As a boy, Carl Wright longed to be an entertainer.
Those dreams led the comedian-emcee-tap dancer to Chicago. Eventually, the young man from central Florida was plying his skills at the city’s biggest clubs, his wife, Shirley, said.
Later, Mr. Wright’s career took a fortunate twist when, well into his 60s, he was cast in a major motion picture, “Soul Food.” It was his first movie, but it wouldn’t be his last. In the next decade, he would appear in several more, including “Big Momma’s House” and both installments of the “Barbershop” series, in which he played a character in the South Side barbershop named Checkers Fred.
“He was funny as hell,” said longtime friend and WVON radio personality Pervis Spann. “He was funny. He was funny. He was funny.”
Mr. Wright, 75, died of cancer Friday, May 18, at his home on the Far South Side, his wife said.
He was born in 1932 in Orlando, one of nine children. Mr. Wright attended college in Atlanta, but his true loves were dancing, singing and telling jokes. Before long, he was traveling the country, his wife said.
Mr. Wright arrived in Chicago in the early 1950s and soon began working at various South Side clubs.
“He started out dancing by himself, and then he would do comedy,” his wife said. “Then he met a man named Frank James, who had one leg. They got together and called themselves the Three-Leggers.”
James and Mr. Wright worked together for several years, doing a dance-and-comedy routine. They took their show on the road, too, traveling as far as Canada to perform, his wife said.
It was at the Club DeLisa, the famed nightclub once located at State Street and Garfield Boulevard, where Mr. Wright, who was performing, met his wife, who was a chorus-line dancer. They were married for 53 years.
Soon after their wedding, his wife said, Mr. Wright went into the Army for two years and was stationed in New Jersey. He didn’t stop performing though. While in the service, he won an all-Army talent show.
When he was discharged, Mr. Wright returned to Chicago. He performed solo because he couldn’t located his old partner, his wife said.
He worked steadily, emceeing events and doing stand-up comedy.
In 1987, he joined his friend Spann as co-host of the local cable TV show “Blues & More.” Over the years, Spann said, he and Mr. Wright interviewed celebrities such as B.B. King, Jamie Foxx and Bernie Mac, Spann said.
The formula was simple: Spann was the straight man and spun the records, while Mr. Wright played one of his favorite characters, Right Rev. Wright.
A decade later, the producers of “Soul Food” saw Mr. Wright on the program.
“They saw him there, and they asked him to try out,” his wife said. “When he did, he got the part.” He played the role of Rev. Williams.
In addition to acting in films, Mr. Wright had small roles on TV and appeared in many commercials, Spann said. He also wrote two children’s books.
“He was like an all-around individual in this entertainment world,” Spann said.
In addition to his wife, Mr. Wright is survived by three brothers, Charles, Clarence and Billy; two sisters, Diane Wright-Cahee and Sherrie Wright; two daughters, Kia Wright and Linda Fowler; and four grandchildren.
Funeral arrangements are pending.
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alwang@tribune.com
