April 25 (UPI) — Famed singer and civil rights activist Harry Belafonte has died.
The singer, actor and activist, known as the King of Calypso, died Tuesday of congestive heart failure, his rep. Ken Sunshine told CNN.
Sunshine confirmed Belafonte’s death to NBC News.
During his long career, Belafonte helped popularize calypso music with his 1956 album Calypso and such singles as “The Banana Boat Song,” “Jump in the Line” and “Jamaica Farewell.”
He was a Grammy, Emmy and Tony Award-winning performer who received Kennedy Center Honors in 1989 and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022.
As an actor, Belafonte starred in Bright Road, Carmen Jones, Island in the Sun and other films. His most recent and final acting role was in Spike Lee‘s 2018 movie BlacKkKlansman.
Belafonte was born Harold George Bellanfanti Jr. in New York City in 1927. His parents, Harold George Bellafanti Sr. and Melvine Bellafanti, both hailed from Jamaica, where Belafonte spent part of his childhood.
As a performer, Belafonte was able to transcend racial barriers and share the Black and Caribbean experience with audiences. His focus turned to the civil rights movement in the late 1950s, and he became an outspoken activist who was a confidant of Martin Luther King Jr.
Belafonte is survived by his wife Pamela Frank and his four children.
