Paul Winfield
Paul Winfield | |
---|---|
Hollywood Hills, California, U.S. | |
Other names | Paul E. Winfield |
Alma mater | |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1965–2004 |
Partner | Charles Gillan Jr. (1972–2002; Gillan's death) |
Paul Edward Winfield (May 22, 1939 – March 7, 2004) was an American actor. He was known for his portrayal of a
Early years
Winfield was the son of Lois Beatrice Edwards, a single mother who was a union organizer in the garment industry. Although published obituaries stated he was born in Los Angeles on May 22, 1941,[1][2] some sources indicate he was born May 22, 1939, in Dallas, Texas.[a] His stepfather from the age of eight was Clarence Winfield, a city trash collector and construction worker.[4][5] He graduated from Manual Arts High School in Los Angeles. From there, he attended the University of Portland, 1957–59; Stanford University, 1959; Los Angeles City College, 1959–63; University of California, Los Angeles, 1962–64; University of Hawaii, 1965 and the University of California, Santa Barbara, 1970–71, but did not earn a degree from any of them.[6]
Career
A lifetime member of
In 1973, Winfield was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for the 1972 film Sounder,[8] and his co-star in that film, Cicely Tyson, was nominated for Best Actress. Prior to their nominations and Diana Ross's for Lady Sings the Blues the same year, only three other black Americans – Dorothy Dandridge, Sidney Poitier and James Earl Jones – had ever been nominated for a leading role. He also appeared, in a different role, in the 2003 Disney-produced television remake of Sounder, which was directed by Kevin Hooks, his co-star from the original. Winfield played the part of "Jim the Slave" in Huckleberry Finn (1974) which was a musical based on the novel by Mark Twain. Winfield would recall late in his career that as a young actor he had played one of the two leads in Of Mice and Men in local repertory, made up in whiteface, since a black actor playing it would have been unthinkable. Winfield also starred in several miniseries, including Scarlett, and two based on the works of novelist Alex Haley: Roots: The Next Generations and Queen: The Story of an American Family.
Winfield gained a new segment of fans for his brief but memorable roles in several
Winfield also took on roles as homosexual characters in the films
Personal life and death
Winfield was gay, but remained discreet about it in the public eye. Prior to realizing his sexuality, he had a relationship with his
Winfield long battled obesity and diabetes. On March 7, 2004, he died of a heart attack at Queen of Angels – Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center in Los Angeles.[12] Winfield and Gillan are interred together at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Los Angeles.[13]
Filmography
Film | |||
---|---|---|---|
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
1967 | The Perils of Pauline | African Servant | Uncredited |
1967 | Who's Minding the Mint? | Garbage man | Uncredited |
1969 | The Lost Man | Orville Turner | |
1970 | R. P. M. | Steve Dempsey | |
1971 | Brother John | Henry Birkart | |
1972 | Sounder | Nathan Lee Morgan | |
1972 | Trouble Man | Chalky Price | |
1973 | Gordon's War | Gordon Hudson | |
1974 | Conrack
|
Mad Billy | |
1974 | Huckleberry Finn | Jim | |
1975 | Hustle | Sergeant Louis Belgrave | |
1976 | High Velocity | Watson | |
1977 | Twilight's Last Gleaming | Willis Powell | |
1977 | The Greatest | Lawyer | |
1977 | Damnation Alley | Keegan | |
1978 | A Hero Ain't Nothin' but a Sandwich | Butler | |
1981 | Carbon Copy | Bob Garvey | |
1982 | Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan | Captain Clark Terrell | |
1982 | White Dog | Keys | |
1983 | On the Run | Harry | |
1984 | Mike's Murder
|
Philip Green | |
