Samuel E. Wright

Samuel E. Wright (born November 20, 1946) 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",[1] 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.

Samuel E. Wright
Born (1946-11-20) November 20, 1946
Camden, South Carolina, U.S.[1]
OccupationActor, singer
Years active1971–present
Spouse(s)Amanda Wright
Children3

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,[2] 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

Wright is married to Amanda Wright, together they have three children: Keely, Dee and Sam.[2][3]

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
1988 Bird Dizzy Gillespie
Me and Him Paramedic #1
1989 The Little Mermaid Sebastian (voice)
1991 Sebastian's Caribbean Jamboree Direct-to-video
1993 Strapped Dave
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)

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 Episode: "Draining Cats and Dogs/Mars vs. Man"
1993 Alex Haley's Queen Alfred 2 episodes
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

Video games
Year Title Role
1992 Ariel the Little Mermaid Sebastian
1997 Ariel's Story Studio
1999 Disney's Arcade Frenzy

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
The Lion King Mufasa Broadway

Discography

References
  1. "'What More Is You Looking For?' Meet Samuel E. Wright, The Voice Of Sebastian On 'The Little Mermaid'". Madame Noire. October 10, 2013. Retrieved July 30, 2014.
  2. Kari Granville (December 23, 1989). "Without Him, Sebastian Would Be Speechless : Movies: The actor who gives voice to Sebastian the crab in 'The Little Mermaid' goes largely unrecognized. But a videotape of his work was so exciting that Disney showed it to staffers for inspiration. - LATimes.com". latimes.com. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
  3. Lynne Heffley (November 16, 1991). "As a Crab or 'Bird,' Wright Gives 100%. - LATimes.com". latimes.com. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.