Harry Belafonte: Singer, actor, civil rights activist, dies at 96

Colombo (News 1st) - Famed singer, actor, and civil rights activist Harry Belafonte, who stormed the pop charts and smashed racial barriers in the 1950s, has died at 96, U.S. media reported. Belafonte died of heart failure in Manhattan, New York on Tuesday.
His ascent to the top of the Billboard charts sparked a craze for Caribbean music with hits such as 'Day-O' (The Banana Boat Song), 'Matilda' and 'Jamaica Farewell'.
His album 'Calypso' was the first by a single artiste to sell over a million copies.
He then went on to a short movie career before befriending Dr. Martin Luther King and becoming a civil rights activist in the U.S.