Paul Benjamin
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- February 4, 1935
- Died
- June 28, 2019 (aged 84)
- Birthplace
- Pelion, South Carolina, USA
Biography
Paul Benjamin (February 4, 1935 – June 28, 2019) was 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. 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. Description above from the Wikipedia article Paul Benjamin, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For
Photos
Filmography
Occupy, Texas
Movie · as Mr. Goodman
Ascension Day
Movie · as Sam
Deacons for Defense
Movie · as Otis
Back in the Day
Movie · as Cody
The Station Agent
Movie · as Henry Styles
The Shield
TV · as Perry · 1 ep
DMX: Angel
Movie · as Minister
Stanley's Gig
Movie · as Teddy Branson
The Breaks
Movie · as Clerk
Last Rites
Movie · as Fez
Angel
TV · as Fellow Resident · 1 ep
Hoodlum
Movie · as Whispers
Rosewood
Movie · as James Carrier
Vanishing Point
Movie · as Mose, Snake Wrangler
Drop Squad
Movie · as Wellington Cosbie
The Fence
Movie · as Del Reston
ER
TV · as Al Ervin · 3 eps
Back to the Streets of San Francisco
Movie · as Henry Brown
The Five Heartbeats
Movie · as Mr. King
The Super
Movie · as Gilliam
Law & Order
TV · as Lonnie Jackson · 1 ep
Do the Right Thing
Movie · as ML
The Meeting
Movie · as Rashad
The Man Who Broke 1,000 Chains
Movie · as Big Sam
A Stranger Waits
Movie · as Cooper
Nuts
Movie · as Harry Harrison
The Atlanta Child Murders
TV · as Homer Williams · 2 eps
Night Heat
TV · 1 ep
Deadly Force
Movie · as Lester
Some Kind of Hero
Movie · as Leon
American Playhouse
TV · as Rashad · 1 ep
Gideon's Trumpet
Movie · as Artis
Escape from Alcatraz
Movie · as English
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Movie · as Freeman
Knots Landing
TV · as Mr. Carter · 2 eps
One in a Million: The Ron LeFlore Story
Movie · as John LeFlore
Leadbelly
Movie · as Wes Ledbetter
Judge Horton and the Scottsboro Boys
Movie · as Ramsey
Friendly Persuasion
Movie · as Swan Stebeney
Distance
Movie · as Sgt. Elwood Horne
Friday Foster
Movie · as Senator David Lee Hart
Starsky & Hutch
TV · 1 ep
The Education of Sonny Carson
Movie · as Pops
Police Woman
TV · 1 ep
Mr. Inside/Mr. Outside
Movie · as Lt. Valentine
The Deadly Trackers
Movie · as Jacob
Kojak
TV · as Willie Daniels · 1 ep
Police Story
TV · 1 ep
Across 110th Street
Movie · as Jim Harris
The Anderson Tapes
Movie · as Jimmy
Born to Win
Movie · as Fixer
Midnight Cowboy
Movie · as Bartender
Hallmark Hall of Fame
TV · as Arlis · 1 ep