
Paul Benjamin
Acting • Born 1935-02-04 – Died 2019-06-28
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. 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.
Filmography
52 credits
Do the Right Thing
Movie • 1989
ML

The Station Agent
Movie • 2003
Henry Styles

Escape from Alcatraz
Movie • 1979
English

The Anderson Tapes
Movie • 1971
Jimmy

Leadbelly
Movie • 1976
Wes Ledbetter

The Education of Sonny Carson
Movie • 1974
Pops

Deacons for Defense
Movie • 2005
Otis

Friendly Persuasion
Movie • 1975
Swan Stebeney

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Movie • 1979
Freeman

Mr. Inside/Mr. Outside
Movie • 1973
Lt. Valentine

The Man Who Broke 1,000 Chains
Movie • 1987
Big Sam

Gideon's Trumpet
Movie • 1980
Artis

One in a Million: The Ron LeFlore Story
Movie • 1978
John LeFlore

The Deadly Trackers
Movie • 1973
Jacob

Ascension Day
Movie • 2007
Sam

Stanley's Gig
Movie • 2000
Teddy Branson

Hoodlum
Movie • 1997
Whispers

Back to the Streets of San Francisco
Movie • 1992
Henry Brown

Deadly Force
Movie • 1983
Lester

Midnight Cowboy
Movie • 1969
Bartender

Rosewood
Movie • 1997
James Carrier

Some Kind of Hero
Movie • 1982
Leon

Distance
Movie • 1975
Sgt. Elwood Horne

Across 110th Street
Movie • 1972
Jim Harris

The Breaks
Movie • 1999
Clerk

Back in the Day
Movie • 2005
Cody

DMX: Angel
Movie • 2001
Minister

Judge Horton and the Scottsboro Boys
Movie • 1976
Ramsey

Born to Win
Movie • 1971
Fixer

Friday Foster
Movie • 1975
Senator David Lee Hart

A Stranger Waits
Movie • 1987
Cooper

Nuts
Movie • 1987
Harry Harrison

The Meeting
Movie • 1989
Rashad

The Five Heartbeats
Movie • 1991
Mr. King

The Super
Movie • 1991
Gilliam

Occupy, Texas
Movie • 2016
Mr. Goodman

Drop Squad
Movie • 1994
Wellington Cosbie

The Fence
Movie • 1994
Del Reston

Last Rites
Movie • 1999
Fez

Vanishing Point
Movie • 1997
Mose, Snake Wrangler

The Shield
TV • 2002
Perry

Starsky & Hutch
TV • 1975

Angel
TV • 1999
Fellow Resident

Knots Landing
TV • 1979
Mr. Carter

Kojak
TV • 1973
Willie Daniels

Hallmark Hall of Fame
TV • 1951
Arlis

ER
TV • 1994
Al Ervin

Police Woman
TV • 1974

Police Story
TV • 1973

The Atlanta Child Murders
TV • 1985
Homer Williams

Night Heat
TV • 1985

Law & Order
TV • 1990
Lonnie Jackson