 |
| Photo courtesy of imdb.com |
On this day, in 1946, Samuel E. Wright was born in Camden,
South Carolina. He is best known for his work with the Walt Disney Company. His
biggest role came in 1989 in The Little Mermaid as Horatio Ignatius Crustaceus
Sebastian, a crab from Jamaica with a Trinidadian accent (Samuel nailed his
audition but apparently couldn’t do Jamaican). Samuel’s energy and enthusiasm
helped propel Sebastian’s signature song “Under the Sea” to an Academy Award
win for Best Song. Like his co-star, Jodi Benson, he then spent the next couple
of decades reprising Sebastian for everything from The Little Mermaid II to the
animated television series to video games.
 |
| Photo copyright Disney |
In 1998, Samuel changed things up a bit by originating the
role Mufasa in the Broadway version of The Lion King. Bringing his usual vigor
to the role paid off when he was nominated for a Tony Award for Featured Actor
in a Musical (he lost to Ron Rifkin for Cabaret). He would also appear in
2000’s Dinosaur as the voice of Kron the Iguanodon.
 |
| Photo copyright Disney |
Outside of Disney, Samuel appeared in a number of films and
Broadway shows. The highlight of his silver screen work is probably as Dizzy
Gillespie in the 1988 biopic Bird. On stage, he was in the forgettable (the
short lived Welcome to the Club with future co-star, Jodi Benson) and the
incredible (another Tony nomination for The Tap Dance Kid in 1984). He also
originated the role of Sam in Over Here!
A number of years ago, Samuel retired from acting and
settled down in New York City.
No comments:
Post a Comment