In a leisure oriented America, the
entertainment
in-dustry has been working overtime to supply new heroes for
the public. The ratings game has become an
updated,
home-grown version of Russian Roulette,
destroying artists
as
fast as a television gunman's quick draw.
It's appropriate, therefore for us to
consider the artist
and what makes him a favorite to the public.
From the day that Harry Belafonte first exploded on the
entertainment scene approximately 10
years
ago,
the
in-dustry has undergone many changes and crises. But
being
quite resilient, it has survived frenzied dances,
screaming
teenagers, fixed television shows, twangy guitars, buxom
actresses and mop
topped
singers.
It has become in show business, not so much the survival
of the ablest but a
"latch-on-to-the-latest-trend"
existence.
The true artists have refused to compromise themselves and
have pursued their art the only
way
they
know
how-truthfully.
Harry Belafonte has
not only
survived the fadists, but
he has grown and matured as an artist. At the first big burst
in his career
some
thought that
his
popularity was just a
temporary craze and that he too
would find
that the public
soon
tires
of sudden
successes.
But Belafonte
didn't fade,
and suddenly there
were
artists
and
groups and
a
nation
paying tribute to his lead.
Gina and Shari
what a painter does with his brush,
Bela/onte does with a mood . . .
What
was once
th
e
mu
s
ic
of a sma
ll
group,
became a
pulsating forc
e
on
th
e e
nt
e
rt
ainment scene.
"Folk" became
a close cousin
to
"
pop"
and
"art" was not
t
oo
far
removed
from "commercial."
B
e
l
afonte
ha
s
done
m
ore than just popularize his sound
of
mu
sic,
though
.
H
e
ha
s
take
n
many of th
e
songs of history
and
mad
e
them
und
erstandable to the audiences
of
today.
What
a painter does
with
his
brush, Belafont
e
does
with
a
mood ..
. an interpretation.
And
he has commercialized the
appeal in
the
doing.
It
's been said
m
any times that the foremost struggle of
the performing
artists is o
n
e o
f
co
mmuni
cation
.
Other artists,
the writ
e
rs
,
the painters, composers, can have
their wor
k
judged in i
so
lation, without
their presence
even bei
ng
re-quir
e
d
. . . and
in
some
in
s
tan
ces after
their
l
i
feti
m
e
.
But
the performing artist mu
st
b
e accepted in
hi
s
time,
in f
ro
nt
of ma
sses
of
p
eop
l
e
,
as an
individu
a
l
, a
nd
his
ar
t
s
tripp
ed
of pretense. He
i
s
judged
a
s
h
e
creates,
and
his ability to
communicate
i
s
m
eas
ured
in direct proportion to his art.
. . . the
lure of song came early to Harry.
Many of
th
e
songs
in
the U.
S. today
that we have
come
to accept as
"A
m
e
ricana
,
" actually
had their beginnings
on
fore
ig
n
shores, sung
in oth
e
r
la
nguages with
diff
e
ring
dialects.
Men
of
the
sea
brought
th
em
to
the
ports of the
United
States
and
in turn th
e
p
i
oneers took
th
e
m
as
th
e
i
r
own and
su
n
g
them westward.
Chang
es
were
wrought in
th
ese
songs
by varyi
ng
denominat
i
ons
in
t
h
e
ir
ever
advancing progress
across
th
e
breadth of
this
lan
d.
The field
worker
adapted a
l
yric
to his own
sty
l
e a
nd utiliz
e
d it t
o ex
pr
ess
hi
s
own needs.
A
sing
l
e song
was created that
c
hann
e
l
ed
hundreds
upon
hundreds
of s
l
aves
to the underground rai
l
road and
e
ventual
escape.
Thi
s
form
o
f
express
i
o
n
of comm
unica
t
ion
resulted
in many changes and they
eve
ntually b
ec
am
e
songs with
new
meanings, n
ew
forms.
Harry Belafonte was
born on March 1, 1927 in New
York
City
of West
Ind
ian
parents. From th
e
st
r
ee
ts of
the
tenements
w
h
e
re pov
e
r
ty
and
in
difference was the
accepted
rule, he
was
fortunate
to b
e
taken
to
th
e
W
est
Indi
es
,
hi
s
mother's
h
o
m
e
land
,
w
h
e
n
but
a
s
mall boy.
