Samuel E. Wright

Samuel Ernest Wright (born November 20, 1946 - May 24, 2021) is an American actor and singer. He is 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. Wright also played the part of Mufasa in the original cast of The Lion King on Broadway and voiced Kron the Iguanodon in Disney's 2000 CGI/live-action film Dinosaur.
==Career==
Wright was nominated for a Tony Award in 1984 for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his performance in The Tap Dance Kid and 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. Wright was chosen to play the Scarecrow in the 1995 Apollo Theater Revival of The Wiz alongside Whitney Houston, Keith David and Cedric the Entertainer. Wright played Enos' partner Turk in the TV series Enos and originated the part of "Sam" in Over Here! on Broadway (1974). He also played the part of Jericho on the short-lived Fox TV show Jonny Zero. In addition, on Broadway, Mr. Wright replaced Ben Vereen as the Leading Player in “Pippin” (1972). He originated the role of Mayor Joe Clark in “Mule Bone” (1991).
===Music===
Wright has performed and recorded several songs for the Walt Disney animated film The Little Mermaid, as Sebastian the Crab, and is most known for the songs "Under the Sea", and "Kiss the Girl". He released a soul music record in 1973, "There's Something Funny Going On" backed with "Three Hundred Pounds of Hungry" on the Paramount label.
==Personal life and death==
Wright is married to Amanda Wright, together they have three children: Keely, Dee and Sam.
Wright died from prostate cancer at his home in Walden, New York on May 24, 2021, aged 74.
==Filmography==
===Film===
Year	Title 	Role 	Notes
1988	Bird 	Dizzy Gillespie 	
1988	Me and Him 	Paramedic #1 	
1989	The Little Mermaid 	Sebastian (voice) 	
1991	Sebastian's Caribbean Jamboree 	Sebastian (voice) 	Direct-to-video
1993	Strapped 	Dave 	
1996	The Hunchback of Notre Dame 	Frollo's Soldiers (voice) 	
2000	The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea	Sebastian (voice) 	Direct-to-video
2000	Dinosaur 	Kron the Iguanodon (voice)	
2008	The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning 	Sebastian (voice) 	Direct-to-video; Final role
===Television===
Year 	Title 	Role 	Notes
1976 	Ball Four 	C. B. Travis 	5 episodes
1979 	Hollow Image 	Scotty 	Television film
1980–1981	Enos 	Officer Turk Adams 	18 episodes
1982 	The Neighborhood 	Moving Man 	Television film
1986 	The Gift of Amazing Grace	Morris 	Episode: "The Gift of Amazing Grace"
1992–1994	The Little Mermaid 	Sebastian (voice) 	31 episodes
1992 	Raw Toonage 	Sebastian (voice) 	Episode: "Draining Cats and Dogs/Mars vs. Man"
1993 	Alex Haley's Queen 	Alfred 	2 episodes
1993 	Marsupilami 	Sebastian (voice) 	8 episodes
1994–2000	Law & Order 	Jerome Osborn, Dubois, and Morris Stokely	3 episodes
2001–2002	Disney's House of Mouse 	Sebastian (voice) 	6 episodes
2003 	Mickeypalooza 	Sebastian (voice) 	Television special
===Video games===
Year	Title 	Role
1992	Ariel the Little Mermaid	Sebastian
1997	Ariel's Story Studio 	Sebastian
1999	Disney's Arcade Frenzy 	Sebastian
===Theater===
Year 	Title 	Role 	Notes
1971 	Jesus Christ Superstar 	Reporter, Leper, Apostle	Broadway
1971, 1973	Two Gentlemen of Verona	Valentine, Performer 	Broadway, West End
1972 	Pippin 	Leading player 	Broadway
1974 	Over Here! 	Sam 	Broadway
1983 	The Tap Dance Kid 	William Sheridan 	Broadway
1989 	Welcome to the Club 	Bruce Aiken 	Broadway
1991 	Mule Bone 	Mayer Joe Clark 	Broadway
1997 	Promises, Promises 	Mr. Kirkeby 	Off-Broadway
1997 	The Lion King 	Mufasa 	Broadway
== Discography ==
* Disney's Sebastian from the Little Mermaid (1990)
* Disney's Sebastian – Party Gras! (1991)
Category:2021 deaths
Category:American male film actors
Category:American male musical theatre actors
Category:African-American male actors
Category:African-American singers
Category:American male voice actors
Category:People from Camden, South Carolina
Category:Male actors from South Carolina
Category:American male television actors
Category:1946 births