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Daylight Come & He's Gone Home: Harry Belafonte Dies At 96
He was an actor, a singer and a civil rights activist, as well as an artist who helped popularize Calypso music in North America. Harry Belafonte has passed away at the age of 96, leaving quite a legacy behind. He won several Grammys, an Emmy and a Tony and was best known for his signature "Banana Boat Song (Day-o)" which was #1 for five weeks and became known to a whole new generation when it was featured in the movie "Beetlejuice."
He was also a close associate of Dr. Martin Luther King, and caused a huge controversy in 1968, when he appeared with Petula Clark on a TV special.
"During a performance of an anti-war ballad, Clark clutched Belafonte’s arm. Doyle Lott, VP for sponsor Chrysler-Plymouth, was present at the taping and demanded the number be excised, saying the “interracial touching” might offend Southern viewers. But Clark, who owned the show, put her foot down and the show aired as recorded, while exec Lott was fired by the automaker."
Harry Belafonte, Calypso King Who Worked for African American Rights, Dies at 96
- Dial Twister
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Re: Daylight Come & He's Gone Home: Harry Belafonte Dies At 96
My parents were ahead of their time when it came to race relations. At one point, both parents worked at the local Oshawa radio station (CKLB-AM and CKQS-FM); dad as an operator and mom as secretary to the owner/manager.
A new lady arrived to work there, and to their amazement (in white as new snow Ontario of the 1950s), she was a Black woman who had recently immigrated with her family from Jamaica. She was a wonderful person and our parents became close friends with her and her family. My parents travelled with them, more than once, to Jamaica to stay with extended family.
Hearing about the passing of Harry Belafonte brought it all back.
I can’t imagine how many times I heard dad play this song…
Last edited by Dial Twister (April 25, 2023 2:02 pm)
- turkeytop
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Re: Daylight Come & He's Gone Home: Harry Belafonte Dies At 96
Back in the early 70s I was working up in the Owen Sound area. One night some of the women from the workplace took a bus trip to Toronto to attend a performance by Belafonte.
They came back the next day feeling embittered and betrayed.
"We didn't know he was going to be coloured. They don't tell you that when you buy the ticket."
After all is said and done, more is usually said than done.
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Re: Daylight Come & He's Gone Home: Harry Belafonte Dies At 96
turkeytop wrote:
...They came back the next day feeling embittered and betrayed.
"We didn't know he was going to be coloured. They don't tell you that when you buy the ticket."
Good Lord.
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Re: Daylight Come & He's Gone Home: Harry Belafonte Dies At 96
A long forgotten and impactful moment in network TV history.
What happened when Harry Belafonte hosted The Tonight Show in 1968
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