Actor Michael Wright, known for 'The Five Heartbeats' and 'Sugar Hill', dies at 70

Michael Wright, best known for portraying lead vocalist Eddie King Jr. in Robert Townsend’s 1991 film The Five Heartbeats and Wesley Snipes’ brother in the 1994 drama Sugar Hill, died on Wednesday in Los Angeles at age 70. The cause was heart failure compounded by complications of Marchiafava-Bignami disease, a rare degenerative neurological condition.

Wright’s career spanned film and television, including a recurring role as inmate Omar White on HBO’s Oz, a part as Resistance fighter Elias Taylor on NBC’s V, and appearances in The Wanderers, Streamers, The Principal, Money Talks, Piñero, The Interpreter and Dope King. He also featured in series such as Miami Vice, New York Undercover and Black Lightning.

Born in New York City on April 30, 1956, Wright entered acting through a work-study program at the Lee Strasberg Institute, performing various tasks in exchange for classes. He met director Robert Townsend through his mother’s restaurant, Jezebel, and later received the script for The Five Heartbeats, a role originally written for Denzel Washington.

"I never go out," Townsend told New York magazine in 1991, recalling how the two quickly became collaborators.

Wright recalled his own initiative in securing the role in Sugar Hill, describing how he approached Snipes in a Manhattan coffee shop and persuaded him to join the project.

"I just stood up and got him by the lapels and said, ‘Man, I got a movie and I want you to make it with me,’" Wright said in a 2021 interview with Sheen magazine.

He also reflected on his acting philosophy, stating, "The greatest sin an actor can commit is to fail to be interesting. I always try to make my characters interesting."

Wright is survived by his wife Susan, five children and a grandchild.