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Harry Belafonte, Singer, Actor And Activist, Has Died At Age 96
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Harry Belafonte, singer, actor and human rights activist, passed away at age 96 of congestive heart failure.
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He was an EGOT holder for his Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards.
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Belafonte balanced his activism with his artistry in ways that made people around the world listen.
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He broke racial barriers in the entertainment industry.
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Belafonte died at his home in New York, his publicist announced.
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His recordings for RCA Victor, including "Day-O", set off a craze for calypso music in the 1950s.
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Audiences, both Black and white, adored Belafonte in a time when America was still segregated.
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He was born in Harlem to parents from the Caribbean.
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His mother, who was a cleaning lady, took him back to her native Jamaica where he absorbed the island's culture.
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"The Banana Boat Song" was inspired by the vendors he heard singing in the streets.
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The album Calypso was a bestseller, holding a spot at the top of Billboard's then newly created album charts for several weeks in 1956.
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Belafonte dropped out of high school and joined the Navy, then started singing in clubs after the war.
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He won a Tony Award in 1954 for a revue called "John Murray Anderson's Almanac: A Musical Harlequinade."
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In 1959, he was given a one-hour show on CBS, the first for an African American.
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He was one of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s most trusted friends.
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Belafonte helped organize the Freedom March on Washington in 1963, where King delivered his "I Have A Dream" speech.
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Belafonte raised money to bail King out of jail in Birmingham.
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He helped organize Nelson Mandela's first trip to the U.S. after he was released from prison.
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Belafonte was an outspoken critic of people in power, including President Barack Obama.