Michael Wright, ‘The Five Heartbeats’ And ‘V’ Star, Dies At 70

Michael Wright of the musical group The Five Heartbeats pose in the press room at the 2011 BET Awards at The Shrine Auditorium on June 26, 2011 in Los Angeles, California.

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Michael Wright, who starred in such films as The Five Heartbeats, The Principal and Sugar Hill, as well as the TV series V, has died.

Family members told TMZ in a statement that Wright died on Wednesday of heart failure and complications of Marchiafava-Bignami, which is a rare degenerative neurological disease. He was 70.

“Many 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,” the actor’s wife, Susan Wright, wrote in a tribute on Instagram (via Variety). “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.”

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