It was here
in th
e
islands that
h
e
was first exposed to
a p
e
opl
e
that involved
themse
l
ves
w
ith
t
h
e
traditio
n
of singing
and
danc
ing.
As with
m
os
t
s
ing
e
rs,
the
Jur
e
of
so
ng
ca
m
e ear
l
y
to
Harry.
H
a1·ry and
Julie
with
the late
P1·esiclent I<. en
neely
It
was curiosity at first, then fascination for the
music
of the
Islands.
Every festival, newsworthy
event,
marriag
e,
political
success or failure were
immortalized
in
song by
its
people.
Probab
l
y
be-cause of th
i
s continual
expos
ure to
changing
mood
set to
music,
varying
fro
m
sadness
to joy, Belafonte
r
ecogn
i
zed
the differences
mu
s
ic had
to offer ...
th
e
subtleties
and
innuendoes that were soon to be
evident
in his
performances.
This
contact with this culture that he
found
to be
r
ewa
rding
and
r
e
al,
ended one day, and he
found himself
back
in New York,
where
h
e e
nt
ered
George Washington High
Schoo
l
,
and after a short
period
left to
join
the
U.S. Navy.
The p
e
riod
of service in
the
Navy was another
time
of
l
earning, of
new
experiences for
Harry
Belafonte
.
For
the first
time
in
his
young
life he
was thrown tog
e
ther
with
men
of
diff
e
ring
back-grounds,
from widely divergent sectors of
the
United States.
A warrn g1·eeting [1·orn President
and Mrs
.
Lyndon Baines Johnson.
With a Bedouin Sheik
in t
h
eN egev
. . . he enjoyed these people,
their
comraderie
and their common goal
of achievement.
After his discharg
e,
he joined
t
h
e
army of men
who were out
to find
t
hemselv
es.
H
e worked at an assortment of jobs, and while
he was an assistant t
o a
maint
e
n
ance
man, he discovered
the
theatre.
A
strang
e
r
had gi
ven
him a
coup
l
e of
tickets
to
a production at
the
American
Negro
Th
eat
r
e.
After the show,
he went
bac
k
stage
t
o
thank
the person who
had
given
him the t
ickets. A
s
h
e s
tood t
here,
qui
e
tl
y watch
ing the
post-performance activiti
es,
h
e
was
s
ud
den
l
y
asked to help
one of the
volunt
ee
r stagehands with
a
pi
ece
of
eq
uipm
e
nt.
After thi
s
he
came
back again and th
en
again,
until h
e
b
eca
m
e
a member
of the stage
crew.
H
e enj
oyed
th
ese
people, their comraderie
a
nd
the
ir
common
goal of achievement.
at a kibb1ttz
in
I
sme
l
Soon he found himself takmg part in some
of
the productions,
playing small roles. Then, there was Sean O'Casey's "Juno
and
the
Paycock"
in
w
hich
he played his first leading role and from this
moment
on he was determined that this was to be
his
career,
h
is
calling.
Subsequently, he
joined the Dramatic Workshop, a
l
eadi
ng
school of the theatre at
that t
im
e,
and
afte
r thr
ee
years he
sa
dly
discovered th
at
the acting
profession didn't hold much stabi
li
ty for
a Negro. And probably, if not for
a chance turn of
events,
Harr
y
Belafonte
wou
l
d have
l
eft the
th
eatre
permanently to make
his
liveli
ho
od e
l
sewhere.
BELAFONTE
IN PERSON
Produced by
PHIL STEIN
Musical Director
WILLIAM EATON
Scenery and Lighting by
RALPH ALSW ANG
Accompanists
ERNEST CALABRIA
PERCY BRICE
RALPH MacDONALD
AL SCHACKMAN
BILL SALTER
AND GEORGE PETSILAS
Featuring
NIPSEY RUSSELL
l
And I
ntroducing
NIPSEY RUSSELL
a;JA_jj_,.,_
'"'~?(
The Nipsey Russell Saga is typ ·a!Ln rthodox in another. Like so many others in the profession, he started in show business as a
c~il
and i hi native At1anta1 Ge01·gia, Nipsey was part of a children's dancing chorus (population 12) by t e time h was seven. Eddie Heywood, Sr., father of the famous jazzpianist, was in charge of the weekly ows. H noticed that in addition to a natural ability to hoof, Nipsey had an easy way with words and an aptitude toward self expression. He was given material each week
to herald the following attraction, and gradually, the prepared copy became Jess and Jess, with Mr. Heywood
finally asking the ambitious and eager dancing boy to tell the audience in his own words what was to come.
