American singer and actor, remembered for appearing in Carmen Jones, Buck and the Preacher, White Man's Burden and The World, the Flesh and the Devil.
Photo by s_bukley/BigStock.com
"Welcome to Cuba, Senor Belafonte," exclaimed Fidel Castro, with a grin at my Jockey shorts. He was as tall as I was - six feet two - which I hadn't expected.
Gerald S said on 26/Apr/23
A weak 6'1" is certainly not out of the question.
MrTBlack said on 6/Jan/21
Find it strange that he’s listed everywhere at 6ft. Sure does look taller than that.
Tall Sam said on 12/Nov/20
A good shot of Harry and Sidney paling around.
Click Here
In many shots with this pair of friends for a better part of a century it seems Belafonte was more height conscious of the two at their peak, standing ramrod straight and throwing his head up and you could get the impression he was basically matching Poitier's height but he was certainly a bit shorter in reality.
Tall Sam said on 5/Nov/20
I think Harry is retired from singing and acting but still active in political advocacy, so he'd be debatably due for a current height, probably standing around 5'11"-5'11.5" these days.
Tall Sam said on 4/Nov/20
The 6'2" he claimed he could've probably hit at peak in shoes or even in slippers.
Nik Ashton said on 3/Nov/20
@ Christian 6'5 3/8" - Good idea!
Rampage(-_-_-)Clover said on 3/Nov/20
Not under 6ft1 peak. He looked virtually eye to eye with Sidney Poitier in very old photos.
Tall Sam said on 3/Nov/20
Thanks for adding Rob. I think 6'1" seems about right. In that civil rights event in DC in the 60s, there's a bunch of pictures of him near Sidney Poitier, Marlon Brando, Sammy Davis Jr., Burt Lancaster and Charlton Heston among others and you could probably see him coming 1.5 inches shy of Heston and Poitier.
Editor Rob
yeah I don't think he looked much less than 6ft 1 at that particular event.
Tunman said on 3/Nov/20
Looked about that with Robert Ryan,possibly just under that if the latter is more 6'3.5
MrTBlack said on 2/Nov/20
@Rob
He was also listed at 6ft tall. Do you think 6’0.5-75.” is possible instead?
Editor Rob
at worse a fraction under 6ft 1.
Christian 6'5 3/8" said on 2/Nov/20
Good add, but he really needs a current update on his height listing.
Rampage(-_-_-)Clover said on 2/Nov/20
Vividly remember seeing this guy listed at 6ft2 with a photo underneath of him w/h Sidney Poitier from the 60's where they looked practically eye to eye.
I think 6ft1-1½ range peak is likelier than 6ft0½-1
Rampage(-_-_-)Clover said on 2/Nov/20
Rob, you had this guy listed here at 6ft2 before, am I right?
Editor Rob
I don't even remember a page for him!
Arch Stanton said on 2/Nov/20
You could probably add the classic Hollywood actors category, Carmen if my memory rings true was '54.
Arch Stanton said on 2/Nov/20
Nice one Rob. Yes I had him down at around 6'1, maybe slightly under, but he was a bit taller than Nat King Cole. I think I saw a 5'11 listing for him once and I argued it was way too low for his prime.
There with Bill Cosby and Sidney Poitier
Click Here 6'0.75-6'1 I think are both arguable, 6'2 might have been rough shoe measurement.
Click Here Standing tall there with Sidney! Both men aged very well too, very good looking black guys.
Editor Rob
He has looked from under 6ft 1 to sometimes solid 6ft 1 range...he was even described as tall as 6ft 2.5 (although I definitely read a quote years ago in which he said 6ft 2).
Miss Sandy Cowell said on 2/Nov/20
I've heard of Harry Balafonte, and now I know what he looks like and that he's over 6ft.
He can have 6ft1.25. 😉👍
Sinclair said on 2/Nov/20
Rob, how tall do you think Belafonte would be today?
This legend is a great addition. I would think Belafonte was a little over 6’1”, in his prime. As 6’2.5” Sidney Poitier seemed about an inch taller than Belafonte, I would vote 6’1.25” for Belafonte’s peak height. I feel Poitier has kept his height better than Belafonte, over the years.
Editor Rob
He could have lost 3 inches by now