Harry Belafonte was one of the most successful pop stars around. He was an American singer, activist, and actor. Harry became famous for his album titled “Calypso” which sold over a million. In this post, however, we will concentrate on who Harry Belafonte’s wives Pamela Frank, Marguerite Belafonte And Julie Robinson are. Keep reading for more details.

ALSO READ: Harry Belafonte Children: Meet Her Daughters And Son

Harry Belafonte Biography

Belafonte was born Harold George Bellanfanti Jr. on March 1, 1927, in Harlem, New York. He grew up in a diverse family with Jamaican and Afro-American roots. Harry was raised Catholic and spent time with his grandmother in Jamaica during his childhood.

Upon returning to New York, Belafonte attended George Washington High School and later joined the Navy to serve during World War II. After the war, he worked as a janitor’s assistant until he discovered his love for theatre. A gratuity from a tenant gave him two tickets to see the American Negro Theater, and he fell in love with the art form. He befriended Sidney Poitier and regularly traded places with him during local plays.

Belafonte continued his education at The New School in New York, taking acting classes with Erwin Piscator alongside Marlon Brando, Tony Curtis, Walter Matthau, Bea Arthur, and Poitier. He performed with the American Negro Theater and received a Tony Award for his participation in the Broadway revue John Murray Anderson’s Almanac in 1954. He also starred in the Broadway revue 3 for Tonight with Gower Champion in 1955.

Harry Belafonte started his music career as a club singer in New York, paying for his acting classes. He launched his recording career as a pop singer on the Roost label in 1949 but quickly developed a keen interest in folk music. With guitarist and friend Millard Thomas, Belafonte soon made his debut at the legendary jazz club The Village Vanguard. He signed a contract with RCA Victor in 1953, recording regularly for the label until 1974.

Belafonte’s music career flourished as he introduced several artists to American audiences, most notably South African singer Miriam Makeba and Greek singer Nana Mouskouri. His album Midnight Special (1962) included a young harmonica player named Bob Dylan. Belafonte also performed during the Rat Pack era in Las Vegas, featuring at the Sands Hotel and Casino and the Dunes Hotel.

Harry starred in numerous films, including Bright Road (1953), in which he supported female lead Dorothy Dandridge. The two subsequently starred in Otto Preminger’s hit musical Carmen Jones (1954). In 1957’s Island in the Sun, there are hints of an affair between Belafonte’s character and the character played by Joan Fontaine. He also co-starred with Inger Stevens in The World, the Flesh and the Devil.

Belafonte was offered the role of Porgy in Preminger’s Porgy and Bess, where he would have once again starred opposite Dandridge, but he refused the role because he objected to its racial stereotyping; Sidney Poitier played the role instead.

He was not only an entertainer but also a civil rights activist. Harry supported the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 1960s and was one of Martin Luther King Jr.’s confidants. He provided for King’s family since King made only $8,000 a year as a preacher. During the 1963 Birmingham Campaign, he bailed King out of Birmingham City Jail and raised $50,000 to release other civil rights protesters. He contributed to the 1961 Freedom Rides, supported voter registration drives, and helped to organize the 1963 March on Washington.

Belafonte was blacklisted during the McCarthy era, along with many other civil rights activists. However, he continued his activism, using his star clout to realize several then-controversial film roles. In 1959, he starred in and produced, through his company HarBel Productions, Robert Wise’s Odds Against Tomorrow, in which he plays a bank robber uncomfortably teamed with a racist partner (Robert Ryan).

Harry Belafonte was the first Jamaican American to win an Emmy, for Revlon Revue: Tonight with Belafonte (1959). Two live albums, both recorded at Carnegie Hall in 1959 and 1960, enjoyed critical and commercial success. From his 1959 album, “Hava Nagila” became part of his regular routine and one of his signature songs.

Belafonte’s love for the Caribbean island of Bonaire led him to form a joint venture with Maurice Neme of Oranjestad, Aruba, to create a luxurious private community on Bonaire. Construction of the neighbourhood started on June 3, 1966, and it was named Belnem after Belafonte and Neme. The neighbourhood is managed by the Bel-Nem Caribbean Development Corporation, where Belafonte and Neme served as its first directors.

Harry Belafonte died on 25 April 2023 from congestive heart failure due to natural causes at his American home on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, at the age of 96.

Harry Belafonte’s Wives: Pamela Frank, Marguerite Belafonte And Julie Robinson

Belafonte was married to three women in his lifetime, Marguerite Byrd, Julie Robinson and Pamela Frank. Belafonte’s first marriage to Byrd lasted from 1948 to 1957, during which they had two daughters named Adrienne and Shari Belafonte. Despite having two children together, their marriage ended when Byrd was pregnant with Shari. After the divorce, Adrienne and her daughter Rachel Blue founded the Anir Foundation / Experience, aimed at humanitarian work in southern Africa. Shari went on to become a photographer, model, singer, and actress and is married to actor Sam Behrens.

Harry Belafonte’s affair with actress Joan Collins during the filming of Island in the Sun led him to meet his second wife, Julie Robinson. They got married on March 8, 1957, and had two children, David and Gina. David, the only son of Harry Belafonte, is a former model and actor turned Emmy-winning and Grammy-nominated music producer. He is also the executive director of the family-held company Belafonte Enterprises Inc. As a music producer, David has been involved in most of Belafonte’s albums, tours, and productions. He is married to Malena Belafonte, who toured with Belafonte as a model and singer.

Gina Belafonte, on the other hand, followed in her father’s footsteps as an actress and worked with him as a coach and producer on more than six films. She now leads Sankofa, a non-profit established by her father to support political activism in the arts.

After almost five decades of marriage, Belafonte and Robinson divorced. In April 2008, Belafonte tied the knot with photographer Pamela Frank.

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