Paul Benjamin facts for kids

Paul Benjamin (born February 4, 1938 – died June 28, 2019) was an American actor. He had a long career that lasted for sixty years! Paul Benjamin acted in many movies and TV shows, starting in the late 1960s.

About Paul Benjamin's Life

Paul Benjamin was born on February 4, 1938, in Pelion, South Carolina. His father was a Baptist preacher, and his mother's name was Rosa. Paul was the youngest of 12 children!

After his parents passed away, Paul moved to Columbia, South Carolina. He lived there with one of his older brothers. He went to C.A. Johnson High School and then studied at Benedict College.

Paul Benjamin's Acting Career

Paul Benjamin moved to New York to study acting. He learned at a place called the Herbert Berghof Studio.

His very first movie role was in 1969. He played a bartender in a film called Midnight Cowboy. After that, he had small parts in movies like The Anderson Tapes (1971) and Born to Win (1971).

In the 1970s, Paul Benjamin worked a lot on television. He also had some important movie roles. He played a main character in Across 110th Street (1972). He also appeared in The Deadly Trackers (1973) and Friday Foster (1975). He was in Leadbelly (1976), a movie about a famous musician. Paul also acted in Escape from Alcatraz (1979), a film about escaping from a famous prison.

He acted in TV movies too, like I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1979) and Gideon's Trumpet (1980). Later, in 1987, he starred in an HBO movie called The Man Who Broke 1,000 Chains.

Working with Famous Actors and Directors

In the 1980s and 1990s, Paul Benjamin worked with many well-known actors and directors. He was in Some Kind of Hero (1982) with Richard Pryor. He also acted in Nuts (1987) with Barbra Streisand.

He appeared in Pink Cadillac (1989) with Clint Eastwood. One of his most famous roles was ML in Spike Lee's movie Do the Right Thing (1989). He also worked with Robert Townsend in The Five Heartbeats (1991). Other movies included Hoodlum (1997) and Rosewood (1997).

Television Roles and Later Work

On TV, Paul Benjamin was in an episode of In The Heat of the Night in 1988. He also had a recurring role as a homeless man named Al Ervin in the TV show ER, starting with its first episode in 1994.

He also worked on a documentary about the writer Ralph Ellison for PBS. He appeared in an episode of Law & Order in 2003 and an episode of The Shield. After the year 2000, he mostly acted in independent films. These included Stanley's Gig, The Station Agent, Deacons For Defense, and Back in the Day (2005).

Paul Benjamin's Final Years

Paul Benjamin passed away on June 28, 2019. He was 81 years old and died in Los Angeles, California.

Paul Benjamin's Filmography