Paul Benjamin
Biography
Paul Benjamin (February 4, 1935 – June 28, 2019) was an American actor. is an American actor.
Benjamin was born in Pelion, South Carolina. He made his film debut in 1969 as a bartender in Midnight Cowboy. After a small role in Sidney Lumet's The Anderson Tapes, he primarily did television work in the 1970s. A few notable exceptions were a major role in Barry Shear's Across 110th Street, and smaller parts in Gordon Parks' biopic Leadbelly, Arthur Marks' Friday Foster, and Don Siegel's prison film Escape from Alcatraz. He gave exceptional performances in the TV adaptations of I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings and Gideon's Trumpet.
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He later starred in the HBO movie The Man Who Broke 1,000 Chains, based on the novel by Robert E. Burns.
On the big screen in the 1990s, Benjamin worked with some well known directors. He appeared in Spike Lee's Do The Right Thing, Robert Townsend's The Five Heartbeats, Bill Duke's Hoodlum, and John Singleton's Rosewood.
On television, he appeared in the 1994 pilot episode of ER, which led to his recurring role of homeless man Al Ervin during the next few seasons. Benjamin also worked on the American Masters documentary of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Ralph Ellison, which aired on PBS.
After 2000, he appeared primarily in small independent films like Stanley's Gig, The Station Agent, Deacons For Defense, and James Hunter's 2004 drama Back in the Day.
He recently made a special appearance in the independent film The Talk Man, directed by Gene Gallerano.
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Known for
Filmography
- 2016Occupy, TexasFilm: Mr. Goodman
- 2007Ascension DayFilm: Sam
- 2005Back in the DayFilm: Cody
- 2005Deacons for DefenseFilm: Otis
- 2003The Station AgentFilm: Henry Styles
- 2002The ShieldSeries: Perry (1 episode)
- 2001DMX: AngelFilm: Minister
- 2000Stanley's GigFilm: Teddy Branson
- 1999AngelSeries: Fellow Resident (1 episode)
- 1999Last RitesFilm: Fez
- 1999The BreaksFilm: Clerk
- 1997HoodlumFilm: Whispers
- 1997RosewoodFilm: James Carrier
- 1997Vanishing PointFilm: Mose, Snake Wrangler
- 1994Drop SquadFilm: Wellington Cosbie
- 1994ERSeries: Al Ervin (3 episodes)
- 1994The FenceFilm: Del Reston
- 1992Back to the Streets of San FranciscoFilm: Henry Brown
- 1991The SuperFilm: Gilliam
- 1991The Five HeartbeatsFilm: Mr. King
- 1990Law & OrderSeries: Lonnie Jackson (1 episode)
- 1989Do the Right ThingFilm: ML
- 1989The MeetingFilm: Rashad
- 1987NutsFilm: Harry Harrison
- 1987The Man Who Broke 1,000 ChainsFilm: Big Sam
- 1987A Stranger WaitsFilm: Cooper
- 1985The Atlanta Child MurdersSeries: Homer Williams (2 episodes)
- 1985Night HeatSeries (1 episode)
- 1983Deadly ForceFilm: Lester
- 1982Some Kind of HeroFilm: Leon
- 1982American PlayhouseSeries: Rashad (1 episode)
- 1980Gideon's TrumpetFilm: Artis
- 1979Knots LandingSeries: Mr. Carter (2 episodes)
- 1979Escape from AlcatrazFilm: English
- 1979I Know Why the Caged Bird SingsFilm: Freeman
- 1978One in a Million: The Ron LeFlore StoryFilm: John LeFlore
- 1976LeadbellyFilm: Wes Ledbetter
- 1976Judge Horton and the Scottsboro BoysFilm: Ramsey
- 1975Friday FosterFilm: Senator David Lee Hart
- 1975DistanceFilm: Sgt. Elwood Horne
- 1975Starsky & HutchSeries (1 episode)
- 1975Friendly PersuasionFilm: Swan Stebeney
- 1974Police WomanSeries (1 episode)
- 1974The Education of Sonny CarsonFilm: Pops
- 1973The Deadly TrackersFilm: Jacob
- 1973KojakSeries: Willie Daniels (1 episode)
- 1973Police StorySeries (1 episode)
- 1973Mr. Inside/Mr. OutsideFilm: Lt. Valentine
- 1972Across 110th StreetFilm: Jim Harris
- 1971Born to WinFilm: Fixer
- 1971The Anderson TapesFilm: Jimmy
- 1969Midnight CowboyFilm: Bartender
- 1951Hallmark Hall of FameSeries: Arlis (1 episode)
Biography and credits from TMDB. This website uses TMDB and the TMDB APIs but is not endorsed, certified, or otherwise approved by TMDB.