1984 | The Terminator | Lt. Ed Traxler | |
1986 | Blue City | Luther Reynolds | |
1987 | Death Before Dishonor | Ambassador | |
1987 | Big Shots | Johnnie Red | |
1988 | The Serpent and the Rainbow | Lucien Celine | |
1990 | Presumed Innocent | Judge Larren Lyttle | |
1993 | Cliffhanger | Walter Wright | |
1993 | Dennis the Menace | Chief of Police | |
1994 | The Killing Jar | Judge | Alternative title: Trapped |
1995 | In the Kingdom of the Blind, the Man with One Eye Is King | Papa Joe | |
1995 | In the Flesh | William Stone | |
1996 | Original Gangstas | Reverend Dorsey | Alternative title: Hot City |
1996 | Mars Attacks! | Lt. General Casey | |
1996 | Dead of Night | Vernon | |
1996 | The Legend of Gator Face | Bob | |
1997 | Strategic Command | Rowan | |
1998 | Relax...It's Just Sex | Auntie Mahalia | |
1998 | Assignment Berlin | Al Spector | |
1999 | Catfish in Black Bean Sauce | Harold Williams | |
2000 | Knockout
|
Ron Regent | |
2001 | Vegas, City of Dreams | Edgar Jones | |
2002 | Second to Die | Detective Grady | |
Television | |||
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
1965 | Perry Mason | Mitch | Episode: "The Case of the Runaway Racer" |
1966 | The Man from U.N.C.L.E. | Military M.P. | Episode: "The Minus x Affair" |
1966 | Daktari | Roy Kimba | 2 episodes |
1967 | Cowboy in Africa | Kabutu | 1 episode |
1968 | Death Valley Days | Bart | Episode: Bbread on the Desert" |
1968 | Mission: Impossible | Klaus | Episode: "Trial by Fury" |
1968–1972 | Ironside | Robert Phillips / Luther Benson | 2 episodes |
1969 | Mannix | Walter Lucas | Episode: Odds Against Donald Jordan" |
1969 | The High Chaparral | Graham Jessup | Episode: "Sea of Enemies" |
1969 | Room 222 | Jim Williams | Episode: "Arizona State Loves You" |
1969–1970 | Julia | Paul Cameron | 4 episodes |
1970 | The Young Rebels | Pompey | Episode: "Unbroken Chains" |
1973 | The Horror at 37,000 Feet | Dr. Enkalla | Television film |
1974 | It's Good to Be Alive | Roy Campanella | Television film |
1977 | Green Eyes | Lloyd Dubeck | Television film |
1978 | King | Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. | Miniseries |
1979 | Backstairs at the White House
|
Emmett Rogers Sr. | Miniseries |
1979 | Roots: The Next Generations | Dr. Horace Huguley | Episode #1.5 |
1980 | Angel City | Cy | Television film |
1981 | The Sophisticated Gents | Richard "Bubbles" Wiggins | Television film |
1982 | Dreams Don't Die | Officer Charles "Charlie" Banks | Television film |
1982 | The Blue and the Gray | Jonathan Henry | Miniseries |
1983 | For Us the Living: The Medgar Evers Story | Sampson | Television film |
1984 | The Fall Guy | Bert Perkins | Episode: "Old Heroes Never Die" |
1985 | Go Tell It on the Mountain | Gabriel Grimes | Television film |
1985 | Murder, She Wrote | Det. Lieutenant Starkey | Episode: "Tough Guys Don't Die" |
1986 | Under Siege | Andrew Simon | Television film |
1987 | Mighty Pawns | Mr. Wright | Television film |
1987–1988 | The Charmings | The Magic Mirror | 19 episodes |
1988–1990 | 227 | Julian C. Barlow | 24 episodes |
1989 | The Women of Brewster Place | Sam Michael | Miniseries |
1989 | Wiseguy | Isaac Twine | 6 episodes |
1990 | L.A. Law | Derron Holloway | 4 episodes |
1991 | Family Matters | Jimmy Baines | Episode: "Finding the Words" |
1991 | Star Trek: The Next Generation | Captain Dathon | Episode: "Darmok" |
1991 | The Wish That Changed Christmas
|
Mr. Smith | Voice, Television film |
1993 | Batman: The Animated Series | Earl Cooper | Voice, episode: "The Mechanic"[14] |
1993 | Irresistible Force | Commander Toole | Television film |
1994 | Scarlett | Big Sam | Miniseries |
1994 | Picket Fences | Judge Harold Nance | 2 episodes |
1995 | Tyson | Don King
|
Television film |
1995 | Babylon 5 | General Richard Franklin | Episode: "GROPOS" |
1995 | White Dwarf
|
