Paul Benjamin
Paul Benjamin (born 1938) 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 did extensive 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.
Do the Right Thing
as MLSalvatore "Sal" Fragione is the Italian owner of a pizzeria in Brooklyn. A neighborhood local,...
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Midnight Cowboy
as BartenderJoe Buck is a wide-eyed hustler from Texas hoping to score big with wealthy New York City women;...
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San Francisco Bay, January 18, 1960. Frank Lee Morris is transferred to Alcatraz, a maximum...
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Hoodlum
as WhispersIn 1934, the second most lucrative business in New York City was running 'the numbers'. When...
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Nuts
as Harry HarrisonA high-class call girl accused of murder fights for the right to stand trial rather than be...
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Rosewood
as James CarrierSpurred by a white woman's lie, vigilantes destroy a black Florida town and slay inhabitants in...
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The Anderson Tapes
as JimmyThief Duke Anderson—just released from ten years in jail—takes up with his old girlfriend in her...
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Friday Foster
as Senator David Lee HartFriday Foster, a magazine photographer, goes to Los Angeles International airport to photograph...
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Deadly Force
as LesterStoney Cooper, a former Los Angeles police officer, is at a low point in his life. Kicked off...
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The Station Agent
as Henry StylesWhen his only friend dies, a man born with dwarfism moves to rural New Jersey to live a life of...
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Born to Win
as FixerA smart-mouthed junkie and a former hairdresser spends his days looking for just "one more fix".
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Across 110th Street
as Jim HarrisIn a daring robbery, some $300,000 is taken from the Italian mob. Several mafiosi are killed, as...
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Some Kind of Hero
as LeonA Vietnam vet returns home from a prisoner of war camp and is greeted as a hero, but is quickly...
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The Breaks
as ClerkDerrick, a racially-confused Irishman raised in the hood by a black family is having the worst...
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Leadbelly
as Wes LedbetterThe life of Blues and folk singer Huddie Leadbetter, nicknamed Leadbelly is recounted. Covering...
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Ascension Day
as SamA drama focused on Nat Turner and the 1831 slave rebellion in Virginia.
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Friendly Persuasion
as Swan StebeneyDuring the Civil War, a Quaker couple risks their lives by helping runaway slaves.
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Distance
as Sgt. Elwood Horne’Distance’ is an award-winning, independent feature film exploring the distance between men and...
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Deacons for Defense
as OtisInspired by a true story, this drama is set in 1965, not long after passage of the Civil Rights...
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Back in the Day
as CodyA young man slides back into a life of crime after reuniting with a shady acquaintance from his...
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The Meeting
as RashadFictional meeting between Dr. Martin Luther King and Malcolm X in Harlem in the early '60's.
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Gideon's Trumpet
as ArtisTrue story of Clarence Gideon's fight to be appointed counsel at the expense of the state. This...
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The Deadly Trackers
as JacobSheriff Sean Kilpatrick is a pacifist. Frank Brand is the leader of a band of killers. When...
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DMX: Angel
as MinisterAngel is a fascinating glimpse into the psyche of rap's most conflicted and charismatic MC. DMX...
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A Stranger Waits
as CooperMost men consider the widow Kate Bennington to be irresistible, but when she dives into a madly...
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I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
as FreemanBased on writer Maya Angelou's eloquent reminiscences of her days as a gifted youngster growing...
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The Man Who Broke 1,000 Chains
as Big SamThe true story of Robert Elliot Burns, the prisoner who, after being sentenced to a Georgia...
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Judge Horton and the Scottsboro Boys
as RamseyIn 1930s Alabama, nine young black men are accused of raping two white women. The judge in the...
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The Education of Sonny Carson
as PopsA 1974 film based on the best-selling autobiography of Sonny Carson who joined a gang and...
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One in a Million: The Ron LeFlore Story
as John LeFloreThe true story of baseball star Ron LeFlore, from his days as a street-corner punk with no...
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Back to the Streets of San Francisco
as Henry BrownMike Stone's back and his old partner, Steve Keller, is missing. So Mike heads up an...
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Mr. Inside/Mr. Outside
as Lt. ValentineTwo New York City cops investigate a drug-smuggling ring that they believe is run by New...
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Law & Order
as Lonnie JacksonIn cases ripped from the headlines, police investigate serious and often deadly crimes, weighing...
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Starsky & Hutch
as uncreditedStreetwise Detective David Starsky partners up with a more intellectual partner, Kenneth 'Hutch'...
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The Shield
as PerryThe story of an inner-city Los Angeles police precinct where some of the cops aren't above...
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ER
as Al ErvinER explores the inner workings of an urban teaching hospital and the critical issues faced by...
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Police Woman
as uncreditedSergeant “Pepper"” Anderson, an undercover cop for the Criminal Conspiracy Unit of the Los...
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Angel
as Fellow ResidentThe vampire Angel, cursed with a soul, moves to Los Angeles and aids people with...
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Night Heat
as uncreditedNight Heat was a Canadian police drama series. It starred Allan Royal as journalist Tom...
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Knots Landing
as uncreditedThe domestic adventures, misdeeds and everyday interactions of five families living on a...
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Kojak
as Willie DanielsA bald, lollipop sucking police detective with a fiery righteous attitude battles crime in New...
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Hallmark Hall of Fame
as ArlisHallmark Hall of Fame is an anthology program on American television, sponsored by Hallmark...
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The Atlanta Child Murders
as Homer WilliamsThe Atlanta Child Murders is a TV miniseries that aired on February 10 and 12, 1985 on CBS....
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Police Story
as uncreditedPolice Story is an anthology television crime drama. The show was the brainchild of author and...
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