Singer, actor, humanitarian and civil rights activist Harry Belafonte has a long standing reputation of being smooth, suave and debonair. Which is why it’s odd to catch the beloved entertainer in a moment of being — well — human!
The 84-year-old Belafonte, known for his Calypso hit song “Day-O,” was appearing on an early morning local talk/news show in New York to discuss his new memoir “My Song” and HBO documentary about his life entitled “Sing Your Song.” But when the television anchor cued him for the interview, Belafonte appeared to have fallen into a deep and serene sleep while sitting upright in his chair. Newscaster Layla Santiago shouted to the singer, “This is your wake up call! He’s meditating, he’s taking a little nap,” prompting uncontrollable snickers from the 3 newscasters and off-camera studio staff.
But according to Belfanote’s PR rep Kristin Clifford, he was unable to hear his introduction due to “dropped out” audio, and was merely resting his eyes and “meditating.” Hmmm…
Belafonte’s publicist, Ken Sunshine, explained further: “After weeks of literally hundreds of interviews promoting his HBO documentary, memoir and CD, Mr. Belafonte had an early morning satellite TV tour this past Friday. True to form, there was a technical glitch in the feed to a local station in Bakersfield, Calif. His earpiece wasn’t working, so he decided to take the time to mediate before the rest of his Day-O.”
So take a look at the tape. Does this look like a man resting his eyes and “meditating,” or an older gentleman simply succumbing to the early morning hour and in need of a bit more sleep?
