Harry Belafonte, the civil rights and entertainment icon who rose from groundbreaking actor and singer to activist, humanitarian, and global conscience, has died. He was 96. Belafonte died Tuesday at his New York home of congestive heart failure, with his wife Pamela by his side, according to Ken Sunshine of public relations firm Sunshine Sachs Morgan & Lylis.
Belafonte, with his glowing, handsome face and silky-husky voice, was one of the first Black actors to gain a large following in film and sell a million records as a singer.He is the model and embodiment of the celebrity activist. Few could match Belafonte’s time and commitment, and none could match his stature as a meeting place for Hollywood, Washington, and the civil rights movement.Belafonte had been a major artist since the 1950s. He won a Tony Award in 1954 for his starring role in John Murray Anderson’s “Almanac” and five years later became the first Black performer to win an Emmy for the TV special “Tonight with Harry Belafonte.”
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