Samuel E. Wright

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title: "Samuel E. Wright" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1948-births", "2021-deaths", "20th-century-african-american-male-singers", "20th-century-american-male-singers", "20th-century-american-singers", "20th-century-african-american-male-actors", "20th-century-american-male-actors", "21st-century-african-american-male-singers", "21st-century-american-male-singers", "21st-century-african-american-male-actors", "21st-century-american-male-actors", "american-male-film-actors", "american-male-musical-theatre-actors", "american-male-television-actors", "american-male-voice-actors", "deaths-from-prostate-cancer-in-new-york-(state)", "male-actors-from-south-carolina", "people-from-camden,-south-carolina", "people-from-walden,-new-york", "male-actors-from-orange-county,-new-york"] description: "American actor (1946–2021)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_E._Wright" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American actor (1946–2021) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]

Field	Value
name	Samuel E. Wright
image	Samuel E. Wright.jpg
caption	Wright in 2008
birth_date
birth_place	Camden, South Carolina, U.S.
death_date
death_place	Walden, New York, U.S.
resting_place	Wallkill Valley Cemetery, Walden, New York, U.S.
occupation
years_active	1968–2008
spouse
children	3
::

| name = Samuel E. Wright | image = Samuel E. Wright.jpg | caption = Wright in 2008 | birth_date = | birth_place = Camden, South Carolina, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = Walden, New York, U.S. | resting_place = Wallkill Valley Cemetery, Walden, New York, U.S. | occupation = | years_active = 1968–2008 | spouse = | children = 3 Samuel Ernest Wright (November 20, 1946 – May 24, 2021) was an American actor. He was best known as the voice of Sebastian in Disney's The Little Mermaid, for which he provided the lead vocals to "Under the Sea", which won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. He played Dizzy Gillespie in Bird, the biographical film about Charlie Parker. Wright also played the part of Mufasa in the original cast of The Lion King on Broadway and voiced Kron the Iguanodon in the 2000 CGI/live-action film Dinosaur.

Early life

Wright was born on November 20, 1946, in Camden, South Carolina. He was a student at Camden High School, where he was involved with sports and the arts.

Career

In 1968, Wright moved to New York City to pursue his acting career full time. (1974). In addition, on Broadway, Wright replaced Ben Vereen as the Leading Player in Pippin (1972).

Wright played Enos' partner Officer Turk Adams in the TV series Enos, the Dukes of Hazzard spin-off in 1980–81. Wright was nominated for a Tony Award in 1984 for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his performance in The Tap Dance Kid. He portrayed jazz trumpeter and composer Dizzy Gillespie in the 1988 Clint Eastwood film Bird.

He originated the role of Mayor Joe Clark in Mule Bone (1991). He was nominated for a Tony Award again in 1998 for Best Featured Actor in a Musical as the original lead actor for Mufasa in The Lion King, the Broadway version of Disney's animated classic of the same name.

He also played the part of Jericho on the short-lived Fox television program Jonny Zero in 2005.

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 Pictures animated film The Little Mermaid, as Sebastian the Crab, and is widely known for the songs "Under the Sea", and "Kiss the Girl". He voiced Sebastian in The Little Mermaid sequels and spin-offs, including The Little Mermaid 2: Return to the Sea and The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning (the latter being his final voice role), and recorded several albums in reggae style, among them Sebastian from The Little Mermaid and Sebastian: Party Gras!. Wright also voiced Kron, the leader of the Iguanadon herd, Dinosaur, another Disney animated film.

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 and death

Wright met his wife Amanda Wright, a dance director, at a production of William Shakespeare's The Two Gentlemen of Verona in London's West End.

Wright died from prostate cancer at his home in Walden, New York on May 24, 2021, aged 74. The cancer had been diagnosed three years earlier.

Filmography

Film

::data[format=table]

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref(s)
1988	Bird	Dizzy Gillespie		url=https://www.cinemablend.com/news/2568039/samuel-wright-voice-of-the-little-mermaids-sebastian-is-dead-at-74
Me and Him	Paramedic #1
1989	The Little Mermaid	Sebastian (voice)
1993	Strapped	Dave		url=https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/samuel-e-wright-the-little-mermaid-sebastian-dead_uk_60ade8ace4b03135479dc0dd
2000	Dinosaur	Kron (voice)
The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea	Sebastian (voice)	Direct-to-video
2008	The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning	Direct-to-video; Final role
::

Television

::data[format=table]

