Harry Belafonte booking

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multi-talented performer, Harry Belafonte was born on March 1, 1927, in New York City. As a youth,
he struggled with poverty and a turbulent family life. Belafonte’s career took off with the film Carmen
Jones (1954). Soon after, he had several hits—”The Banana Boat Song (Day-O)” and “Jamaica
Farewell.” In addition to his acting and singing career, Belafonte worked as a champion for many
social and political causes.
The oldest son of Caribbean immigrants, Harry Belafonte spent his early years in New York City. His
mother worked as a dressmaker and a house cleaner, and his father served as a cook in the British
Royal Navy. As a young child, Belafonte’s parents divorced. The boy was sent to Jamaica, his
mother’s native country, to live with relatives. There, he saw firsthand the oppression of blacks by the
English authorities, which left a lasting impression on him. Belafonte returned to New York City’s
Harlem neighborhood in 1939 to live with his mother. They struggled in poverty, and Belafonte was
often cared for by others while his mother worked. “The most difficult time in my life was when I was a
kid,” he later told People magazine. “My mother gave me affection, but, because I was left on my own,
also a lot of anguish.”
Dropping out of high school, Belafonte enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1944. He served in the Pacific
during the end of World War II. After being discharged from the service, Belafonte returned to New
York City. He seemed directionless for a time, working a series of odd jobs. But Belafonte soon found
his career inspiration after attending a performance of the American Negro Theater. So moved by the
performance, Belafonte decided that he wanted to become an actor. He studied drama at the Dramatic
Workshop run by Erwin Piscator. His classmates included Marlon Brando, Walter Matthau and Rod
Steiger. Belafonte appeared in numerous American Negro Theater productions, but he caught his first
big break, singing for a class project. He impressed Monte Kay, who offered Belafonte the opportunity
to perform at a jazz club called the Royal Roost. Backed by such talented musicians as Charlie Parker
and Miles Davis, Belafonte became a popular act at the club. In 1949, he landed his first recording
deal.
By 1950, Belafonte had switched his musical style, dropping popular music from his repertoire in favor
of folk. He became an avid student of traditional folk songs from around the world, and started
appearing in such New York City folk clubs as the Village Vanguard. Debuting on Broadway in 1953,
Belafonte won a Tony Award for his performance in John Murray Anderson’s Almanac, in which he
performed several of his own songs. He also appeared in another well-received musical revue, 3 for
Tonight, in 1955. Around this time, Belafonte launched his film career. He played a school principal
opposite Dorothy Dandridge in his first movie, Bright Road (1953). The pair reunited the following year
for Otto Preminger’s Carmen Jones, a film adaptation of the Broadway musical.
Oscar Hammerstein II had written the musical as a contemporary, African-American version of the
opera Carmen, by Georges Bizet. Belafonte received an Academy Award nomination for his portrayal
of Joe, a soldier who falls for the title character, played by Dandridge.
The success of Carmen Jones made Belafonte a star, and soon he became a music sensation. After
signing with RCA Victor Records, he released Calypso (1956), an album featuring his take on
traditional Caribbean folk music. “The Banana Boat Song (Day-O)” proved to be proved a huge hit.
More than just a popular tune, it also had a special meaning for Belafonte. “That song is a way of life,”
Belafonte later told The New York Times. “It’s a song about my father, my mother, my uncles, the men
and women who toil in the banana fields, the cane fields of Jamaica.”Calypso introduced America to a new genre of music, and became the first album to sell more than
one million copies. Belafonte also worked with other folk artists, including Bob Dylan and the
legendary Odetta. The pair sang their version of the traditional children’s song “There’s a Hole in My
Bucket.” In 1961, Belafonte had another big hit with “Jump in the Line.” Belafonte proved to be a
ground-breaker in another realm as well: He became the first African-American television producer,
working on numerous musical shows. In the early 1970s, Belafonte teamed up with singer Lena Horne
for a one-hour special.
By the mid-1970s, Belafonte was no longer hitting the charts. On the big screen, Belafonte had some
success with his collaborations with longtime friend Sidney Poitier, including 1972′s Buck and the
Preacher and 1974′s Uptown Saturday Night. But despite this success, Belafonte decided to take a
break from movie-making. He made numerous television appearances in the 1970s and 1980s,
including a guest spot on The Muppet Show, on which he sang several of his most popular songs.
Belafonte also worked with Marlo Thomas on the 1974 children’s special Free To Be … You and Me.
In the 1990s, Belafonte returned to the big screen with two films. He starred with John Travolta in
White Man’s Burden (1995), which was a commercial and critical disappointment. The following year,
Belafonte played against type as a heartless gangster in Robert Altman’s Kansas City. He also
appeared in 2006′s Bobby, a film about the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy.
Always outspoken, Belafonte found inspiration for his activism from such figures as singer Paul
Robeson; writer and activist W. E. B. Du Bois; and civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. In the
1950s, Belafonte met civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. The pair became good friends, and
Belafonte emerged as a strong voice for the civil rights movement. He provided financial backing for
the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Council and participated in numerous rallies and protests.
Belafonte was with King when the civil rights leader gave his famous “I Have A Dream” speech in
Washington, D.C., and visited with him days before King was assassinated in 1968. In the 1980s,
Belafonte led an effort to help people in Africa. He came up the idea of recording a song with other
celebrities, which would be sold to raise funds to provide famine relief in Ethiopia. Written by Michael
Jackson and Lionel Ritchie, “We Are the World” featured vocals by such music greats as Ray Charles,
Diana Ross, Bruce Springsteen and Smokey Robinson. The song was released in 1985, raising
millions of dollars and becoming an international hit.
Over the years, Belafonte has supported for many other causes as well. In addition to his role as a
goodwill ambassador for UNICEF, the performer has campaigned to end the practice of apartheid in
South Africa, and has spoken out against U.S. military actions in Iraq. Belafonte has sometimes
landed in hot water for his candidly expressed opinions. In 2006, he made headlines when he referred
to President George W. Bush as “the greatest terrorist in the world” for launching the war in Iraq. He
also insulted African-American members of the Bush administration General Colin Powell and
Condoleeza Rice, referring to them as “house slaves.” Despite media pressure, he steadfastly refused
to apologize for his remarks. In regards to Powell and Rice, Belafonte said “you are serving those who
continue to design our oppression.”