Jamaican Bobsledder Sam Clayton Jr. Who Inspired Cool Runnings Dies From COVID-19

The threat of the coronavirus continues to alter the world. Sadly, the list of people who have passed away from COVID-19 now includes Sam Clayton Jr., the Jamaican bobsledder who inspired the Disney classic, Cool Runnings. It’s been reported that he died on March 31st in Kingston, Jamaica at the age of 58. In addition to his Olympic career, Clayton Jr. was a sound engineer “with a global” ear. The New York Times describes him as a “musical jack-of-all-trades.” He was a producer and sound engineer at Kingston’s Harry J. Studio, where he “contributed to music by Jamaican roots reggae artists like Horace Andy and Ernest Ranglin.”

According to The New York Times, Clayton Jr. worked with many foreign musical artists, lived in France for a while, and spoke fluent French. He served as the sound engineer for many bands, including the British group Steel Pulse. The band’s frontman, David R. Hinds, shared in an email that Clayton Jr. died due to COVID-19, and also wrote some kind words about him, calling him a “well-rounded individual” who filled multiple roles for the musicians he worked with. He wore many hats, including tour manager, guitar and keyboard technician, studio engineer, producer, and percussionist.

“Most important of all, in this thieving, cutthroat music industry of ours, he was trustworthy,” Hinds shared. “Where Sam towered over the rest of his peers, is that he held dearly every task he did, no matter how small, or how tedious. They all got his relentless undivided attention.”

Clayton Jr. was born on August 30, 1961, in St. Andrew, Jamaica, to Leonie and Sam Clayton. His father also worked in the music industry, serving as a percussionist and vocalist for the Mystic Revelation of Rastafari. In addition to his role in the music world, Clayton Jr. also worked as a railroad engineer. In 1988, he competed in the Winter Olympics in Calgary as part of the famous Jamaican bobsled team.

In 1993, the bobsled team’s courageous exploits were turned into a film starring John Candy. However, the bobsledders in the film were fictionalized, so no character was specifically named after Clayton Jr. In fact, HBO previously reported, “perhaps it should be obvious from their names, but none of those characters existed.” They added, “What might surprise you, however, is how many changes were made to a tale marketed as a ‘true story’ — enough that even director Jon Turteltaub has said they could never get away with it today.”

Cool Runnings is currently available to stream on Disney+.