... And suddenly there were artists and groups and a nation paying tribute to his lead. All the family together . .. Adrienne, Shari, H arry, David, Ju lie and Gina. 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. .. a time to think j with son David with dau,qhtm· Gina with sister Shirley what a painter does with his brush, Bela/onte does with a mood ... What was once the music of a small group, became a pulsating force on the entertainment scene. "Folk" became a close cousin to "pop" and "art" was not too far removed from "commercial." Belafonte has done more than just popularize his sound of music, though. He has taken many of the songs of history and made them understandable to the audiences of today. What a painter does with his brush, Belafonte does with a mood .. an interpretation. And he has commercialized the appeal in the doing. It's been said many times that the foremost struggle of the performing artists is one of communication. Other artists, the writers, the painters, composers, can have their work judged in isolation, without their presence even being re­ quired ... and in some instances after their lifetime. But the performing artist must be accepted in his time, in front of masses of people, as an individual, and his art stripped of pretense. He is judged as he creates, and his ability to communicate is measured in direct proportion to his art. Gina and Shari ... the lure of song came early to Harry. Many of the songs in the U. S. today that we have come to accept as "Americana," actually had their beginnings on foreign shores, sung in other languages with differing dialects. Men of the sea brought them to the ports of the United States and in turn the pioneers took them as their own and sung them westward. Changes were wrought in these songs by varying denominations in their ever advancing progress across the breadth of this land. The field worker adapted a lyric to his own style and utilized it to express his own needs. A single song was created that channeled hundreds upon hundreds of slaves to the underground railroad and eventual escape. This form of expression of communicat ion resulted in many changes and they eventually became songs with new meanings, new forms. Harry Belafonte was born on March 1, 1927 in New York City of West Indian parents. From the streets of the tenements where poverty and indifference was the accepted rule, he was fortunate to be taken to the West Indies, his mother's homeland, when but a small boy. It was here in the islands that he was first exposed to a people that involved themselves with the tradition of singing and dancing. As with most singers, the Jure of song came early to Harry. T elevision and conce1·t appearance H a1·ry and Julie with the late P1·esiclent I<. enneely It was curiosity at first, then fascination for the music of the Islands. Every festival, newsworthy event, marriage, political success or failure were immortalized in song by its people. Probably be­ cause of this continual exposure to changing mood set to music, varying from sadness to joy, Belafonte recognized the differences music had to offer ... the subtleties and innuendoes that were soon to be evident in his performances. This contact with this culture that he found to be rewarding and real, ended one day, and he found himself back in New York, where he entered George Washington High School, and after a short period left to join the U.S. Navy. The period of service in the Navy was another time of learning, of new experiences for Harry Belafonte. For the first time in his young life he was thrown together with men of differing back­ grounds, from widely divergent sectors of the United States. A warrn g1·eeting [1·orn President and Mrs. Lyndon Baines Johnson. Peace Corps worker Harry Belafonte meets with [o1·mer chief, Sa1·gent Shriver With a Bedouin Sheik in theN egev After his discharge, he joined the army of men who were out Soon he found himself takmg part in some of the productions, to find themselves. He worked at an assortment of jobs, and while playing small roles. Then, there was Sean O'Casey's "Juno and the he was an assistant to a maintenance man, he discovered the theatre. Paycock" in which he played his first leading role and from this ... he enjoyed these people, A stranger had given him a couple of tickets to a production at the moment on he was determined that this was to be his career, his their comraderie American Negro Theatre. calling. After the show, he went backstage to thank the person who had Subsequently, he joined the Dramatic Workshop, a leading and their common goal given him the tickets. As he stood there, quietly watching the post­ school of the theatre at that time, and after three years he sadly of achievement. performance activities, he was suddenly asked to help one of the discovered that the acting profession didn't hold much stability for volunteer stagehands with a piece of equipment. After this he came a Negro. And probably, if not for a chance turn of events, Harry back again and then again, until he became a member of the stage Belafonte would have left the theatre permanently to make his crew. He enjoyed these people, their comraderie and their common livelihood elsewhere. goal of achievement. at a kibb1ttz in I smel 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 Introducing NANA MOUSKOURI 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 At1anta 1 Ge01·g ia, 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 jazz pianist, was in charge of the weekly ows. H noticed that in addition to a natural abili ty to hoof, Nipsey had an easy way with words and an aptitude toward self expression. He was given mate rial each week to herald the following attraction, a nd 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 hi s hitch for a year and pick up ordinary li fe 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 a ff a ir, I'll use jokes about the group I'm not working for that evening." In summary, Nipsey Russell is a vol uble, ebull ient comedia~., Ot\. heay, generally makes ')dan out of the most calloused listener.