The son of Caribbean-born immigrants, Harry Belafonte grew up on the streets of Harlem and Jamaica. He dropped out of high school at the age of 17 to enlist in the Navy. After serving in World War II he returned to New York and began a successful acting and singing career. He spearheaded the Calypso craze with a string of hits and his third album, titled "Calypso", became the first in history to sell over 1 million copies.