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1 article from 2004

9 March 2004 | WENN | See recent WENN news »

Paul Winfield, the prolific African-American actor who received an Oscar nomination for Sounder and went on to play Martin Luther King Jr. in the highly acclaimed King miniseries, died on Sunday in Los Angeles of a heart attack; he was 62. Coming to prominence in the groundbreaking sitcom Julia, where he played the boyfriend of Diahann Carroll's titular character, Winfield made his feature film debut opposite Sidney Poitier in The Lost Man in 1969. Despite his Best Actor Oscar nomination a few years later for Sounder in 1972, Winfield struggled to find leading man roles, but racked up a huge number of supporting roles in both television and film. From his portrayal of Jim in 1974's Huckleberry Finn to his role as Thurgood Marshall in 1999's Strange Justice, Winfield was a fixture on both the big and small screens, instantly recognizable to audiences; his films included Conrack, Hustle, Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan, The Terminator, Presumed Innocent and Mars Attacks, among a host of others. Winfield received Emmy nominations for roles in both King, where he portrayed the civil rights leader opposite his Sounder co-star Cicely Tyson, and Roots: The Next Generation, finally winning an Emmy for his guest role on Picket Fences in 1995. His most recent appearances were on Touched by an Angel, Crossing Jordan and a TV remake of Sounder. --Prepared by IMDb staff »

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1 article from 2004