An Evening with Harry Belafonte
This
hour-long one-on-one interview program provides a rare look into
the life and times of the legendary Harry Belafonte. Taped in Chicago
on November 2, 2000 in front of a live audience, entertainer and
humanitarian Harry Belafonte was interviewed by his friend and fellow
actor/humanitarian, Danny Glover. Mr. Belafonte has appeared in
countless performances and been honored with many awards. Seldom,
if ever, has he been interviewed about his life story. Seventy-three
years of age at the time of the taping, Belafonte has a lot to tell.
An Evening with Harry Belafonte provides the audience with
a rare look inside this interesting man’s life and career.
The audience is taken back in time to Mr. Belafonte’s early childhood: New York to Jamaica and back to New York, a drop out in ninth grade only to join the U.S. Navy where he experienced racism that was life altering. With no life direction, he was attracted to the arts, studied at the famed Dramatic Workshop in New York City and became involved in the legendary Negro Ensemble Theatre. He also performed in New York City nightclubs.
From
his first movie, Calypso, Harry Belafonte went on
to star in Carmen Jones opposite the beautiful Dorothy
Dandridge. He and his friend, Sidney Poitier, shared somewhat parallel
success as their careers intertwined. Harry Belafonte starred in
movies such as Island in the Sun and White Man’s
Burden. Sidney Poitier starred in such movies as Raisin
in the Sun and Lilies Of The Field.
Using clips of performances and newsreel footage, Danny Glover leads Harry Belafonte into a reflective discussion of his adult life and career: Why did Harry Belafonte’s frustrations continually propel him to humanitarian causes, including marching with Martin Luther King, the Free South Africa movement, the “We Are the World” recording session and UNICEF? This interview tells all.
The audience is entertained and informed as they watch the story of this living legend. The audience sees rare archival footage not seen before.
An Evening With Harry Belafonte was taped as part of the national launch/fall fundraiser of The HistoryMakers, a 501(c)(3) Illinois, not-for-profit corporation. The HistoryMakers is committed to the development of a unique on-line archive of 5,000 first-person narratives of African American HistoryMakers, both well known and unsung. When completed, the archive will represent the largest single one of its kind in the world.
Please order your very own DVD copy of An Evening With Harry Belafonte by clicking here.
(Top left): Congressman Bobby Rush with Danny Glover.
(Top right): Harry Belafonte hugs Veranda Dickens.
(Bottom left): Harry Belafonte with Lyle Logan
(Bottom right): Harry Belafonte shakes hands with Peter C.B. Bynoe
with Eric Johnson and Sabrina Poole looking on
