Harry Belafonte, who died Tuesday at the age of 96, had a decades-long friendship with his frequent co-star and fellow civil rights activist Sidney Poitier.
The two groundbreaking artists—Belafonte was the first Black to win an Emmy, and the late Poitier was the first Black to win a Best Actor Oscar—met while working at The American Negro Theater in New York City in the mid-1940s. City, they’re both 20 years old.
Belafonte worked as a stagehand, while Poitier began working as a janitor in the theater while taking acting lessons. The couple bonded over similar upbringing and West Indian heritage. When Belafonte fell ill during his first stage performance, Poitier stepped in as his backup. According to a 2017 story published by New York TimesBelafonte considered Poitier his “first true friend in life”.
Apart from their shared love of performance, Poitier and Belafonte were active participants in the civil rights movement. The couple are both friends with Martin Luther King. Jr. each helped plan the commemoration in March 1963 in Washington and following King’s 1968 assassination.
After Poitier’s death in January 2022 at the age of 94, Belafonte’s daughter, Shari Belafonte, told PEOPLE: “Losing Sydney is probably the hardest thing my father had to understand, much more than losing Martin L. King. ”
“They were closer than brothers,” said Shari, 68, at the time. “They’ve known and loved each other for over 70 years, collaborated, lived life to the fullest. Harry, on the other hand, was much more vocal and ostensibly more influential in the civil rights movement, thanks to his onstage presence and guiding the dynamics between Leaders and politicians. took a stand and broke down these barriers in a much more creative way.
“Both are focused on making this world a better place for all people, not just people of color. We grieve for his wife and children, our extended family.”
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In 1964, Belafonte persuaded Poitier to help him deliver $70,000 to Freedom Summer volunteers in Mississippi; Ku Klux Klan members chased and fired at the couple along the way. New York Times.
In the wake of King’s murder, the duo went off for “a few years” after a dispute over whether the civil rights icon’s funeral and memorial service should include a protest. Los Angeles Times reported.
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However, upon Poitier’s arrival as a filmmaker in the early 1970s, he returned to Belafonte for roles in his films. The couple starred in the 1972s. Buck and the Preacher as well as the 1974’s Saturday night, both directed by Poitier. In later years, Poitier introduced Belafonte at the Kennedy Center Honors in 1989. His friend returned that honor when he hosted Poitier’s lifetime achievement awards by the American Film Institute in 1992. Poitier also presented his friend the Spingarn Medal at the 2013 NAACP Image Awards.
Belafonte said at the time of Poitier’s death in 2022, “For over 80 years, Sidney and I have laughed, cried, and misbehaved as much as we could. He was truly my brother and my partner trying to make this world a little better. He certainly made mine a lot better. did well.”