Samuel E. Wright, voice of Sebastian in 'The Little Mermaid,' passes away 74

American actor Samuel Edward Wright known best for giving the voice to Sebastian's character in Disney's 'The Little Mermaid' has passed away at the age of 74 on Tuesday (local time).

TMZ reported that Wright's hometown of Montgomery, New York broke the sad news on Facebook, saying "Sam was an inspiration to us all and along with his family established the Hudson Valley Conservatory."

Without mentioning the cause of death, The Town of Montgomery, further added "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."

Wright who brought life to one of the most loved characters 'Sebastian' from the legendary 1989 Disney film, has also provided the lead vocals to The Little Mermaid's 'Kiss the Girl' and 'Under The Sea' song. Both the songs were nominated for Oscars and hence 'Under The Sea' bagged the accolade for Best Original Song in 1990.

Wright continued to work with Disney as the voice of Sebastian in 'The Little Mermaid' sequels and a TV series, and also lent his voice in the 2000 movie, 'Dinosaur' for the character of 'Kron the Iguanodon'.

He also played Dizzy Gillespie in the 1988 biographical film about Charlie Parker. Wright also played the part of Mufasa in the original cast of 'The Lion King on Broadway'. He was also known for his theatre work, appearing in musicals like 'Jesus Christ Superstar', 'Pippin' and for originating the part of Mufasa for the Tony-award winning 'Lion King' musical.

Before lending his voice to some of the famous fictional characters, Wright worked for more than a decade as an actor with roles on 'Enos', 'All My Children' and 'The Cosby Show', 'Bird'.

( With inputs from ANI )

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