A well-known performer and actor, Harry Belafonte devoted his life to civil rights movement. He began his career in the 1950s and over the years, he has recorded 30 studio albums. He has also acted in a number of films and television programmes.
The singer passed suddenly from congestive heart failure on April 25th, 2023, at the age of 96. He was able to amass enormous riches throughout the course of his lengthy and distinguished career. Here is all the information we have about Harry Belafonte’s earnings and net worth.
Harry Belafonte Net Worth
When Harry Belafonte passed away in April 2023, his wealth was $30 million. The vocalist, however, came from a very low background. He was raised in Jamaica with his grandmother after being born in 1927 to immigrant Jamaican parents. After completing his education, he relocated to the US and joined the Navy.
Later, Belafonte developed a passion for the performing arts and began participating in American Negro Theatre productions. The Dramatic Workshop at the New School is where he later studied acting. He began singing at neighbourhood bars in New York to pay for the classes, which launched his music career.
Singing and Acting Career
Calypso, the breakthrough album by Harry Belafonte, was the first record to sell over a million copies when it was released in 1956. The single Day-O (The Banana Boat Song) from the album went on to become a worldwide smash. Throughout his career, the singer put out 30 studio albums that mixed calypso, folk, and other musical styles.
The most well-known songs by Belafonte are Jamaica Farewell and Jump in the Line. His tracks received appreciation for their catchy melodies and potent lyrics. In 2000, the singer received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. He also received the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.
Belafonte was not just a renowned vocalist but also an accomplished actor. His first film role was in Bright Road in 1953, and he later made appearances in Carmen Jones, Island in the Sun, and Buck and the Preacher, among other films. His appearances on the Harry Belafonte Show, The Muppet Show, That’s What I’m Talking About, and The Cosby Show are among his television credits.
Belafonte also enjoyed success on Broadway, when in 1954 he took home a Tony Award for his performance in John Murray Anderson’s Almanack. In 1994, he received the National Medal of Arts, and in 2014, he received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.
Civil Rights Activism
In addition, Belafonte’s efforts as a civil rights crusader garnered media attention. He was an outspoken supporter of social justice and equality for underrepresented groups, and he sought to transform the world through his humanitarian endeavours.
He organised the March on Washington and collaborated closely with Martin Luther King Jr. He was appointed a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF in 1987. We Are the Wave and Get an Ugly Girl to Marry You, two songs that he wrote against unfairness and discrimination, are examples of how his activism is mirrored in his music.
