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Pioneering performer and activist Harry Belafonte dies at 96

Harry Belafonte arrives for the premiere of his movie Sing Your Song by director Susanne Rostock at the Berlinale film festival in Berlin in February 2011. (AFP File Photo)

NEW YORK: Harry Belafonte, a singer, songwriter and groundbreaking actor who started his entertainment career belting out “Day O!” in his 1950s hit song before turning to political activism, has died at the age of 96.

Belafonte died of congestive heart failure at his home in New York on Tuesday with his wife Pamela by his side, the firm of his longtime spokesperson Ken Sunshine said in a statement.

As a Black leading man who explored racial themes in 1950s movies, Belafonte would later move on to working with his friend Martin Luther King Jr…

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