Nipsey caught on quickly. Soon his dancing turns were sprinkled with comedy material. Truthfully, young
Russell danced his way through primary and high schools. A cousin, a high school teacher later on, may have been the inspiration for Nipsey's umequited thirst for knowledge, particularly his desire to master the English
language and eventually make words work for him. He became a voracious reader and in a short time was
on very friendly terms with contemporary novels and the classics, and was able to quote from the masters.
After high school he enrolled in the University of Cincinnati, and by 1940, Nipsey enlisted in the Army,
figuring to serve his hitch for a year and pick up ordinary life a short time later. But, December 7th, 1941 changed that and in 1944 he received his commission, raising him to the rank of Captain by the time he was discharged.
Now, one of the foremost attractions in the United States- he is making his "concert" debut with long
time friend and compatriot, Harry Belafonte.
His philosophies are succinct and direct: "There are no messages in my social protestations. I talk about
items that are front page subjects. If the social evolution leads to jokes, I use them. Maybe you could call
my routines 'One World Of Comedy'. I have no political convictions. I'm a party line crosser. If I'm booked to play a political party's affair, I'll use jokes about the group I'm not working for that evening."
In summary, Nipsey Russell is a voluble, ebullient comedia~., Ot\. h
0
eay, generally makes ')dan out of the most calloused listener. ~
Nana Mouskouri of Athens, Greece, had what might be termed as an
a
lmost~~~~
al
~~~~
o
~~~
a~¥
'\f{'
r
music. Her parents were devoted aficionados and they saw to it that their daughter was to be provided with ( \a musical playground, tenanted by all the necessary implements with which to form a diversified melodic _
V\
e
duc~~~n~
o
ung
girl was a natural, and was enrolled in the Conservatoire Hellenique in Athens whenst~
in her pre-teens, to study classical music, which her parents fervently hoped would lead to an operatic cat·e r.It was during this period that Nana was first exposed to the world of jazz and blues through a radio p1 -gram which featured American music. This initial discovery resulted in her eventual adoption of popul ·
music, something her parents considered too meaningless for the vast range of their talented daughter's voice.
But Nana, while continuing her studies at the Conservatoire, utilized every free moment at practice sessions
with the popular musical form she learned to love.
It wasn't until 1958, when she was 20 years old that Nana Mouskouri first made a public performance.
It was then that she appeared for the United States 6th Fleet at the Mediterranean Port of Perias. Near the
end of the program, the young girl of Athens stepped into the spot light and mesmerized the ensemble with
her unusual style and richly endowed vocal ability. Thus a daringly different talent was "discovered" by the
United States 6th Fleet.
From here she went on to regular appearances on radio Athens, and noted Greek composer, Manos
Hadjidakis (who wt·ote the score for "Never On Sunday"), began to create popular songs especially for her.
THE BELAFONTE SINGERS
A Belafonte Enterprises, Inc., Production
Staff Members
Company Manager .. James Awe
Public Relations ... The Mike Merrick Co., Inc. P1·oduction Stage Manager .. ... Charles Colman
Sound by ... Show Sound, Inc. -under the supervision of Allan Rei burn and
Cameron MacCardell
Music Copying ...... Bob Haring, Jr. Production Assistants ... Gloria Cantor Sherman Sneed
It was singing his songs in 1960 that she was first exposed
to European and American impresarios and recording
com-panies. With successive appearances throughout the conti-nent, she became established as one of the most electrifying
singers in all of Europe developing an uncanny ability to sing in the native tongue of almost every European country.
Her recordings, and personal appearances, in country
after country, have brought her deserved acclaim. In
addi-tion to her own albums, she has recorded an LP with Harry Belafonte for RCA Victor.
Now, it is fitting indeed, that this girl, ft·om the land
of a great cultural heritage, joins one of the foremost per-forming artists in the world, Harry Belafonte, in his pro-gmm of songs of all peoples, blended into the heart of humanity.
with Dr. Martin Luther King
... the planning
. . . wherever hate has risen
Harry Belafont
e
has fou
g
ht.
