SINGER, songwriter and actor Harry Belafonte has died aged 96.
According to his regional officer, Ken Sunshine, the deceased died on Tuesday morning of heart failure.
"The deceased died at his home in New York due to heart failure alongside his wife Pamela," he said.
Belafonte, or real name Harold George Belafonte Jr, was born on March 1, 1927 in New York, United States (US).
He was dubbed the 'King of Calypso' after the success of 'The Banana Boat Song (Day-O)' in 1956.
The deceased also became a film actor after taking part in the Broadway musical 'Carmen Jones'.
But his greatest contribution happened outside the world of entertainment.
The deceased was active in the civil rights movement.
Belafonte was a close friend of Martin Luther King Jr. who often visited Belafonte's home in New York to organize the civil rights movement they joined.
As a result of poverty, Belfonte had to drop out of school and look for work to support his family.
He later joined the US Navy in 1944 but was never deployed on the battlefield.
After World War II ended, Belafonte entered the entertainment industry and joined acting classes.
Among his classmates were Marlon Brando, Tony Curtis and Bea Arthur.
The deceased also sang in nightclubs and was in a jazz group with Charlie Parker and Max Roach.
As an actor, Belafonte won a Tony Award for his performance on Broadway and became the first black actor to win an Emmy in 1959.
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