Michael Wright Dies: ‘The Five Heartbeats’ Star Was 70
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- Michael Wright died Aug. 19 in Los Angeles at age 70, his wife Susan Wright announced on Instagram.
- Wright died of heart failure complicated by Marchiafava-Bignam disease, per a family statement cited by TMZ.
- Wright made his film debut in the 1979 coming-of-age drama 'The Wanderers' and shared the Best Actor Award at the Venice Film Festival for Robert Altman's 1983 film 'Streamers.'
- Wright played troubled singer Eddie King Jr. in Robert Townsend's 1991 musical drama 'The Five Heartbeats.'
- Wright starred in the 1980s sci-fi franchise 'V' — spanning two miniseries and a series — and had a recurring role on HBO's 'Oz,' with a final arc on the CW's 'Black Lightning.'
- Wright's wife Susan listed his surviving family: children Manon Wright, Byron Barr, Brittney Briggs, Brianna Barr, and Sir Barr, plus grandchild Yoko.
Why it matters: Wright's career traversed four decades of prestige projects — from a Venice-winning Robert Altman feature to landmark genre TV like 'V' and HBO's 'Oz' — establishing him as a recognizable figure across Black-led film and television whose final arc on 'Black Lightning' showed he was still working into the 2020s.
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