TVMusic Network remembers actor, activist and icon Harry Belafonte who passed away this week at the age of 96. The actor and singer was best known for his roles on screen and for hit songs such as “The Banana Boat Song” but Belafonte’s work with Martin Luther King, Jr. as a civil rights activist would help change the landscape of America and the world.
Harry Belafonte was the first black performer to win an Emmy Award and the first recording artist to sell over a million copies of an album, and also received an honorary Oscar in 2014 for his work in such classic movies as “Carmen Jones,” “Bright Road” and Spike Lee’s “BlacKkKlansman.” Just last year Belafonte was recognized by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for his recordings and contribution to music.
Belafonte’s presense is still felt today. The Peacock Original documentary, “The Sit-In: Harry Belafonte Hosts The Tonight Show” covers chronicles the seminal event and almost-forgotten moment in American history during which legendary entertainer and civil rights activist Harry Belafonte hosted the iconic “Tonight Show” in place of Johnny Carson for an entire week.
The Emmy-Award-winning series “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” also paid tribute to the singer when he (played by Josh A. Dawson) performed at the wedding of his good friend fictional Shy Baldwin.
