This is read by an automated voice. Please report any issues or inconsistencies here.
See more from the L.A. Times in Google Search. Set us as preferred
Michael Wright, an actor best known for starring as Eddie King Jr. in the oft-quoted and beloved Motown-inspired movie “The Five Heartbeats,” as well as the HBO series “Oz,” has died. He was 70 years old.
The actor’s wife, Susan Wright, confirmed his death on social media on Friday, writing, “It is with profound sadness and an unimaginable heaviness in my heart that I share the passing of my beloved husband, Michael Wright.”
The actor’s family said in a statement to TMZ that Michael Wright died on Wednesday in Los Angeles from apparent heart failure and complications associated with Marchiafava-Bignami, a rare and progressive neurological disorder.
“Many knew and loved him through The Five Heartbeats, The Wanderers, V, The Principal, Streamers, and the many other characters he brought to life throughout his remarkable career,” the post continued. “His talent, presence, and contributions to film and television will live on, but to those of us who loved him personally, he was so much more than the roles the world knew him for.
“Our family is grieving an enormous and deeply personal loss. We understand how much Michael meant to so many people, and we are grateful for the love, prayers, memories, and condolences already being shared.”
Actor Shelley Fabares, known for “The Donna Reed Show,” “One Day at a Time,” “Coach” and her hit song “Johnny Angel,” has died at 82.
Susan Wright asked for “privacy and grace to grieve” and that “people refrain from sharing unconfirmed information,” adding that when the family is ready, they will share more about the actor’s life and plans to honor him.
She added: “Michael, your work will live forever, but your love will live even longer in the hearts of those who knew you best. Rest peacefully, my love. You will be missed beyond words.”
Michael Wright was born April 30, 1956, in New York City. His mother, Alberta Wright, owned a vintage clothing store called Jezebel on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, and Michael credits her with kick-starting his career. “Miss Ana Strasberg came into the store, and my mom shared that she had a son who was a fledgling actor, and Miss Strasberg invited me to come down to the Lee Strasberg Theater Institute and to have a meeting with her, and that meeting … changed my life,” he said during a 2015 appearance on “The Sissy Gamache Show.”
At the institute, Wright participated in a work-study program — mopping floors, answering phones and interviewing other acting hopefuls to see if they had what it took to make it in the program. Ana became Wright’s mentor and he became Lee Strasberg’s secretary.
“I came to the acting process having read every conceivable thing that concerned it. … I was an acolyte of Konstantin [Stanislavski.] I knew [Richard] Boleslavski. I knew [Yevgeny] Vakhtangov. And I understood how the process occurred — it was relaxation. It was concentration. Intent. I would score my scripts like it was nobody’s business, and I would do everything word for word, line for line, moment for moment, beat for beat,” he told Gamache.
“At the end of the day, when the man said, ‘Cut,’ I take that character off like this shirt and hang him up in the closet.”
Wright landed his first film role in 1979’s “The Wanderers” and his first big television break in 1983 as Elias Taylor on the science fiction miniseries “V,” which carried over into 1984’s “V: The Final Battle” and in the “V” series that ran from 1984 to 1985.
