Michael Wright, the actor best known for playing Elias Taylor in the 1980s science fiction series "V" and Eddie King Jr. in "The Five Heartbeats," has died in Los Angeles at the age of 70.
Wright died of heart failure aggravated by Marchiafava-Bignami disease, a rare degenerative neurological disorder. His wife, Susan Wright, confirmed his death, asking for privacy for the family as they grieve before announcing any future events in his memory.
Born in New York, Wright built a screen career that stretched back to the late 1970s and left its clearest mark on television audiences through his work in science fiction and crime drama.
Breakout role in 'V'
Wright's biggest mark on popular culture came through "V," the science fiction production that gripped American audiences in the mid-1980s. The series imagined an alien race known as the Visitors arriving on Earth disguised as humans while secretly planning an invasion, and Wright played Elias Taylor, one of the key figures in the human resistance against them.
The role made Elias Taylor a fixture of the franchise. Wright reprised the character in the sequel "V: The Final Battle" and continued in the part when the story was adapted into a weekly television series.
A career-defining turn in 'The Five Heartbeats'
Wright's artistic high point came in 1991, when director Robert Townsend cast him as Eddie King Jr. in "The Five Heartbeats," a film following the rise and fall of a fictional 1960s R&B group. Wright played a singer of enormous talent undone by his own inner demons, a performance that won over critics and helped turn the film into a cult classic.
Three decades later, the film's lasting popularity brought Wright back together with his former co-stars at the 2021 Tribeca Festival, held in New York City.
Decades of supporting roles
Wright's career began in the late 1970s with film roles including "The Wanderers," and he went on to appear in movies such as "The Principal" and "Sugar Hill."
He became a familiar face in some of the era's most prominent police and crime dramas, with appearances in "Miami Vice," "New York Undercover," "Nash Bridges" and the prison drama "Oz," cementing his reputation as a dependable supporting actor across decades of American television.