He sang one of his original compositions,
"Recognition," for the Workshop group one
day, and got a tremendous response from the
class.
That renewed his cou
r
age,
and
one
night at T
h
e
Royal Roost,
a
nightc
l
ub where
audience participation
was
the ru
l
e,
he ac
-cepted
the job offer
that
made h
i
m an
enter-tainer at that c
l
ub.
The
serious
artist in Be
l
afonte
was
any-thing but
satisfied
however
.
His desire for
creative expression was
hardly fulfi
ll
ed with
the night after night musical utterings of a
string of pop tunes
.
Fina
ll
y
one night in
Miami,
after
a seemingly
successf
u
l period
as a "crooner,"
h
e
discarded th
i
s
career a
n
d
"re
t
ired" for a period of
ser
i
o
u
s
reeva
l
uation.
He needed a "retreat" to be free to a
p
-p
r
aise t
h
e
next move. A p
l
ace
where he cou
l
d
t
h
ink out his fut
u
re c
l
ear
l
y.
With two frie
n
ds, an actor and a writer,
he opened a restaurant in New York's Gree
n-wich Village.
T
here he became
exposed
to an
art form that was nat
u
ral to him.
in the
West
Ind
ies.
Fans of folk singing gath
e
red at the
restaurant
to s
ing
, or
exchange vi
e
ws, and B
e
lafonte
'
s basic int
e
r
e
st
i
n folk
music
was
awakened
.
When the r
e
staurant finally c
l
osed,
he
became
actively
involv
e
d with a new career. With two guitar
i
sts, Millard
Thomas
and Craig Work, he b
e
gan to gather a
repertoire
of folk songs that
wou
l
d form th
e
core of his approach to this age o
l
d art form
.
But
unlike th
e
troubadors of fo
l
k singers who sat on stools, st
r
oked
guitars and sang
u
nemotiona
ll
y,
Belafonte
freed
himself
of the
physical
limitations
of the
guitar and
inst
ill
e
d the songs w
i
th a poin
t
of view they
had never
been to
uch
ed with before
.
He
became a
dynamic actor
in
song
and reached audiences
w
ith
the
si
gni
ficance
and
meaning
of
his
ba
llad
s.
with
N ana
M
ous
kmwi
With
M
i1·iam
M
akeba in
K
enya, at Independence
Day
celeb1·ation
It's
been
said that h
i
s striv
e
for p
e
rfection is his
constan
t
companion.
H
e
tak
e
s no on
e
for granted
.
.. his audi
e
nc
e
s, or him
-se
l
f, and critics
hav
e
stated that "His
name
ha
s
b
e
com
e
synonymo
u
s
with
the exce
ll
ence of
artistic
achievement."
The most
e
nthusiastic and
larg
es
t crowds a
r
e p
r
e
se
nt
anywhere
he
appea
r
s, be
it
co
ll
ege campus
,
opul
e
nt op
e
ra house
or outdoor
stad
ium
.
Thi
s
acceptance
and acclaim b
y
million
of
peopl
e
has
gro
w
n
over
the years to
a
point wh
e
r
e
Be
l
afo
n
te
audiences
are
com-p
r
i
sed of
all
categor
i
es o
f
men,
you
n
g and old,
mode t and
affl
u
e
n
t
.
With
c
l
ose
fr
·ie
nd Sidney
P
o
i
t
ie
r·
Onc
e,
in 19
5
6
, at
the
beginning of his
popularity, he was
sched
ul
ed
to do
a concert at New
York
City's mammoth
outdoor
arena,
L
ew
i
so
hn
Stadium.
H
e,
and
three friends met in Manhattan,
hopped a cab and proceeded
to ride quietly up to the
stadium.
Itwas
a
warm
Jun
e night and traffic was
heavy,
but the
closer the
gr
o
up
ca
m
e
to the
arena
the
thicker the traffic. Finally,
still a
few
blocks from
th
e
ir
destination
a
nd
with c
u
rtain time dra\\·ing near,
they w
e
re forced
to abandon
t
h
e cab
and begin
wa
lki
ng. "Boy, those
night ballgam
es
su
r
e fo
ul
yo
u
up
when
you
are trying to get
some-where
on
tim
e
,"
said
B
e
laf
o
nt
e,
ru
s
hing
to
get to the stage door.
