Harry Belafonte and Petula Clark during a 1968 U.S. TV show «On the Road to Glory». Photo: Getty
Singer and actor Harry Belafonte, who died at the age of 96, led a courageous and pioneering life in which he boldly championed a variety of humanitarian causes, from being a leading voice in the civil rights movement of the 50s and the 60s along with Martin Luther King to condemnation of everything from apartheid to the policies of the George W. Bush administration.
This commitment to liberal politics extended to his work as a musician and on screen, whether it was the role reversal drama The White Man's Burden, in which he starred opposite John Travolta in a story about an alternative America where the socioeconomic status of white and black citizens swapped, or his last screen appearance in Spike Lee's BlacKkKlansman, in which Belafonte, now suffering from ill health, was duly cast as Jerome Turner, a civil rights pioneer who has a mind-boggling monologue about the lynching taking place in 1916 in Waco, Texas.
Belafonte, along with his longtime friend Sidney Poitier (whom he referred to after Poitier's death as his «brother and partner in trying to make this world a little better»), has been one of the most notable black celebrities since his first rise to fame. in the fifties and later.
However, while Poitier went out of his way to reassure the predominantly white citizens of middle America that he was an undisputed and non-threatening figure, Belafonte was less appeasing; one who followed in the footsteps of his idol Paul Robeson by refusing to compromise his principles and ideals, no matter how bad that might get him.
Belafonte's success as the so-called «King of Calypso» was combined with an unwavering commitment to the civil rights movement, which led him, like Robson, to refuse to perform in the segregated concert halls and theaters of the southern states. and to make public statements in support of Martin Luther King Jr., for whose bold and decisive actions he was blacklisted during the McCarthy era. Belafonte was fortunate in that the hugely influential broadcaster Ed Sullivan (who had also given the Beatles great success in America) chose to ignore the blacklist and invite the singer to his show anyway. As a result, Belafonte has become one of the most famous and popular singers in America.
Credit: Getty /Harry Belafonte. in 1970
The obvious difference between Poitier and Belafonte is that while both men made films dealing with the then-taboo subject of interracial romance, they did so in completely different ways. Poitier appeared in the now dated but then groundbreaking Guess Who's Coming to Dinner in 1967, in which any potential for controversy was diluted with the character of Poitier — nothing less than a doctor — portrayed as nothing more than a secular saint.
However, ten years prior, Belafonte had appeared in the less artistically respectable drama Island in the Sun (based on the best-selling book by Evelyn Waugh's older brother, Alec) as David Boyer, an ambitious local politician on the West Indies Island, won the heart of the white elite.
Although the film ends with Boyer rejecting his would-be lover's advances, his depiction of their flirting was still considered highly controversial. Joan Fontaine, who played an aristocrat, received death threats from the Ku Klux Klan, and the film was banned in Memphis, Tennessee for being «too explicitly depicting racial mixing, offending moral standards, and being unsuitable for either whites or whites.» Black person».
Belafonte — unlike the more cautious and conservative Poitiers — enjoyed both the controversy and the opportunity to confront the narrow-minded and fanatical forces of oppression. As an example of the art of imitating life, an actor would have an affair with Joan Collins on the set of a film. She later recalled: “He was fascinating, and soon we had an affair, away from prying eyes, in my tiny apartment. But after several exciting connections, we realized that we had to cool off. He returned to his wife, and I went on.”
However, this controversy might seem minor compared to what happened in the late sixties, when Belafonte was as famous for his political views as he was for his singing and acting skills. He turned down several film roles (notably in Otto Preminger's Porgy and Bess) because he felt they promoted racial stereotypes. Poitier took over the role of Porgy, but the film's indifferent reviews confirmed Belafonte's reluctance to play the part.
Instead, he continued his musical career. But his open rejection of everything from the Vietnam War to racial poverty meant that nervous TV executives saw him as unreliable. He may have replaced the legendary Johnny Carson as host of The Tonight Show, but he was a polarizing, endlessly controversial figure, especially when it came to all the important network TV advertisers who were not known for their open-mindedness or liberal attitude. .
Belafonte was hired to appear on the NBC show in 1968, which was intended to showcase British singer Petula Clark to American audiences. Clarke had achieved success with her single Downtown in 1965, topping the US charts and winning a Grammy in the process, and was now famous enough to merit her own hour-long variety show.
Meanwhile, Belafonte was asked to give a 10-minute solo performance during Clarke's set, before the two singers duet Clarke's anti-war song «On the Path of Glory», a sentiment that was especially dear to Belafonte. However, there was concern about his appearance on the show at all, as the head of publicity for show sponsor Plymouth Motors, Doyle Lott, tried to ban Belafonte, albeit without success.
Petula Clark and Harry Belafonte in 1960. Photo: Redferns
As Belafonte and Clarke sang their duet, Clarke lightly touched Belafonte's arm. This small physical gesture drew Lott's ire, and at first even Belafonte feared that it would cause excessive controversy.
“I didn’t hear all the noise that was going on upstairs in the control room,” Clark would later say. “To touch his hand was just instinctive, because we were very worried about this. I just didn't think about it.»
As Belafonte later recounted in his autobiography, he suggested to Clark that the play be redone. “Perhaps,” I told her, “we should choose another fight, another day—at least as long as her interests are at stake. «Forget my interests,» she said. — What would you do? I chuckled. «I would nail ***.» “We will,” she replied.
While Poitier may have sought to improve the situation, either by asking for a re-shoot of the performance or by remaining silent about the actions of those around him, Belafonte publicly condemned Lott's actions even before the show was aired as «the most egregious case of racism that I have ever seen in this business.»
He refused to accept Lott's subsequent apology, saying, «Apologizing in situations like this doesn't mean anything. They don't change this man's heart or my skin. On the inside, he feels the same way because of how I look on the outside. He may apologize for the balance of his life, but that won't change his current attitude. And a person with such an attitude needs to be exposed.”
Harry Belafonte and Petula Clark in 1968. Photo: Getty
Belafonte might have been outraged a few years earlier, and the moment duly became international news, covered in magazines such as Newsweek and Time. However, he was thought to be a victim of the racism he had spent his entire life against, and when the show went on the air — Clarke insisted that it be shown uncut or that she would withdraw permission to air it altogether — it attracted attention. high ratings and cemented Belafonte's position as the most dedicated and courageous activist of his generation.
A particularly bitter irony was that two days after the special aired, its impact was overshadowed by the assassination of Martin Luther King; Belafonte was later photographed at his funeral next to King's widow Coretta.
For the rest of his life, Belafonte was not afraid to use his fame and cultural influence to support the causes he believed in. Some of them were more popular all over the world than others. His anti-apartheid views were held by most of his peers, but his consistent praise of Fidel Castro and his regime in Cuba kept him out of the political mainstream. When he criticized the war in Iraq and Bush's Secretaries of State Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice, the latter was forced to say, «I don't need Harry Belafonte to explain to me what it means to be black.»
However, in 2006, Belafonte was asked what single epitaph he would like to be remembered for, and he replied: «Harry Belafonte, patriot.» Few would disagree with this.
Свежие комментарии