Samuel E. Wright, Tony-nominated voice of Sebastian in 'The Little Mermaid,' dies at 74
Two-time Tony Award nominee Samuel E. Wright, best known for voicing Sebastian the crab in Disney's 1989 animated musical "The Little Mermaid," has died at age 74.
Wright died Monday after a three-year battle with cancer, the Hudson Valley Conservatory, which Wright and his wife co-founded, confirmed to Paste BN.
"We are saddened by the passing of Samuel E. Wright, who voiced Sebastian in The Little Mermaid," the official Twitter page for Disney confirmed. "His iconic performance as Sebastian will always be remembered for the charm and heart Wright brought to every line and lyric."
The official Facebook page for Montgomery, New York, the town in which Wright resided with his family, mourned the actor in a lengthy tribute Tuesday, highlighting his work co-founding Hudson Valley Conservatory, a local performing arts school. The school also mourned Wright on social media.
"Sam and his family have impacted countless Hudson Valley youth always inspiring them to reach higher and dig deeper to become the best version of themselves," the post read. "On top of his passion for the arts and his love for his family, Sam was most known for walking into a room and simply providing PURE JOY to those he interacted with. He loved to entertain, he loved to make people smile and laugh and he loved to love."
The actor and singer also played Mufasa in the original cast of Broadway's "The Lion King," for which he was nominated for best featured actor in a musical at the 1998 Tony Awards, and William in "The Tap Dance Kid," also a role that sent him to the Tonys.
Broadway's "Lion King: The Musical," still running since Wright and the original cast first entertained audiences in 1997, changed its marquee Tuesday to pay tribute to the late actor.
"Look at the stars. The great kings of the past look down on us from those stars," the show's official social media accounts wrote, quoting a line from his character, Mufasa.
In "The Little Mermaid," he memorably sang lead vocals in "Under the Sea," the show-stopping Calypso number that won the 1990 Oscar for best original song. Wright continued to voice the cartoon crustacean in "Little Mermaid" shorts, TV spinoff episodes and video games through the late 2000s.
"Maybe not every actor would say this, but if I didn’t want to be immortal I wouldn’t be acting," he told the Los Angeles Times in 1991. "I do want to make my little mark on the world. An actor’s worst nightmare is to hear, 10 years from now, 'Sam Wright? Who was Sam Wright?' "
He added: “If you have that kind of attitude, you tend to take each role and make it the best role you’ve done. You don’t know what people are going to judge you by. 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."
On the big screen, Wright played Gillespie in "Bird," the 1988 biopic about jazz great Charlie Parker. He also made TV appearances on "The Cosby Show" and "Law & Order."
The Hudson Valley Conservatory, which Wright and his wife Amanda founded in the '90s, announced Tuesday the Samuel E. Wright Scholarship Fund, which will support the "children, school and community of young artists he created at the Hudson Valley Conservatory."
Wright is survived by his wife and three children: Keely, Dee and Sam Wright. He once told the LA Times that their home in upstate New York featured a collection of little red crabs, an homage to his role as Sebastian.
"Every time I pass one I genuflect and say, 'Thank you for the house, my kids’ education and the fact that we don’t have to eat cheese grits anymore,' " he joked.
Fellow Disney alums paid tribute to Wright, including "Hamilton" star Daveed Diggs, who is slated to take on the role of Sebastian in the Halle Bailey-led upcoming live-action adaptation.
"RIP to the originator," he tweeted. "Thank you for all of the joy you brought to so many of us. I am standing on your shoulders."
"Frozen" voice actor Josh Gad thanked Wright for "paving the way" for his character, Olaf the snowman.
"Samuel E. Wright’s Sebastian took us under the Sea so that Candelabras could dance, Genies could fly, Warthogs could prance and Snowmen could live," Gad wrote Tuesday on Instagram. "Thank you for paving the way for the modern Disney sidekick. We who carry your torch will never forget the light you brought and continue to bring to millions of people around the world."