But,
as he walked to th
e
theatre
h
e
realized
there was
no night
ballgame
anywher
e
in
the
city, and
s
lo
w
l
y
the realization
came over
him
that
all this
traffi
c, all
th
ese
p
eo
pl
e, were
there
to see
him
.
He played
to a
Jack
B
enny
.
..
Well!
roaring
crowd of 39,000 that
night,
spraw
l
ed on the
grass,
camp
e
d
on folding chairs, crouched, stand
ing
, s
it
ting,
wherever
ther
e
was
room. And this was the beginning of
the Belafonte boom.
Many of the songs
he
does are
not
from
the
p
as
t. B
e
lafonte's
repertoire reflects the true
folk
spirit of
today's
eve
nt
s
. What
soc
i
e
ty,
regardless
of its p
l
ace
in
hi
story,
has not
l
e
ft its impr
ess
ion
on
its
artists?
Today
and tomorrow, many folk tales of
meaning
and
depth
are being born and
expe
rienced and they
will be will
e
d
to
future
generations through
music.
The Belafonte
art
ha
s
graced
all media and it
has
brought
his
very
specia
l
quality home
t
o
the
p
eo
pl
e
through recordings, telev
i
sion,
Broadway
and of course
personal appearances
.
he ha
s
become a d
y
namic actor in son
g
..
P
lanning a
s
h
o1c with
pToduceT
P
hil Stein
His
sojourn
into
the
media of motion pictures
h
as seen
him
star
i
n five fi
l
ms:
"Bright
Road," "Carmen
J
o
n
es," "
I
s
l
and
In The Sun," "The Wor
l
d, The F
l
esh,
A
n
d
Th
e Devi
l
"
a
n
d
"Odds
Against Tomorrow," the last
two
of whic
h
were
pro-duced by his own
company,
HarBel.
He has helped
l
aunch
the
careers of
a number
of
selec-tive
artists
and
sponsored
the Amer
i
can
debuts of others.
Most notab
l
e
in the latter
category are
the now fa
m
ed
Afr
i
can
songstress
M
i
riam Makeba, a
n
d t
h
e
new s
in
ging discovery
from Greece, Miss
ana Mousko
u
ri
.
As
a
recording
artist,
Belafonte has bee
n
wit
h
RCA
Victor
since
1950 and has beco
m
e
not
only
t
h
e company's,
but one of the
wor
l
d's, most popula
r
and best
se
ll
ing record
-ing art
i
sts.
Lovers of the
c
l
assics,
as
we
ll
as afic
i
o
n
a
d
os of
m
ore
"p
o
pul
a
r
"
m
us
i
c regard Be
l
afo
n
te as one of
th
e
ir
ow
n
.
I
n the mass
m
ed
ium
of te
l
ev
i
sio
n
, he
h
as ac
hi
eve
d
a p
l
ace
of unique distinction.
Tr
eating
it with respect and a
touch
of caution,
his
appearances
are
only
in measured doses
.
They
are
carefully
planned.
This
care for his craft in this a
ll
consuming
media, where ratings are the measuring rod for
quality, has
wo
n
him an Emmy Award for
his
critically
acclaimed
specia
l
of
1959
"Tonight With Belafonte" and a
Sylvania Award, two
mor
e
Emmy nominations a
n
d two
TV
Critics Awards for his second specia
l,
"Be
l
afonte: New
York 19." In Febr
u
ary, 1966
h
e
produced h
i
s own
tel
evisi
o
n
specia
l
"THE STROLL!
r>TWENTIES
"
for CBS, deal
i
ng
wit
h
Negro
lif
e
in New York's Harlem during the 1920's,
to critical applause.
Wherever hate has risen Harry Be
l
afonte has fought.
Wherever the poison
of
prejudice has crept, Belafonte
has
taken an
active part in its obliteration. But he
has
done all
this without the "grandstand
play"
without the attendant
b
l
are of
the press and hail of the headlines.
. . . he has remained faithful to his craft.
During
the heavy rain season in Guinea, Africa, when
everyone was huddled
indoors,
David, Shari, and Gina,
rain-coat,
hat
and boot attired, trekked off to a neighboring village,
brought some children back to their house and put on a
com-plet~
