Michael Wright, an actor known for his roles in the films The Five Heartbeats and Sugar Hill, has died at age 70.
Wright died on Wednesday, August 19, after suffering heart failure and complications of Marchiafava-Bignami disease, his family told TMZ.
Marchiafava-Bignami disease, or MBD, is a rare condition involving the erosion of the corpus callosum, the area that facilitates communication between the brain’s two hemispheres, according to Verywell Health. Symptoms include paranoia, psychosis, seizures, dementia, difficulty speaking, and difficulty moving limbs, the site adds.
Born in New York City on April 30, 1956, Wright played Eddie, the troubled lead singer of a fictional R&B group, in the 1991 musical drama The Five Heartbeats, written by Robert Townsend and Keenen Ivory Wayans and directed by Townsend. Entertainment Weekly critic Owen Gleiberman said Wright gave a “a stunning performance” in the film and “makes [Eddie] sleek, with undercurrents of hostility and danger.”
Three years later, Wright starred opposite Wesley Snipes in the crime drama Sugar Hill, written by Barry Michael Cooper and directed by Leon Ichaso. Wright and Snipes played Raynathan and Roemello Skuggs, respectively, two brothers working in the drug trade for the mob boss who ruined their family. Los Angeles Times reviewer Kenneth Turan said the film “at various moments … gets fine work from Michael Wright.”
On television, Wright starred as the Resistance fighter Elias Taylor in the sci-fi miniseries V in 1983 and the follow-ups V: The Final Battle and V: The Series the following year. He also recurred on the prison drama Ozbetween 2001 and 2003, playing inmate Omar White.
On X, fans are mourning Wright’s death. “Incredibly talented actor,” one user wrote. “Did so much great work, but I always remember him as Elias Taylor in V during the ’80s. A performance that really stuck with me. RIP.”
“Can’t tell you how much I’ve watched The Five Heartbeats [because] of this man right here,” someone else posted. “RIP Michael Wright. Your performance was groundbreaking in that movie and heavily quoted growing up.”
A third user wrote, “Everyone knows and will remember Michael Wright for his incredible performance as Eddie [in] The Five Heartbeats, but him as Raynathan in Sugar Hill was an all-time great performance.”
The actor is survived by his wife, Susan Wright, and his daughter and stepchildren, TMZ adds.
Read the original article here