NEW — Aug. 22, 2026: Michael Wright, the actor whose work included The Five Heartbeats, V, The Wanderers and HBO's Oz, has died. He was 70.
His wife, Susan Wright, announced his death Friday in a statement shared on Instagram. The family said he died Wednesday, Aug. 19, in Los Angeles after heart failure and complications from Marchiafava-Bignami, a rare degenerative neurological disease, according to People.
From alien resistance to Eddie King Jr.
Born in New York City in 1956, Wright made his screen debut in the 1979 film The Wanderers. He reached a national television audience as Elias Taylor in the 1983 science-fiction miniseries V, then returned for V: The Final Battle and the weekly series.
Wright's 1983 performance in Robert Altman's Streamers earned him a shared best-actor award at the Venice Film Festival with his castmates. For many viewers, however, his defining role was Eddie King Jr., the gifted and troubled lead singer in Robert Townsend's 1991 musical drama The Five Heartbeats.
A career built on unforgettable intensity
His film credits also included The Principal, Sugar Hill, Money Talks, Point Blank and The Interpreter. On television, he played Omar White on Oz and later appeared in Black Lightning. His final reported screen credit was the 2025 film Dope King.
Susan Wright described her husband as an extraordinary artist whose work touched generations and asked the public to give the family privacy while it grieves. He is survived by his wife, five children and a grandchild.
Sources: People, published Aug. 22, 2026 at 11:46 a.m. EDT; Entertainment Weekly, published Aug. 22, 2026 at 11:16 a.m. EDT.
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