Harry Belafonte, Entertainer and Civil Rights Icon, Dies at 96
Legendary singer/actor who was also an integral figure in the civil rights movement.
Harry Belafonte, the singer/actor who was also an integral figure in the civil rights movement, has died. He was 96.
Belafonte’s death was confirmed to The New York Times by his longtime spokesman Ken Sunshine. His cause of death was due to congestive heart failure.
Belafonte’s career broke out in the 1950s thanks to his 1956 album Calypso, which featured the classic songs “Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)” and “Jamaica Farewell.” Calypso was notably the first album to sell over one million copies. It also topped the Billboard album chart for a staggering 31 weeks.
Shortly after the success of Calypso, Belafonte starred in various films including 1959’s The World, the Flesh and the Devil and Odds Against Tomorrow. However, his focus would soon turn to the burgeoning Civil Rights Movement.
Belafonte was close with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his family and provided them with financial support due to Dr. King’s low income as a preacher. Belafonte also provided significant funding for the Student Nonviolent Coordination Committee and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Additionally, he would often bail activists out of jail.
The New York Times also noted, “[Belafonte] quietly maintained an insurance policy on Dr. King’s life, with his family as the beneficiary, and donated his own money to make sure the family was taken care of after Dr. King was assassinated in 1968.”
In addition to his work in the Civil Rights Movement, Belafonte was involved in many other human rights and social justice initiatives. Among them was his work with UNICEF, supporting HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention in Africa in the 2000s and raising funds for African famine relief in the 1980s. Belafonte was also a vocal figure in the Anti-Apartheid Movement.
Celebrity Deaths 2023: Musicians, Entertainers & Cultural Figures We Lost
We’ve had to say goodbye to some big names this year in the worlds of entertainment, sports, politics and beyond. To be frank, it was an absolutely brutal year.
So many giants in music died in 2023. Guitar god Jeff Beck died suddenly in January at age 78 after contracting bacterial meningitis. In February, legendary songwriter Burt Bacharach died at age 94. Singer, actor and civil rights icon Harry Belafonte died in April at age 96 from congestive heart failure. In May, the world lost Tina Turner – the Queen of Rock ‘n Roll – at age 83. Iconic pop singer Tony Bennett died in July at age 96.
The worlds of television and film were not immune to significant loss in 2023. Sitcom mastermind Norman Lear died in December at age 101. Three’s Company star Suzanne Somers died in October at age 76 from an aggressive form of breast cancer. Matthew Perry also died in October. The Friends star was only 54. Bob Barker, longtime host of The Price is Right, died in August at age 99. Paul Reubens, best known for his character Pee-wee Herman, died in July at age 70 following a private battle with cancer.
The sports world was rocked by the deaths of three major wrestling figures. In June, The Iron Sheik (Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri) died at age 81. Then, in August, there were two back-to-back deaths. First, WWE Hall of Famer Terry Funk died at age 79. Funk’s hardcore style has been influential to generations of wrestlers that followed. Then, Bray Wyatt (Windham Rotunda) suddenly died at age 36. The young wrestler died after contracting COVID, which exacerbated a heart issue and led to a heart attack.
Scroll through the gallery below to see the musicians, celebrities and other cultural figures we’ve lost in 2023.
Erica Banas is a news blogger who's been covering the rock/classic rock world since 2014. The coolest event she's ever covered in person was the 2021 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. (Sir Paul McCartney inducting Foo Fighters? C'mon now!) She's also well-versed in etiquette and extraordinarily nice. #TransRightsAreHumanRights
