Tributes have been paid to US actor Samuel E. Wright, best known for playing the role of Sebastian the crab in Disney's The Little Mermaid. He Died at 74.
Amongst other characters he played, Wright voiced and sang the 1989 animation's Oscar-winning song Under The Sea and also played Mufasa (Simba's Dad) in the original Broadway production of The Lion King.
Though a second Tony nomination followed in 1998 for his role as King Mufasa in The Lion King, the stage version of Disney's 1994 film. Of course, this was after he went on to move into the position of Ben Vereen in the musical Pippin and received a Tony nomination in 1984 for the musical The Tap Dance Kid.
However, he was known for voicing Sebastian, a role he reprised in a Little Mermaid TV series and other cartoon spin-offs.
According to his family, Wright gave up the ghost on Monday at his home in Walden, New York after three-year combat with prostate cancer.
“Look at the stars. The great kings of the past look down on us from those stars.” Rest In Peace, Samuel E. Wright | 1946 – 2021Disney marked the actor's death with a billboard tribute at The Lion King musical's original New York home.
Born and raised in Camden, South Carolina in 1946, Wright was one of the pioneers of the original Broadway cast of Jesus Christ Superstar in 1971.
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