Dr. Akada | Television film |
1995–1996 | Gargoyles | Jeffrey Robbins | Voice, 3 episodes[14] |
1995–2003 | Touched by an Angel | Sam | 13 episodes |
1996 | Second Noah | Ramses | Episode: "Ghost Story" |
1996–1997 | The Magic School Bus | Mr. Ruhle | Voice, 4 episodes[14] |
1996–1998 | The Simpsons | Lucius Sweet | Voice, 2 episodes |
1997 | Spider-Man | Omar Mosely / Black Marvel | Voice, 3 episodes[14] |
1998 | Walker, Texas Ranger | Pastor Roscoe Jones | Episode: "The Soul of Winter" |
1999–2000 | Batman Beyond | Sam Young | Voice, 3 episodes[14] |
1999–2004 | City Confidential | Narrator | 94 episodes |
1999 | Strange Justice | Thurgood Marshall | Television film |
2002 | Crossing Jordan | Dr. Phillip Sanders | Episode: "Four Fathers" |
2003 | Sounder | The Teacher | Television film |
Awards and nominations
Year | Awards | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1973 | Academy Awards | Best Actor in a Leading Role | Sounder | Nominated | |
1978 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or a Special
|
King | Nominated | |
1979 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Special | Roots: The Next Generations (For "Episode V") |
Nominated | |
1982 | NAACP Image Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Dramatic Series or Miniseries or Television Movie | The Sophisticated Gents | Won | |
1995 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series
|
Picket Fences: Season 3 | Won | |
1997 | Daytime Emmy Award | Outstanding Performer in a Children's Special | The Legend of Gator Face | Nominated | |
1999 | St. Louis International Film Festival | Lifetime Achievement Award | —
|
Won | |
2004 | Black Reel Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actor, TV Movie or Limited Series | Sounder | Nominated |
Notes
- ^ His grave marker at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) gives his birth year as 1939, and the Social Security Index gives his place and date of birth as Dallas, Texas, on May 22, 1939.[3]
References
- ^ Martin, Douglas (March 9, 2004). "Paul Winfield Is Dead at 62; Known for Film and TV Roles". The New York Times.
- ^ Adenekan, Shola (April 2, 2004). "Obituary: Paul Winfield". The Guardian. London.
- ^ "U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007". Ancestry.com. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
- ^ "Paul Winfield Biography". Film Reference. Retrieved June 23, 2007.
- ^ "Paul Winfield Biography". Yahoo! Movies. 2008. Retrieved May 28, 2008.
- ISBN 978-1414435305. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
- ISBN 0-02-542650-8.
- ^ Greenspun, Roger (September 25, 1972). "Screen: 'Sounder' Opens: Story of a Negro Boy in Louisiana of 1930's". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 30, 2013. Retrieved December 21, 2018.
- ^ Bogost, Ian (June 18, 2014). "A "Star Trek" Episode Shows the Next Phase of Human Communication". The Atlantic.
- ^ Rapp, Linda (2005). "Winfield, Paul". glbtq encyclopedia. Archived from the original on February 5, 2007. Retrieved January 28, 2007.
- ^ "Charles Gillan Jr". Variety. April 9, 2002. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
- ^ King, Susan (March 9, 2004). "Oscar-nominated actor Paul Winfield dies". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
- ISBN 978-1476625997.
- ^ a b c d e "Paul Winfield (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved September 23, 2023. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its opening and/or closing credits and/or other reliable sources of information.
External links
- Paul Winfield at the African American Registry
- Paul Winfield at the Internet Broadway Database
- Paul Winfield at IMDb
- Paul Winfield at the TCM Movie Database
- Paul Winfield at AllMovie
- Paul Winfield at Memory Alpha
- Paul Winfield and Charles Gillan, Jr. at Find a Grave