Harry Belafonte death: Grammy-winning singer and activist dies aged 96

Pioneering artist Harry Belafonte has died aged 96.

The singer, actor and activist, who was known for songs such as “Banana Boat” (1956) and “Jump in the Line” (1961), died at his home in Manhattan on Tuesday (25 April), his publicist said.

Ken Sunshine, Belafonte’s long-time spokesperson, confirmed to The New York Times that the musician had died of congestive heart failure.

Belafonte was born in New York to Jamaican immigrant parents.

He is widely considered the most successful Caribbean-American pop star and is credited with bringing the Calypso musical style from its Trinidad and Tobago roots to an international audience in the 1950s.

As well as his career as a recording artist, for which he earned three Grammy Awards, Belafonte starred in several films, including Carmen Jones (1954), Island in the Sun (1957), and Odds Against Tomorrow (1959).

Belafonte was a committed activist and played a significant role in the American civil rights movement. He was a close confidant of Martin Luther King and helped to organise the March on Washington of 1963.

Additionally, Belafonte regularly used his own money to bail civil rights activists out of prison.

He made his final film appearance in 2018’s Spike Lee-directed BlackKklansman, in which Belafonte played an elderly civil rights pioneer.

In 2022, Belafonte was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the Early Influence category. He was the oldest living person to have received the honour.

In his lifetime, Belafonte was awarded both an Emmy and a Tony. In 1986, he was also feted with the Kennedy Center Honour for his contribution to American culture.

In a tribute on Twitter, Labour MP David Lammy shared a photograph of himself with Belafonte. Alongside the picture, Lammy wrote that it was a “great joy” to interview Belafonte in 2012.

Lammy added: “His music and films lit up my childhood home and encouraged my parents. But it is for his civil rights campaigning that I hope he rests in power alongside his friend MLK.”

Belafonte is survived by his wife, photographer Pamela Frank, four children and five grandchildren.