Notable Deaths in 2021
Samuel E. Wright
Broadway, TV, and movie actor Samuel E. Wright (November 20, 1946-May 24, 2021) brought great humanity to his roles, but he was best known for characters that weren’t human – from the grapes on the Fruit of the Loom underwear label come to life, to Sebastian the Crab in the Disney animated musical, “The Little Mermaid.” He repeated the role in sequels, spinoffs, and even reggae albums.
In 1992 he told “CBS This Morning” that people would stop him in airports just because of the voice: “If they hear the voice, my voice, they say, ‘That voice sounds really familiar,’ or they stop and ask me, ‘Weren’t you on “America’s Most Wanted” or something?'”
Wright was featured in “Jesus Christ Superstar,” “Two Gentlemen of Verona,” and “Over Here,” replaced Ben Vereen in “Pippin,” and was nominated for two Tony Awards, for “The Tap Dance Kid,” and as Mufasa in “The Lion King.” He played Dizzy Gillespie in the Charlie Parker biopic, “Bird.” Other screen credits include the TV series “Ball Four,” “Enos,” and “Law & Order.”
In 1994 he cofounded the Hudson Valley Conservatory, a performing-arts school in Walden, N.Y.
Wright told the Los Angeles Times in 1991 that he tried to make every role – even an animated, singing crab – the best role he’s ever done. “It doesn’t matter if it’s a cartoon, Dizzy Gillespie or Othello, I’m going to play it with the same fervor – just in case anybody’s watching,” he said.
