Biography
Unless one happens to be an enthusiast of vintage cinema, the name Sir Lancelot probably draws a blank. Yet from 1940 onward, spanning the subsequent sixteen years until Harry Belafonte emerged, he ranked as the globe’s foremost calypso vocalist and achieved singing stardom across the United States. Belafonte has repeatedly cited him as a primary influence on his own artistic path and credited him as a direct source of inspiration.
Lancelot Victor Edward Pinard entered the world in Cumuto, North Trinidad, as the child of a government functionary. He commenced performing at six during a sixty-minute recital. Upon completing secondary school his voice had developed into a flawless tenor, yet a musical livelihood appeared unattainable; instead his father dispatched him to New York for medical studies. Pure happenstance brought his voice to someone’s attention, resulting in an invitation for a fortnight at the Village Vanguard that stretched into a twelve-month engagement. During 1941 he traveled westward for collegiate bookings in California and Oregon; after a Los Angeles concert he secured his initial screen role in the Pat O’Brien–Janet Blair picture Two Yanks in Trinidad. That debut promptly opened doors to circuits throughout Mexico, South America, and the Caribbean.
His first billed film work came in Val Lewton’s moody thriller I Walked with a Zombie, where his vocals supplied pointed counterpoint to the narrative. Subsequent Lewton productions granted him dramatic parts in The Ghost Ship and Curse of the Cat People. Additional screen credits encompassed Eve Knew Her Apples with Ann Miller, To Have and Have Not alongside Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, and Brute Force starring Burt Lancaster. By this period his renown allowed him to portray characters simply billed as “Sir Lancelot” in such divergent features as the comedy Linda Be Good and The Unknown Terror.
Appearances on radio and television programs fronted by Ray Anthony, Ed Sullivan, and Dinah Shore—during which he extolled Ford, Elgin watches, Coca-Cola, and Borden’s Milk and frequently received more viewer correspondence than Shore herself—helped sow the conditions for the calypso surge that culminated in Belafonte’s ascent by the close of the 1950s. In 1955 he departed the United States for an extended journey across Europe and the Middle East, returning to Hollywood three years afterward for a role in the lavish historical epic The Buccaneer, which featured Yul Brynner under Anthony Quinn’s direction. He persisted with performances and recordings and made sporadic television appearances into 1968, including a non-musical turn on The Andy Griffith Show, while continuing to cut records at least through 1973.
Lancelot Victor Edward Pinard entered the world in Cumuto, North Trinidad, as the child of a government functionary. He commenced performing at six during a sixty-minute recital. Upon completing secondary school his voice had developed into a flawless tenor, yet a musical livelihood appeared unattainable; instead his father dispatched him to New York for medical studies. Pure happenstance brought his voice to someone’s attention, resulting in an invitation for a fortnight at the Village Vanguard that stretched into a twelve-month engagement. During 1941 he traveled westward for collegiate bookings in California and Oregon; after a Los Angeles concert he secured his initial screen role in the Pat O’Brien–Janet Blair picture Two Yanks in Trinidad. That debut promptly opened doors to circuits throughout Mexico, South America, and the Caribbean.
His first billed film work came in Val Lewton’s moody thriller I Walked with a Zombie, where his vocals supplied pointed counterpoint to the narrative. Subsequent Lewton productions granted him dramatic parts in The Ghost Ship and Curse of the Cat People. Additional screen credits encompassed Eve Knew Her Apples with Ann Miller, To Have and Have Not alongside Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, and Brute Force starring Burt Lancaster. By this period his renown allowed him to portray characters simply billed as “Sir Lancelot” in such divergent features as the comedy Linda Be Good and The Unknown Terror.
Appearances on radio and television programs fronted by Ray Anthony, Ed Sullivan, and Dinah Shore—during which he extolled Ford, Elgin watches, Coca-Cola, and Borden’s Milk and frequently received more viewer correspondence than Shore herself—helped sow the conditions for the calypso surge that culminated in Belafonte’s ascent by the close of the 1950s. In 1955 he departed the United States for an extended journey across Europe and the Middle East, returning to Hollywood three years afterward for a role in the lavish historical epic The Buccaneer, which featured Yul Brynner under Anthony Quinn’s direction. He persisted with performances and recordings and made sporadic television appearances into 1968, including a non-musical turn on The Andy Griffith Show, while continuing to cut records at least through 1973.
Albums
Singles
