Harry Belafonte, the singer and actor who broke down racial barriers in the United States, has died at home in Manhattan at the age of 96.
He was one of the most successful African-American pop stars of all time, with hits like Island In The Sun, Mary’s Boy Child, and the UK number one Day-O (The Banana Boat Song).
His greatest accomplishments, however, were as a campaigner for black civil rights in the United States.
According to his spokesman, Ken Sunshine, he died of congestive heart failure.
Belafonte, known as the “King of Calypso,” was born in Harlem, New York, in 1927, the son of poor Caribbean immigrants.
He dropped out of high school and joined the Navy during WWII, working as a munitions loader at a base in New Jersey.
He released over 30 albums during his career, including collaborations with Nana Mouskouri, Lena Horne, and Miriam Makeba.
Harry Belafonte, a close friend of Martin Luther King, was a prominent and visible supporter of the civil rights movement, having bankrolled several anti-segregation organizations and being known to have bailed Dr. King and other activists out of jail.
He was one of the organizers of the 1963 March on Washington, and he also marched from Selma to Montgomery in 1965.
