Jason Raize Rothenberg (July 20, 1975 – February 3, 2004), known professionally as Jason Raize, was an American actor, singer, and former Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Environment Programme. He was best known for his roles as the adult Simba in the Broadway stage musical version of The Lion King and the voice of Denahi in the animated Disney film Brother Bear. Early life Born Jason Raize Rothenberg in Oneonta, New York, he grew up in the Catskills in upstate New York and started acting as a teenager, when his stepmother enrolled him in a summer Shakespeare workshop. In high school, after moving with his father to Oneonta, Raize performed in high school plays and with Oneonta's Orpheus Theatre. He moved to New York City, where he briefly attended the American Musical and Dramatic Academy. Career In 1994, he dropped his given surname, "Rothenberg", and began using his middle name, "Raize," as his professional surname. He performed at the Bucks County Playhouse in Oklahoma! (as Jess/Dream Curly), The King and I (as Lun Tha), Phantom (in the title role), and The Rocky Horror Show (as Rocky). His other regional credits include Gypsy: A Musical Fable, The Sound of Music and West Side Story. At the age of 19, Raize succeeded Dennis DeYoung of Styx in the national tour of Jesus Christ Superstar, starring Ted Neely and Carl Anderson. Next, he toured with Miss Saigon, and had been cast as a swing in a national tour of The King and I starring Hayley Mills when he decided to audition for Julie Taymor's upcoming Broadway production of The Lion King (1997). Winning the role of "Simba" in The Lion King'''s original Broadway cast, Raize became part of one of the biggest Broadway hits of the 1990s. During his three years with The Lion King, Raize performed "Endless Night" and "He Lives in You" on The Rosie O'Donnell Show, and "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" on Good Morning America. He was also featured twice on the cover of InTheater magazine.Kathy Henderson, "Long Live the Kings," InTheater, February 8, 1999, 18-21. In September 1998, Raize appeared on The Paul Simon Album: Broadway Sings the Best of Paul Simon singing Simon & Garfunkel's "The Sounds of Silence". The album also featured Christiane Noll, Jose Llana, Lauren Kennedy, Jane Krakowski, and Sal Viviano. In May 1999, Raize co-produced a benefit for refugees from Kosovo