THE ACTOR AND SINGER IN HIS 1960 TV MUSICAL BELAFONTE: NEW ... · THE ACTOR AND SINGER IN HIS 1960...
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THE ACTOR AND SINGER IN HIS 1960 TV MUSICAL BELAFONTE: NEW YORK 19 Depending on whom you ask, Harry Belafonte is an actor, a singer, a rabble-rouser, a humanitarian, or a cancer survivor. But the truth is, he’s all of those things and more. From aiding onetime confidant Martin Luther King Jr. during the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s to helping shed light on poverty across Africa in the ’80s to hosting Nelson Mandela on U.S. soil after he was released from prison in 1990, the longtime UNICEF goodwill ambassador has stood on the front lines of justice. Belafonte experienced great success as an actor (he won a Tony Award for John Murray Anderson’s Almanac), a singer (he was the first artist to sell 1 million copies of an album, Calypso), and a TV personality (he was the first black person to win an Emmy for his special Tonight with Belafonte). Still, his protests against the government’s encroachment on human rights led to his being blacklisted in the 1950s. Much like his hero, actor Paul Robeson, the New York native never backed down from his beliefs, and is still known to speak up: In 2006, he called former President George W. Bush the “greatest tyrant and terrorist in the world” during a meeting with controversial Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. He also likened former Secretary of State Colin Powell to a “house slave” for supporting Bush administration policies, and criticized the government for instigating the Iraq war and botching the rescue operation during Hurricane Katrina. While it could take volumes to sum up his legacy, the octogenarian has managed to do it in three words, saying that when he dies he wants his epitaph to read “Harry Belafonte, Patriot.” —Jessica Dufresne Harry Belafonte GETTY IMAGES 96 www.uptownlife.net Icon1.indd 96 Icon1.indd 96 5/7/09 1:24:44 PM 5/7/09 1:24:44 PM
Transcript of THE ACTOR AND SINGER IN HIS 1960 TV MUSICAL BELAFONTE: NEW ... · THE ACTOR AND SINGER IN HIS 1960...
THE ACTOR AND SINGER IN HIS 1960 TV MUSICAL BELAFONTE: NEW YORK 19
Depending on whom you ask, Harry Belafonte is an actor, a singer, a rabble-rouser, a humanitarian, or a cancer survivor. But the truth is, he’s all of those things and more.
From aiding onetime confi dant Martin Luther King Jr. during the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s to helping shed light on poverty across Africa in the ’80s to hosting Nelson Mandela on U.S. soil after he was released from prison in 1990, the longtime UNICEF goodwill ambassador has stood on the front lines of justice.
Belafonte experienced great success as an actor (he won a Tony Award for John Murray Anderson’s Almanac), a singer (he was the fi rst artist to sell 1 million copies of an album, Calypso), and a TV personality (he was the fi rst black person to win an Emmy for his special Tonight with Belafonte).
Still, his protests against the government’s encroachment on human rights led to his being blacklisted in the 1950s. Much like his hero, actor Paul Robeson, the New York native never backed down from his beliefs, and is still known to speak up: In 2006, he called former President George W. Bush the “greatest tyrant and terrorist in the world” during a meeting with controversial Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. He also likened former Secretary of State Colin Powell to a “house slave” for supporting Bush administration policies, and criticized the government for instigating the Iraq war and botching the rescue operation during Hurricane Katrina.
While it could take volumes to sum up his legacy, the octogenarian has managed to do it in three words, saying that when he dies he wants his epitaph to read “Harry Belafonte, Patriot.” —Jessica Dufresne
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96 www.uptownlife.net
Icon1.indd 96Icon1.indd 96 5/7/09 1:24:44 PM5/7/09 1:24:44 PM
