videos of him as evidence.
Just like then, the singer is still alive and living in New York City with his wife, Pamela Frank.
Harry Belafonte’s Married Life and Children
While Belafonte found success smoothly in his musical and acting career, it took him some time to find his footing in his personal life.
The actor had to marry three times before he finally found his soul mate.
In 1948, Belafonte married actress Marguerite Byrd, and the two had daughters, Adrienne and Shari, but they split before Shari was born.
After that, he married dancer Julie Robinson in 1957 and had a daughter named Gina and a son named David. But unfortunately, that also did not work out.
And in 2008, he finally found the one and married his third wife and photographer, Frank. The couple is still together to this day.
In May 2022, his daughter Shari opened up to People about her relationship with her father, saying,
“He was not the warm and fuzzy father figure depicted in early TV shows. But then, who really was? Our relationship has gotten so much better in the last 20 years,”
And since the interview was for the outlet’s “Tribute to Black Icons” series, she added that while there were many icons out there, her father beat the band when it came to people of color.
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