Portrait of Samuel E. Wright

Birthday profile

Samuel E. Wright

Samuel E. Wright, American actor, voice actor and singer (died 2021)

Born
November 20, 1946
Died
May 24, 2021
Zodiac sign
Scorpio
Birth year
1946

About Samuel E. Wright

Samuel Ernest Wright (November 20, 1946 – May 24, 2021) was an American actor. He was best known as the voice of Sebastian in Disney's The Little Mermaid, for which he provided the lead vocals to "Under the Sea", which won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. He played Dizzy Gillespie in Bird, the biographical film about Charlie Parker. Wright also played the part of Mufasa in the original cast of The Lion King on Broadway and voiced Kron the Iguanodon in the 2000 CGI/live-action film Dinosaur. == Early life == Wright was born on November 20, 1946, in Camden, South Carolina. He was a student at Camden High School, where he was involved with sports and the arts. == Career == In 1968, Wright moved to New York City to pursue his acting career full time. Wright originated the part of "Sam" in Over Here! on Broadway (1974). In addition, on Broadway, Wright replaced Ben Vereen as the Leading Player in Pippin (1972).

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Career and life highlights

The world when Samuel E. Wright was born

Samuel E. Wright was born in 1946. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1946

  • #1 song"The Christmas Song" – Nat King Cole
  • Top movieThe Best Years of Our Lives
  • Best-selling bookThe King's General – Daphne du Maurier

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentFirst NBA (BAA) season begins
  • Top headlineUnited Nations General Assembly holds its first session
  • Technology milestoneENIAC — first general-purpose electronic computer
  • Defining fadBaby boom begins
  • Notable inventionTupperware
  • World population2.43 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderHarry S. Truman
  • Sports championSt. Louis Cardinals (World Series)
  • U.S. population141.4M

1946 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Samuel E. Wright's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19462026
Gas$0.21$3.45/gal
Average home$6,600$435,000
Average income$4,300$67,500
Minimum wage$0.40$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$0.35$11.95
Postage stamp$0.03$0.73
Population141.4M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, IMDb, MusicBrainz, Wikidata. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.