Samuel Ernest Wright (November 20, 1946 – May 24, 2021) was an American actor and singer. He was best known as the voice of Sebastian in

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

's ''

The Little Mermaid "The Little Mermaid" ( da, Den lille havfrue) is a literary fairy tale written by the Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. The story follows the journey of a young mermaid who is willing to give up her life in the sea as a mermaid to gain a ...

'', for which he provided the lead vocals to "

Under the Sea "Under the Sea" is a song from Disney's 1989 animated film '' The Little Mermaid'', composed by Alan Menken with lyrics by Howard Ashman. It is influenced by the calypso style of the Caribbean which originated in Trinidad and Tobago, as well ...

", which won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. He played Dizzy Gillespie in ''

Bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

'', the biographical film about

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, band leader and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop, a form ...

. Wright also played the part of

Mufasa This article lists the characters appearing in Disney's ''The Lion King'' franchise. Introduced in ''The Lion King'' (1994) Simba Simba (voiced by Matthew Broderick as adult Simba in the films, Jonathan Taylor Thomas as a cub in ''The Lion Kin ...

in the original cast of ''

The Lion King ''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated musical drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 32nd Disney animated feature film and the fifth produced during the Disney Renaissance ...

'' on Broadway and voiced Kron the

Iguanodon ''Iguanodon'' ( ; meaning ' iguana-tooth'), named in 1825, is a genus of iguanodontian dinosaur. While many species have been classified in the genus ''Iguanodon'', dating from the late Jurassic Period to the early Cretaceous Period of Asia, ...

in Disney's 2000 CGI/live-action film ''

Dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...

''.

Early life

Wright was born on November 20, 1946, in

Camden, South Carolina Camden is the largest city and county seat of Kershaw County, South Carolina. The population was 7,764 in the 2020 census. It is part of the Columbia, South Carolina, Metropolitan Statistical Area. Camden is the oldest inland city in South C ...

. Wright was a student at Camden High School, where he was involved with

sport Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...

s and

the arts The arts are a very wide range of human practices of creative expression, storytelling and cultural participation. They encompass multiple diverse and plural modes of thinking, doing and being, in an extremely broad range of media. Both ...

Career

In 1968, Wright moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

to pursue his acting career full time. Wright was nominated for a

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

in 1984 for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his performance in ''

The Tap Dance Kid ''The Tap Dance Kid'' is a musical based on the novel ''Nobody's Family is Going to Change'' by Louise Fitzhugh. It was written by Charles Blackwell with music by Henry Krieger and lyrics by Robert Lorick. Synopsis Act I William Sheridan, a su ...

'' and again in 1998 for Best Featured Actor in a Musical as the original lead actor for Mufasa in ''

'', the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

version of Disney's animated classic of the same name. Wright was chosen to play the Scarecrow in the 1995 Apollo Theater Revival of ''

The Wiz ''The Wiz: The Super Soul Musical "Wonderful Wizard of Oz"'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls (and others) and book by William F. Brown. It is a retelling of L. Frank Baum's children's novel '' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' ...

'' alongside

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed " The Voice", she is one of the bestselling music artists of all time, with sales of over 200 million records worldwide. Houston i ...

Keith David Keith David Williams (born June 4, 1956) is an American actor. He is known for his signature deep voice and commanding screen presence in over 300 roles across film, stage, television, and interactive media. He has starred in such films as '' T ...

, and

Cedric the Entertainer Cedric Antonio Kyles (born April 24, 1964), better known by his stage name Cedric the Entertainer, is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He hosted BET's '' ComicView'' during the 1993–1994 season and '' Def Comedy Jam'' in 1995. He is ...

. Wright originated the part of "Sam" in ''

Over Here! ''Over Here!'' is a musical with a score by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman and book by Will Holt. The original Broadway production was directed by Tom Moore and choreographed by Patricia Birch, with scenic design by Douglas W. Schmidt ...

