‘The Five Heartbeats’ Star Michael Wright Dies At 70

Michael Wright, the actor best known for his iconic role as Eddie King Jr. in The Five Heartbeats, has died. He was 70 years old.

According to TMZ, Wright died after suffering heart failure and complications related to Marchiafava-Bignami, a rare neurological condition.

His wife, Susan Wright, announced his passing in an emotional Instagram statement Friday night.

“Michael was a husband, a father, a grandfather, loved one, a friend, and an extraordinary artist whose work touched generations,” she wrote. “His 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.”

She closed her tribute by writing, “Michael, 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.”

Born in New York City in 1956, Wright built a career in film and television that spanned more than four decades. His early work included The Wanderers and the 1983 Vietnam War drama Streamers. Wright and his Streamers castmates earned the Volpi Cup for Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival for their performances.

Wright later appeared in The Principal alongside Jim Belushi, Sugar Hill with Wesley Snipes and HBO’s Oz, where he played Omar White.

But for generations of fans, Wright will forever be remembered as Eddie King Jr., the talented and troubled singer at the center of Robert Townsend’s 1991 musical drama The Five Heartbeats. The beloved film also starred Townsend, Leon Robinson and Harry Lennix and has remained a Black cinema classic more than three decades after its release.

Wright’s final screen credit came in the 2025 production Dope King.