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| Harry Belafonte in Spike Lee's BlackKklansman |
He was one of the first generation of black leading men in Hollywood, carving out a path for others to follow. He was also a wildly successful musician with an unforgettable style, and an important figure in the US Civil Rights movement. Now Harry Belafonte has passed away from congestive heart failure at the age of 96.
Born in Harlem to Jamaican immigrant parents, and moving between New York and Jamaica during his early years, he developed a passion for music and, having fallen in love with cinema, realised that he could use his talent as a singer to pay for acting lessons. Music took over as he enjoyed unexpected success, but he took on film roles where good opportunities presented themselves, working with Otto Preminger on Carmen Jones and Robert Rossen in Island In The Sun, where he caught the eye of co-star Joan Collins and commenced an affair which was considered scandalous in the US at the time. Unafraid to turn down roles which he felt supported a racist culture, he got less work but better work as a result, playing the lead in weighty science fiction classic The World, The Flesh And The Devil, and portraying a troubled man forced into desperate action in Robert Wise film noir Odds Against Tomorrow.
A close friend of Sidney Poitier, whose early film career closely paralleled his own, Belafonte focused on music in his later life but kept returning for the occasional acting role, with notable appearances in Emilio Estevez's Bobby and Spike Lee's BlackKklansman. He was also passionate about politics, campaigning against racism in the US and against colonialism in western Africa. He opposed Apartheid in South Africa and challenged the US blockade of Cuba. He provided financial support to Martin Luther King Jr to enable him to focus on his activism. In later years he campaigned to raise awareness of HIV and AIDS at a stage when many other stars were afraid to be associated with it, and received multiple awards for his humanitarian work in a number of areas.
Belafonte died in his Manhattan home with his wife Pamela by his side. He is survived by four children from his previous marriages (including the actor and music producer David Belafonte), and five grandchildren.
