Samuel E. Wright dead: Voice of The Little Mermaid's Sebastian dies at 74

Samuel E. Wright dead, voice of The Little Mermaid's Sebastian dies at 74. (Courtesy)

Samuel E. Wright, the voice of Sebastian the crab from The Little Mermaid, has died aged 74.

The actor died at his home in Walden, New York, after a three-year battle with prostate cancer, his family has confirmed.

The sad news was first shared by the Facebook page of his hometown of Montgomery, New York, which said: "Today, the Town of Montgomery mourns the loss of Sam Wright."

It added: "On top of his passion for the arts and his love for his family, Sam was most known for walking into a room and simply providing PURE JOY to those he interacted with.

He was known for being the voice of Sebastian the crab from 'The Little Mermaid'. (Courtesy)

"He loved to entertain, he loved to make people smile and laugh and he loved to love."

His daughter Dee told The Hollywood Reporter: "He was the brightest light."

Samuel is best known for providing the voice of Sebastian the crab in Disney’s 1989 adaptation of The Little Mermaid.

He sang two of the film's most memorable songs, Kiss the Girl and Under the Sea, the latter of which won the Academy Award for Best Original Song.

Samuel later recorded reggae-infused albums for Walt Disney Records as Sebastian.

He died after a three-year battle with prostate cancer. (Courtesy)

He returned as the character in the 1992-94 Little Mermaid prequel for CBS, for the straight-to-video sequel The Little Mermaid 2: Return to the Sea and for other shows like Marsupilami and House of Mouse.

The film star kept a collection of little red crabs in his home, admitting that "every time I pass one I genuflect and say, 'Thank you for the house, my kids' education and the fact that we don't have to eat cheese grits anymore."

Samuel was born on 20 November 1946 in Camden, South Carolina.

He made his Broadway debut in 1971 in Jesus Christ Superstar, and later starred in the original production of Pippin in 1972 and as Mufasa in The Lion King starting in 1997.

The actor earned a Tony nomination in 1984 for his portrayal as a strict dad in the musical The Tap Dance Kid, and was later nominated again in 1998 for The Lion King.

His film roles included starring as jazz legend Dizzy Gillespie in Clint Eastwood's Bird in 1988 and Dinosaur in 2000.

TV roles included The Cosby Show, Simon & Simon, Spenser: For Hire and The Dukes of Hazzard spinoff Enos.

Samuel is survived by his wife Amanda, with whom he would have celebrated 49 years of marriage next month, and their children, Keely, Dee and Sam.

Samuel told the Los Angeles Times in a 1991 interview: "Maybe not every actor would say this, but if I didn't want to be immortal, I wouldn't be acting.

"I do want to make my little mark on the world.

"An actor's worst nightmare is to hear, 10 years from now, 'Sam Wright? Who was Sam Wright?' If you have that kind of attitude, you tend to take each role and make it the best role you've done.

"You don't know what people are going to judge you by.

"It doesn't matter if it's a cartoon, Dizzy Gillespie or Othello, I'm going to play it with the same fervour — just in case anybody’s watching."