Motown’s Berry Gordy Reacts to Longtime Friend Harry Belafonte’s Death: ‘He Will Be Missed’

Esteemed members of the music industry are speaking out after the death of legendary artist Harry Belafonte on Tuesday, April 25, at the age of 96. Motown founder Berry Gordy will always remember his late friend’s career achievements and his lifelong humanitarian work. 

“My friend, Harry Belafonte, was truly a man of cause, conviction and principle,” he said in a statement to Closer. “Besides being a great entertainer, he was a major political activist during the Civil Rights Movement. I still remember the day in 1968 when Harry and I marched side by side on the Poor People’s March to Freedom. He will be missed, and my sincere condolences go out to his family.”

Belafonte died at his New York home from congestive heart failure, his publicist, Ken Sunshine, confirmed to The New York Times. The late Grammy Award-winning musician received an outpouring of tributes from fans, friends and colleagues on social media following the news of his passing. 

Bernice King, the youngest child of Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King, took to Twitter to share a childhood memory of the late performer. 

“When I was a child, #HarryBelafonte showed up for my family in very compassionate ways,” the lawyer captioned a photo of Belafonte at her father’s memorial in 1968. “In fact, he paid for the babysitter for me and my siblings. Here he is mourning with my mother at the funeral service for my father at Morehouse College. I won’t forget … Rest well, sir.”

For Belafonte, activism was always at the forefront of his career, even when his music took off in the ‘50s with the release of his Calypso album.

“The portion of my life that is of importance to me has to do with my activism,” the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee once said, per The Dallas Morning News. “I’ve often responded to queries that ask, ‘When as an artist did you decide to become an activist?’ My response to the question is that I was an activist long before I became an artist. They both service each other, but the activism is first.”

Belafonte is survived by his wife, Pamela Frank, who was by his side at the time of his death. The “King of Calypso” was a dad to kids Adrienne and Shari from his first marriage to Marguerite Byrd and David and Gina from his second marriage to Julie Robinson.