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref(s)
1976	Ball Four	C. B. Travis	5 episodes
1979	Hollow Image	Scotty	Television film	url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/209778%7C0/Samuel-E-Wright/#filmography
1980–1981	Enos	Officer Turk Adams	18 episodes
1982	The Neighborhood	Moving Man	Television film
1985	Brass	Captain Michael Shore
1986	The Gift of Amazing Grace	Morris	Episode: "The Gift of Amazing Grace"
The Cosby Show	Dr. Dan Morgan	Episode: "Close to Home"
1991	Separate but Equal	Artis Patterson	TV mini-series
Sebastian's Caribbean Jamboree	Sebastian (voice)	Television special
Sebastian's Party Gras!
1992–1994	The Little Mermaid	31 episodes
1992	Raw Toonage	Episode: "Draining Cats and Dogs/Mars vs. Man"
1993	Alex Haley's Queen	Alfred	2 episodes
Marsupilami	Sebastian (voice)	8 episodes	title=Sebastian Voices (Little Mermaid)	url=https://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/characters/The-Little-Mermaid/Sebastian/
1994–2000	Law & Order	Jerome Osborn, Dubois, and Morris Stokely	3 episodes
1997	New York Undercover	Gil Jefferson	Episode: "Fade Out"
2001–2002	House of Mouse	Sebastian (voice)	6 episodes
::

Video games

::data[format=table]

Year	Title	Role	Ref(s)
1992	Ariel the Little Mermaid	Sebastian	url=https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/samuel-e-wright-sebastian-little-mermaid-obituary
1997	Ariel's Story Studio
1999	Disney's Arcade Frenzy
2000	*The Little Mermaid II: The Video Game *
::

Theatre

::data[format=table]

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref(s)
1971	Jesus Christ Superstar	Reporter, Leper, Apostle	Broadway
1971, 1973	Two Gentlemen of Verona	Valentine, Performer	Broadway, West End
1972	Pippin	Leading player	Broadway	url=https://people.com/movies/samuel-e-wright-actor-who-voiced-sebastian-in-the-little-mermaid-dead-at/
1974	Over Here!	Sam
1983	The Tap Dance Kid	William Sheridan
1989	Welcome to the Club	Bruce Aiken
1991	Mule Bone	Mayor Joe Clark
1997	Promises, Promises	Mr. Kirkeby	Off-Broadway	url=http://www.playbill.com/article/nominees-for-best-featured-actor-in-a-musical-com-75774
The Lion King	Mufasa	Broadway
::

Discography

• Sebastian from The Little Mermaid (1990)
• Sebastian: Party Gras! (1991)
• The Little Mermaid: Songs from the Sea (1992)

References

References

1. Barnes, Mike. (May 25, 2021). "Samuel E. Wright, Voice of Sebastian the Crab in 'The Little Mermaid,' Dies at 74". [[The Hollywood Reporter]].
2. Victorian, Brande. (October 10, 2013). "'What More Is You Looking For?' Meet Samuel E. Wright, The Voice Of Sebastian On 'The Little Mermaid'". Madame Noire.
3. Morales, Christina. (May 26, 2021). "Samuel E. Wright, the Voice of Sebastian in 'The Little Mermaid,' Dies at 72". [[The New York Times]].
4. "Samuel Wright Obituary (1946 - 2021) - Walden, NY - Times Herald-Record".
5. (May 26, 2021). "Tony Nominee Samuel E. Wright Dies at 74". Playbill.
6. (May 26, 2021). "Samuel E Wright: Tributes paid to actor who voiced crab in The Little Mermaid". BBC News.
7. "Samuel E. Wright".
8. Evans, Greg. (May 25, 2021). "Samuel E. Wright Dies: 'The Little Mermaid's Sebastian The Crab, Broadway's Mufasa Was 74".
9. See film credits on [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098465/fullcredits IMDB].
10. (May 25, 2021). "Samuel E. Wright, voice of Sebastian the Crab in 'The Little Mermaid,' dies at 74".
11. (1973). "Samuel E. Wright – There's Something Funny Going On (1973, Vinyl)".
12. Heffley, Lynne. (November 16, 1991). "As a Crab or 'Bird,' Wright Gives 100%.". Los Angeles Times.
13. Sinha, Charu. (May 25, 2021). "Samuel E. Wright, Voice of The Little Mermaid's Sebastian, Dead at 74".
14. Holmes, Adam. (May 25, 2021). "Samuel Wright, Voice Of The Little Mermaid's Sebastian, Is Dead At 74". CinemaBlend.
15. Welsh, Daniel. (May 26, 2021). "Samuel E Wright, The Little Mermaid Star, Has Died Aged 74". HuffPost.
16. "Samuel E Wright". Turner Classic Movies.
17. (1991-11-17). "Discover More About the First Year of Life on Family Channel Documentary".
18. (1991-11-16). "As Crab or 'Bird,' Wright Gives 100%".
19. "Raw Toonage".
20. "Alex Haley's Queen".
21. "Sebastian Voices (Little Mermaid)".
22. "FADE OUT NEW YORK UNDERCOVER SEASON 3". Rotten Tomatoes.
23. Armstrong, Vanessa. "SAMUEL E. WRIGHT, VOICE OF SEBASTIAN IN THE LITTLE MERMAID, DIES AT 74". SyFy.
24. Garner, Glenn. "Samuel E. Wright, Known as the Voice of Sebastian in The Little Mermaid, Dead at 74". People.
25. (June 4, 1998). "Nominees for Best Featured Actor in a Musical".

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