Music Harry Belafonte through the years A look back at his legendary life and career. By Madeline Boardman Madeline Boardman Madeline Boardman is a former digital features director at Entertainment Weekly. She left EW in 2017. EW's editorial guidelines Updated on April 25, 2023 11:02AM EDT 01 of 41 The evolution of Harry Belafonte Metronome/Getty Images Born in New York on March 1, 1927, Harry Belafonte died on April 25 at age 96 from congestive heart failure. Pictured here in the 1940s, the star kicked off his career as a singer, later expanding his work to acting and activism. Decades later, the star has an Emmy, Grammys, and an Academy Awards' Humanitarian Award to his name. In honor of his legendary career, check out photos of Belafonte through the years, ahead. 02 of 41 Harry Belafonte in the early 1950s 03 of 41 Harry Belafonte on Three for Tonight on Jan. 22, 1955 04 of 41 Harry Belafonte with Dorothy Dandridge and Joe Adams in Carmen Jones in 1954 Henry Gris/FPG/Getty Images 05 of 41 Harry Belafonte in the 1950s 06 of 41 Harry Belafonte in 1956 07 of 41 Harry Belafonte in a recording studio in 1957 08 of 41 Harry Belafonte in 1957 Archive Photos/Getty Images 09 of 41 Harry Belafonte on The Bell Telephone Hour in December 1958 10 of 41 Harry Belafonte with Julie Robinson and David Belafonte in New York City in 1959 Hulton Archive/Getty Images 11 of 41 Harry Belafonte at the 1960 Emmy Awards on June 20, 1960 CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images 12 of 41 Harry Belafonte and Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. at Kennedy International Airport on Aug. 14, 1964 Hulton Archive/Getty Images 13 of 41 Harry Belafonte with Sidney Poitier and Charlton Heston at the Lincoln Memorial During the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on Aug. 28, 1963 PhotoQuest/Getty Images 14 of 41 Harry Belafonte in 1965 Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images 15 of 41 Harry Belafonte in the late 1960s NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images 16 of 41 Harry Belafonte in the late 1960s NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images 17 of 41 Harry Belafonte and Julie Andrews on An Evening With Julie Andrews and Harry Belafonte in 1969 NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images 18 of 41 Harry Belafonte and Muhammad Ali at the 31st Annual Beaux Arts Ball in New York City in 1971 Ron Galella/WireImage 19 of 41 Harry Belafonte at the George V Hotel in Paris on June 14, 1976 20 of 41 Harry Belafonte in 1980 Will/ullstein bild via Getty Images 21 of 41 Harry Belafonte in New York City in 1985 22 of 41 Harry Belafonte performing in Paris on Sept. 24, 1988 23 of 41 Harry Belafonte performing in London in 1990 24 of 41 Harry Belafonte and Jack Nicholson celebrating President Bill Clinton's Inauguration in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 17, 1993 Cynthia Johnson/Liaison 25 of 41 Harry Belafonte and Archbishop Desmond Tutu at the United Nations Headquarters on June 16, 1994 JOHN LEVY/AFP/Getty Images 26 of 41 Harry Belafonte on March 16, 1998 Brill/ullstein bild via Getty Images 27 of 41 Harry Belafonte and Danny Glover outside Carnegie Hall in New York City on Nov. 30, 1998 Richard Corkery/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images 28 of 41 Harry Belafonte, Julie Robinson, and Nelson Mandela on June 15, 1999 THEMBA HADEBE/AFP/Getty Images 29 of 41 Harry Belafonte at On Stage at the Kennedy Center: The Mark Twain Prize on Oct. 15, 2001 30 of 41 Harry Belafonte in NYC on March 26, 2002 31 of 41 Harry Belafonte at the 5th Annual Dubai International Film Festival on Dec. 15, 2008 32 of 41 Harry Belafonte at the 1199 SEIU's 50th Anniversary Celebration in New York City on Dec. 18, 2009 33 of 41 Harry Belafonte at the Bing Decision Maker Series in Park City, Utah, on Jan. 22, 2011 Michael Buckner/Getty Images 34 of 41 Harry Belafonte at Sing Your Song Photocall at the 61st Berlin International Film Festival on Feb. 12, 2011 35 of 41 Harry Belafonte at the Museum of Arts and Design in NYC on April 2, 2011 Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images 36 of 41 Harry Belafonte at the 44th NAACP Image Awards in Los Angeles on Feb, 1, 2013 Charley Gallay/Getty Images for NAACP Image Awards 37 of 41 Harry Belafonte at NYC Pride 2013 on June 30, 2013 Michael Stewart/WireImage 38 of 41 Harry Belafonte at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences' 2014 Governors Awards in Hollywood on November 8, 2014 Kevin Winter/Getty Images 39 of 41 Harry Belafonte and Pamela Frank in NYC on May 31, 2016 Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic 40 of 41 Harry Belafonte and Michael B. Jordan at the 2016 Many Rivers to Cross Festival at Bouckaert Farm in Fairburn, Ga., on Oct. 2, 2016 Paras Griffin/Getty Images 41 of 41 Harry Belafonte at the 2016 Library Lions Gala at the New York Public Library on Nov. 7, 2016 Gary Gershoff/WireImage Close