Ethereal Site

Born Harold George Belafonte, Jr., March 1, 1927, in New York, NY; son of Harold George and Melvine (Love) Belafonte; married, 1948; wife's name Marguerite (divorced); married Julie Robinson (a dancer), March 8, 1957; children: Adrienne, Shari, David, Gina. Education: Attended Dramatic Workshop of the New School for Social Research, studying under Erwin Piscator.

Military/Wartime Service: U.S. Navy, 1943-45.Singer, actor, producer, political activist. Joined the American Negro Theater, late 1940s, appearing in Juno and the Paycock; performed at such clubs as the Royal Roost Nightclub and the Village Vanguard, New York City, late 1940s and early 1950s; appeared on Broadway in John Murray Anderson's Almanac, 1953; appeared in television adaptation of Carmen Jones, 1955; released Calypso, 1956; appeared in films, including Island in the Sun, 1957, Uptown Saturday Night, 1974, First Look, 1984, and The Player, 1992; produced television program A Time for Laughter, 1967; helped organize We Are the World recording session, 1985. Named cultural adviser to the Peace Corps by President John F. Kennedy; named member of the board of directors, Southern Christian Leadership Conference; chair of Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial Fund; appointed a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, 1987. Life's Work

It has been said that in the life and work of entertainer Harry Belafonte, the worlds of music and morality do not collide, but rather balance harmoniously. In the 1950s Belafonte introduced the colorful, bouncy melodies of calypso music to the United States, and American listeners began swaying to the jaunty Caribbean beat and singing "Day-O" along with the masterful crooner. Since that time Belafonte has used his visibility as an entertainer to cast a political spotlight on humanitarian causes ranging from world hunger to civil rights to the plight of children in the Third World. Belafonte's accomplishments, and the awards bestowed on him in the spheres of entertainment and activism, show a man equally committed to musical excellence and political virtuousness.Known as the "consummate entertainer," Belafonte was born in Harlem, New York, in 1927. His parents were West Indian, and he moved with his mother to her native Jamaica when he was a child. In the five years he spent on the island he not only absorbed the music that was such a vital part of the culture but also observed the effects of colonialism, the political oppression that native Jamaicans had to endure under British rule. "That environment gave me much of my sense of the world at large and what I wanted to do with it," Belafonte was quoted as saying in the Paul Masson Summer Series. "It helped me carve out a tremendous link to other nations that reflect a similar temperament or character."

Once back in Harlem, another culturally and artistically rich environment, Belafonte became street smart, learning the hard lessons of survival in the big city. When the United States entered World War II, he ended his high school education and enlisted in the U.S. Navy. After an honorable discharge he returned to New York City, where he bounced between odd jobs. His first foray into the world of entertainment came in the late 1940s when he was given two tickets to a production of the American Negro Theater. He was hooked after one performance. "I was absolutely mesmerized by that experience," he told the Ottawa Citizen in 1990. "It was really a spiritual, mystical feeling I had that night. I went backstage to see if there was anything I could do." His first leading role with the company was in Irish playwright Sean O'Casey's Juno and the Paycock. Impressed by the power and message of O'Casey's words, and by the promise of theater in general, Belafonte enrolled in the Dramatic Workshop of the New School for Social Research, studying under famous German director Erwin Piscator, whose other students included renowned actors Rod Steiger and Beatrice Arthur.

Belafonte was concerned about the scarcity of work for black actors but got a break when, as a class project, he sang an original composition called "Recognition." His audience was spellbound. Among the listeners was the owner of the Royal Roost Nightclub, a well-known Broadway jazz center. Belafonte was offered a two-week stint that, due to such positive reception, blossomed into a twenty-week engagement. At the Roost and later at other clubs, such as the Village Vanguard in New York City's Greenwich Village, Belafonte charmed audiences with his husky-yet-sweet-voiced adaptations of popular and West Indian folk songs.