"Renowned singer, actor, (...), legendary figure of civil rights, Harry Belafonte died this morning of heart failure at his home in New York," his wife Pamela at his side, she said in a statement.

Born in Harlem in 1927 to a Jamaican mother and a Martinican father, he had grown up partly in Jamaica before settling in New York, a childhood with mixed influences that he had integrated into his music, which quickly met with immense success in the prosperous America of the 1950s.

In 1956, his album "Calypso" became the first in history to sell more than a million copies.

As a singer, he filled the halls and his recordings, including six gold records, were a worldwide success and earned him several Grammy Awards in 1960.

Meanwhile, Belafonte starred in Otto Preminger's "Carmen Jones" (1954), Robert Wise's "1959], Robert Altman's "Kansas City" (1996), "Buck and His Accomplice" by and with Sidney Poitier (1972) and "Bobby" (Emilio Estevez, 2006) about the assassination of Robert Kennedy in 1968, John F. Kennedy's brother.

Close to JFK and MLK

It was later, when the struggle for racial equality became central in the United States, that the singer, who had become an actor, approached political battles and became friends with the icon of this movement, Martin Luther King, whom he supported financially.

He will also be close to President Kennedy and will be appointed Goodwill Ambassador to UNICEF.

Until the 2000s, he continued his battles, opposing the war in Iraq led by Republican President George W. Bush (2001-2009) whom he accused of being a "terrorist".

He was also an activist against apartheid in South Africa and an admirer of the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

The dyslexic artist, who did not expect success after dropping out of high school, enlisting for a time in the army or working as a janitor, was crowned at the end of his life with prestigious awards.

Thus, in 2014, he received an honorary Oscar because "from the beginning of his career he chose projects highlighting racism and inequalities".

In December 2021, he was awarded the title of Knight of the Legion of Honor by the France Ambassador to the United States.

© 2023 AFP