Harry Belafonte was an American entertainer, actor, and civil rights campaigner. On April 25, 2023, at the age of 96, Harry Belafonte passed away. With his recordings of songs like “Day-O” and “Matilda,” Belafonte is widely credited with introducing new generations to calypso.
In 1956, his album “Calypso” sold over a million copies, making it the first record by a single artist to do so and spending 31 weeks at the top of the Billboard album chart. In this article, we will read about Harry Belafonte's Net Worth in detail. Keep reading to know more.
Who Is Harry Belafonte?
Harry Belafonte was an American entertainer, actor, and civil rights campaigner. Harry Belafonte was born on March 1, 1927, in New York, to Melvine and Harold George Bellafonte Sr., Jamaican immigrants.
He comes from a Catholic family. Growing up in Jamaica with one of his grandmothers, Harry attended Wolmer's. After that, he moved back to New York and started attending Washington High.
He eventually enlisted in the US Navy and served during WWII. After that, Harry attended New York's The New School for Drama to study acting.
Quick Facts About Harry Belafonte
| Full Name | Harold George “Harry” Belafonte, Jr. |
| Date of Birth | March 1, 1927, |
| Birth Place | Harlem, New York City, New York, United States |
| Height | 5′ 11″ ½ (1.82 m) |
| Weight | 160 lbs (72.57 kg) |
| Source of Wealth | Film, Music, and Television |
| Nationality | American |
| Ethnicity | Afro-Jamaican and Afro-Martinique |
| Occupation | Singer, Songwriter, Actor, and Activist |
| Education | George Washington High School |
What Is Harry Belafonte Net Worth?
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Harry Belafonte had a net worth of $30 million at the time of his death in April 2023.
If you want to read about Harry Belafonte's Death Cause in detail. You can check it here(Harry Belafonte Cause of Death).
Assets & Properties of Harry Belafonte
In Elmhurst, Queens, Harry Belafonte has a beautiful mansion. He and his wife, Pamela Frank, also have a mansion in New York, which they currently call home. The home is valued at approximately $2.9 million. There has been no mention of any other real estate that he may own.
Let’s take A Look At Harry Belafonte’s Vast Career Belafonte took up a career as a nightclub singer to fund his training as an actor. In 1949, he finally began his music career after signing with the Roost record label.
He first performed publicly with his friend Millard Thomas at the Village Vanguard jazz club in New York City’s Greenwich Village. In 1956, he released the studio album “Calypso,” which made history as the first album to sell a million copies worldwide in a single year.
And it was on this album that Belafonte debuted his hallmark song, “Day-O.” Another popular song from “Calypso” was “Jamaica Farewell.” Belafonte also made recordings of blues, folk, gospel, show tunes, and classics in addition to calypso.
He released a pair of Carnegie Hall concert CDs in 1959 and 1960, the former of which featured his rendition of the Jewish folk ballad “Hava Nagila.” In the years that followed, Belafonte created albums like “Jump Up Calypso,” and “Midnight Special’.
Also, in 1965, he collaborated with South African singer-songwriter and activist Miriam Makeba on the Grammy-winning album “An Evening with Belafonte/Makeba.” Album of calypso music recorded and published by Belafonte in 1971; titled “Calypso Carnival.”
As a result, he spent much of the decade touring the world instead of producing new material. In the mid-1980s, Belafonte joined the charity ensemble USA for Africa and found renewed musical success.
He also composed the soundtrack for the movie “Beat Street.” For the first time in over a decade, Belafonte released an album of all-new songs after signing with EMI, and it was titled “Paradise in Gazankulu.”
Belafonte’s final album comprises songs of protest against Apartheid in South Africa. Throughout the ’90s and ’00s, Belafonte kept performing, with his final show being a charity concert for the Atlanta Opera in late 2003.
Not too long after that, he gave up singing professionally. In the film “Bright Road,” released in 1953, Belafonte made his first appearance alongside Dorothy Dandridge. After starring in “Island in the Sun” together in 1957, the couple reunited the following year for Otto Preminger’s smash musical film “Carmen Jones.”
Two years later, Belafonte acted in and produced Robert Wise’s film noir, “Odds Against Tomorrow.” He had a starring role in the science fiction movie “The World, the Flesh, and the Devil.” ‘
After taking a hiatus from acting in the 1960s, Belafonte co-starred with Sidney Poitier in two films released in the 1970s: the Western “Buck and the Preacher” and the action criminal comedy “Uptown Saturday Night.”
John Travolta and Belafonte costarred in the 1995 film “White Man’s Burden,” a drama about prejudice. The next year, he landed a juicy part in Robert Altman’s jazz-era crime picture, “Kansas City.” Belafonte has also appeared in films directed by Emilio Estevez and Spike Lee, respectively, in which he played an elderly civil rights leader.
Harry's Involvement in Activism and Charity
Belafonte looked forward to actor, singer, and civil rights campaigner Paul Robeson for inspiration in his work as an activist for political and humanitarian issues. Belafonte was a trusted advisor to Martin Luther King Jr. and a prominent civil rights leader in the 1950s and 1960s.
He supported the Freedom Rides in 1961 and was instrumental in the 1963 March on Washington. When it came to the fight against apartheid in South Africa, Belafonte was also a major player.
In 1985, Belafonte participated in the Live Aid event and won a Grammy for his work on the charity single “We Are the World.” He became a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador two years later.
For the rest of his life, Belafonte has been an advocate for humanitarian causes all over the world, especially in Africa, where he has participated in numerous campaigns to bring attention to pressing concerns like child poverty and HIV/AIDS.
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