Berry Gordy, Tony Bennett, Oprah Winfrey and More Remember Harry Belafonte: ‘Trailblazer and Hero to Us All’
variety.comThania Garcia Hollywood is mourning Harry Belafonte, the Calypso singer, award-winning performer and activist, who died on April 25 of congestive heart failure at age 96.
The Caribbean-American entertainer is lauded as one of the most versatile recording artists of the 1950s and was one of the first Black leading men in cinema.
He also had a fierce commitment to activism throughout the 60s and participated in numerous protests and marches including the Freedom March on Washington in 1963 (alongside his friend and actor Sidney Poitier) where Martin Luther King Jr.
delivered his historic “I Have a Dream” speech. Tastemakers like Berry Gordy, Tony Bennett, Oprah Winfrey and more paid their respects and celebrated Belafonte’s work, calling him a “trailblazer” and “great entertainer.” “My friend, Harry Belafonte, was truly a man of cause, conviction and principle,” said Gordy, Motown founder, in a statement. “Besides being a great entertainer, he was a major political activist during the Civil Rights Movement.
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