Overview
- Actor Michael Wright, best known as Eddie King Jr. in Robert Townsend’s The Five Heartbeats, died in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Aug. 19, at age 70, his family said.
- The family told outlets that Wright’s death followed heart failure with complications of Marchiafava-Bignami, a rare degenerative condition that damages the corpus callosum and can cause seizures, speech problems and dementia.
- Wife Susan Wright posted the announcement on Instagram naming survivors — five children (Manon Wright, Byron Barr, Brittney Briggs, Brianna Barr, Sir Barr) and a grandchild, Yoko — and asked the public and media to give the family privacy.
- Wright’s four-decade career included more than 50 film and TV credits, a shared Volpi Cup for Best Actor at Venice for Streamers (1983), and enduring recognition for his lead role in the 1991 film The Five Heartbeats.
- Publishers and co-stars have issued tributes and retrospectives and the family said it will release details about memorials and ways to honor Wright when they are ready, a development to watch for in the coming days.