Harry Belafonte Falls Asleep on Live TV

Daylight may have come, but it seemed like Harry Belafonte still needed to squeeze in a few more minutes of shut eye before he gave a recent early-morning interview.

The 84-year-old singer-actor-activist, famous for the hit "Day-O (Banana Boat Song)," was in position for a interview via satellite with local news station KBAK in Bakersfield, Calif., on Friday, but when it came time to start, Belafonte seemed to be fast asleep. Watch the segment, which has gone viral, here: 

Slated to promote his HBO documentary Sing Your Song (which premiered on Oct. 17) and a new memoir, My Song, the King of Calypso stayed still with his eyes closed while news anchor Layla Santiago tried to begin her live interview with a chipper, "Hey, good morning Harry!"

Once Santiago noticed that Belafonte was not budging, she tried to playfully rouse the snoozing singer: "Harry? Wake up. Harry? Wake up, wake up. This is your wake up call, Harry!" Finally, the camera cut away from him and Santiago attempted to keep from laughing as she said, "He's meditating -- he's taking a little nap. He's okay."

But Belafonte's spokersperson, Ken Sunshine, insists the octogenarian wasn't to blame for this mishap -- faulty equipment was. "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," Sunshine explained. "True to form, there was a technical glitch in the feed to a local station in Bakersfield, CA. His earpiece wasn't working, so he decided to take the time to meditate before the rest of his Day-O."

Perhaps revealing the singer's secret to being so active after the age of 80, Sunshine went on to say, "Mr. Belafonte is 84 years young, but sharper and more awake than most who have been interviewing him. Maybe the world would be a better place if more people took a moment to meditate."

Source: http://www.ivillage.com/harry-belafonte-falls-asleep-live-tv/1-a-394169

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