{"id":221708,"date":"2026-08-23T13:24:46","date_gmt":"2026-08-23T13:24:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/actor-michael-wright-known-for-the-five-heartbeats-dies-at-70-nbc-news\/"},"modified":"2026-08-23T13:24:46","modified_gmt":"2026-08-23T13:24:46","slug":"actor-michael-wright-known-for-the-five-heartbeats-dies-at-70-nbc-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/actor-michael-wright-known-for-the-five-heartbeats-dies-at-70-nbc-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Actor Michael Wright, known for \u2018The Five Heartbeats,\u2019 dies at 70 – NBC News"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Michael Wright, known for the film \u201cThe Five Heartbeats\u201d and the TV series \u201cV,\u201d has died at 70, his wife announced.
\u201cIt is with profound sadness and an unimaginable heaviness in my heart that I share the passing of my beloved husband, Michael Wright,\u201d his wife, Susan Wright, said in a statement Friday.
He died Wednesday at UCI Medical Center in California with his wife and their children by his side, his wife told NBC News.
Wright died peacefully following complications from Marchiafava- Bignami disease, a rare degenerative neurological condition he was diagnosed with in 2015, and complications from heart failure, the family said.
Susan Wright remembered him as a loving husband, father, grandfather and friend and \u201can extraordinary artist whose work touched generations.\u201d
\u201cMany 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,\u201d she said. \u201cHis 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.\u201d
The family asked for privacy and said further details on plans to honor the actor would be shared in the coming days. \u201cWe understand how much Michael meant to so many people, and we are grateful for the love, prayers, memories, and condolences already being shared,\u201d Susan Wright said.
\u201cMichael, 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,\u201d his wife wrote.
Born in New York City, Wright made his screen debut in 1979 in \u201cThe Wanderers,\u201d about a teenage gang in the Bronx. He starred in the 1983 film \u201cStreamers,\u201d for which he and the rest of the ensemble cast shared the best actor award at that year\u2019s Venice Film Festival.
He rose to fame in the 1980s playing resistance fighter Elias Taylor in the sci-fi series \u201cV,\u201d and later took on the role of inmate Omar White in HBO\u2019s gritty prison drama \u201cOz\u201d in the early 2000s. He remains best known, however, for playing Eddie King Jr. in the 1991 musical drama \u201cThe Five Heartbeats,\u201d according to his IMDb profile<\/a>.
Tributes poured in for Wright over the weekend, highlighting his masterful performances playing often wounded, complex characters.
The Critics Choice Awards shared a clip of his formidable performance in \u201cThe Five Heartbeats,\u201d writing: \u201cRest in peace, Michael Wright.\u201d
Kirk Acevedo, who starred with Wright in \u201cOz,\u201d wrote on X<\/a>: \u201cMike was mesmerizing when he was on screen, his intensity, honesty, and of course that voice! A gifted man!\u201d
Radio personality Donnie Simpson on X<\/a> expressed condolences to Wright\u2019s family, friends and fans.
\u201cWe\u2019ve lost another brother. So sad to hear of this loss,\u201d Simpson wrote. \u201cMichael Wright gave us so many iconic performances from the culture classic The Five Heartbeats to Sugar Hill. What a talent!\u201d
Wright is survived by Susan Wright; his daughter, Manon Wright; and his stepchildren, Byron, Brittney, Brea and Sir Barr.
Marlene Lenthang is a breaking news reporter for NBC News Digital.
© 2026 NBCUniversal Media, LLC<\/p>\n

source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

news AlertsThere are no new alerts at this timeMichael Wright, known for the film \u201cThe Five Heartbeats\u201d and the TV series \u201cV,\u201d has died at 70, his wife announced.\u201cIt is with profound sadness and an unimaginable heaviness in my heart that I share the passing of my beloved husband, Michael Wright,\u201d his wife, Susan Wright, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":221709,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-221708","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-us","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221708","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=221708"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221708\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/221709"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=221708"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=221708"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=221708"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}