'' on Broadway (1974). In addition, on Broadway, Wright replaced

Ben Vereen Benjamin Augustus Vereen (born October 10, 1946) is an American actor, dancer and singer. Vereen gained prominence for his performances in the original Broadway productions of the musicals '' Jesus Christ Superstar'', for which he received a T ...

as the Leading Player in ''

Pippin Pippin or Pepin may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Pippin (comics), ''Pippin'' (comics), a children's comic produced from 1966 to 1986 * Pippin (musical), ''Pippin'' (musical), a Broadway musical by Stephen Schwartz loosely based on the life ...

'' (1972). He originated the role of Mayor Joe Clark in ''

Mule Bone ''Mule Bone: A Comedy of Negro Life'' is a 1930 play (theatre), play by American authors Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston. The process of writing the play led Hughes and Hurston, who had been close friends, to sever their relationship. ''Mu ...

'' (1991). Wright played Enos' partner Officer Turk Adams in the TV series ''

Enos Enos or Enosh (Hebrew: , Standard ''Enosh'', Tiberian ''ʼĔnôš''; "mortal man”) may refer to: People in religious scripture * Enos (biblical figure), a genealogical figure in the Bible. * The Book of Enos, one of the books that make up the B ...

'', the ''

Dukes of Hazzard ''The Dukes of Hazzard'' is an American action comedy TV series that was aired on CBS from January 26, 1979 to February 8, 1985. The show aired for 147 episodes spanning seven seasons. It was consistently among the top-rated television series ...

'' spin-off and portrayed jazz trumpeter and composer Dizzy Gillespie in Clint Eastwood film ''

''. He also played the part of Jericho on the short-lived

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

television program ''

Jonny Zero ''Jonny Zero'' is an American television action-crime drama series, created and written by R. Scott Gemmill and executive produced by John Wells, that premiered on Fox on January 14, 2005. The series principally stars Franky G as Jonny Calvo, a ...

''.

Music and voice-over work

Wright narrated the 1988 documentary film '' Thelonious Monk: Straight, No Chaser'', produced by Clint Eastwood. Wright performed and recorded several songs for the Walt Disney animated film ''

'', as Sebastian the Crab, and is widely known for the songs "

", and "

Kiss the Girl "Kiss the Girl" is a song written by lyricist Howard Ashman and composer Alan Menken Walt Disney Pictures' 28th animated feature film ''The Little Mermaid'' (1989). Originally recorded by American actor Samuel Wright in his film role as Sebasti ...

". He voiced Sebastian in ''The Little Mermaid'' sequels and spin-offs, including '' The Little Mermaid 2'' and '' The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning'', and recorded several albums in reggae style, among them — '' Party Gras!''. Wright also voiced Kron, the leader of the Iguanadon herd, in another Disney animation ''

''. He released a soul music single in 1973, "There's Something Funny Going On" backed with "Three Hundred Pounds of Hungry" on the Paramount Records label.

Personal life

Wright met his wife Amanda Wright, a dance director, at a production of ''Two Gentlemen of Verona'' in

London's West End The West End of London (commonly referred to as the West End) is a district of Central London, west of the City of London and north of the River Thames, in which many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government buil ...

. They married on June 14, 1974. Together they had three children: Keely, Dee, and Sam Jr. Wright died from prostate cancer at his home in

Walden, New York Walden is the largest of three villages of the town of Montgomery in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 6,818 at the 2020 census. It has the ZIP Code 12586 and the 778 telephone exchange within the 845 area code. Walden ...

on May 24, 2021, aged 74. The cancer had been diagnosed three years earlier.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Theatre

Discography

* ''Disney's Sebastian from the Little Mermaid'' (1990) * ''Party Gras!'' (1991)

References

External links

*
Samuel E. Wright
at

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Samuel E. 1946 births 2021 deaths 20th-century African-American male singers 20th-century American male actors 21st-century African-American male singers 21st-century American male actors African-American male actors American male film actors American male musical theatre actors American male television actors American male voice actors Deaths from cancer in New York (state) Deaths from prostate cancer Male actors from South Carolina People from Camden, South Carolina People from Walden, New York