- Paul Benjamin
infobox actor
birthdate=birth year and age|1938
birthplace=city-state|Pelion|South Carolina, U.S.
occupation=Film ,television actor Paul Benjamin (born 1938) is an American actor.
Benjamin was born in
Pelion, South Carolina . He made his film debut in 1969 as abartender in "Midnight Cowboy ". After a small role inSidney 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 inGordon Parks ' biopic "Leadbelly ", Arthur Marks' "Friday Foster", andDon 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 theHBO movie "The Man Who Broke 1,000 Chains ", based on the novel byRobert E. Burns . On the big screen in the 1990s, Benjamin worked with some well known directors. He appeared inSpike Lee 's "Do The Right Thing ",Robert Townsend 's "The Five Heartbeats ",Bill Duke 's "Hoodlum", andJohn 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 authorRalph Ellison , which aired onPBS . After 2000, he appeared primarily in small independent films like "Stanley's Gig ", "The Station Agent ", "Deacons For Defense ", andJames Hunter 's 2004 drama "Back In The Day ".External links
*imdb name|id=0071345|name=Paul Benjamin
*amg name|2:5353
*tvtome person|33672
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