Paul Benjamin
Also Known As: not available
Biography: 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.
Department: Acting
Place of Birth: Pelion, South Carolina, USA
Adult: No
Birthday: February 04, 1938
Age: 87 years old
Gender: Male
Deathday: June 28, 2019
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Known For:
Do the Right Thing
Overview: Salvatore "Sal" Fragione is the Italian owner of a pizzeria in Brooklyn. A neighborhood local, Buggin' Out, becomes upset when he sees that the pizzeria's Wall of Fame exhibits only Italian actors. Buggin' Out believes a pizzeria in a black neighborhood should showcase black actors, but Sal disagrees. The wall becomes a symbol of racism and hate to Buggin' Out and to other people in the neighborhood, and tensions rise.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1989-06-14
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The Station Agent
Overview: When his only friend dies, a man born with dwarfism moves to rural New Jersey to live a life of solitude, only to meet a chatty hot dog vendor and a woman dealing with her own personal loss.
Genres: Drama Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2003-12-05
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Escape from Alcatraz
Overview: San Francisco Bay, January 18, 1960. Frank Lee Morris is transferred to Alcatraz, a maximum security prison located on a rocky island. Although no one has ever managed to escape from there, Frank and other inmates begin to carefully prepare an escape plan.
Genres: Drama Thriller
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1979-06-22
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The Anderson Tapes
Overview: Thief Duke Anderson—just released from ten years in jail—takes up with his old girlfriend in her posh apartment block, and makes plans to rob the entire building. What he doesn't know is that his every move is being recorded on audio and video, although he is not the subject of any surveillance.
Genres: Crime Thriller Drama Action
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1971-06-17
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Leadbelly
Overview: The life of Blues and folk singer Huddie Leadbetter, nicknamed Leadbelly is recounted. Covering the good times and bad from his 20s to 40s. Much of that time was spent on chain gangs in the south. Even in prison he became well known for the songs he had composed and sung during and before the time he spent there.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1976-05-28
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The Education of Sonny Carson
Overview: A 1974 film based on the best-selling autobiography of Sonny Carson who joined a gang and committed petty crime before being sent to prison. After his release from prison he changes his life.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1974-07-17
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Deacons for Defense
Overview: Inspired by a true story, this drama is set in 1965, not long after passage of the Civil Rights Act. Despite the Act, the African-American citizens of Bogalusa are still treated like third-class citizens, their fundamental rights as human beings persistently trampled by the white power structure, in general, and the local branch of the KKK. The story follows the formation of local black men, particularly ex-war veterans who after the struggles become too overbearing organizes the group, "Deacons for defense", an all-black defense group dedicated to patrolling the black section of town and protecting its residents from the more violent aspects of "white backlash."
Genres: Drama TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2005-04-05
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Friendly Persuasion
Overview: During the Civil War, a Quaker couple risks their lives by helping runaway slaves.
Genres: Drama TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1975-05-18
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I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Overview: Based on writer Maya Angelou's eloquent reminiscences of her days as a gifted youngster growing up in the South during the Depression years where she and her older brother were raised by their grandmother after the divorce of their parents.
Genres: Drama TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1979-04-28
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Mr. Inside/Mr. Outside
Overview: Two New York City cops investigate a drug-smuggling ring that they believe is run by New York-based foreign diplomats.
Genres: Drama Crime TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1973-03-14
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The Man Who Broke 1,000 Chains
Overview: The true story of Robert Elliot Burns, the prisoner who, after being sentenced to a Georgia chain gang, attempted two daring escapes.
Genres: Drama TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1987-10-31
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Gideon's Trumpet
Overview: True story of Clarence Gideon's fight to be appointed counsel at the expense of the state. This landmark case led to the Supreme Court's decision which extended this right to all criminal defendants.
Genres: Drama Crime History TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1980-04-30
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One in a Million: The Ron LeFlore Story
Overview: The true story of baseball star Ron LeFlore, from his days as a street-corner punk with no future to his days behind bars on a petty robbery conviction to his ultimate once-in-a-lifetime chance with the Detroit Tigers, where he became an outstanding baseball player.
Genres: Drama TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1978-09-26
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The Deadly Trackers
Overview: Sheriff Sean Kilpatrick is a pacifist. Frank Brand is the leader of a band of killers. When their paths cross Kilpatrick is compelled to go against everything he has stood for to bring death to Brand and his gang. Through his hunt into Mexico he is challenged by a noble Mexican Sheriff interested only in carrying out the law - not vengeance.
Genres: Western
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1973-12-21
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Ascension Day
Overview: A drama focused on Nat Turner and the 1831 slave rebellion in Virginia.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2007-02-02
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Stanley's Gig
Overview: An emotionally dysfunctional ukulele minstrel lands a gig at a nursing home where he strikes up an unlikely relationship with an ancient jazz chanteuse and awakens from a lifetime of loneliness and inconsequence.
Genres: Drama Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2000-06-19
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Hoodlum
Overview: In 1934, the second most lucrative business in New York City was running 'the numbers'. When Madam Queen—the powerful woman who runs the scam in Harlem—is arrested, Ellsworth 'Bumpy' Johnson takes over the business and must resist an invasion from a merciless mobster.
Genres: Crime Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1997-08-27
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Back to the Streets of San Francisco
Overview: Mike Stone's back and his old partner, Steve Keller, is missing. So Mike heads up an investigation. At the same time, he is investigating another brutal murder. And he is trying to decide which of two inspectors shall he recommend for the position of Lieutenant; a woman who has a "Dirty Harry" tendency or a man who reminds him of Steve Keller.
Genres: Crime TV Movie Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1992-01-27
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Deadly Force
Overview: Stoney Cooper, a former Los Angeles police officer, is at a low point in his life. Kicked off the force because of his anti-authority attitude, he now ekes out a living as a freelancer in New York. All this changes when the daughter of an old friend is killed by serial killer terrorizing L.A. Although almost nobody in his old home town is happy to see him back, Cooper pledges to bring the killer to justice before any more innocent people die.
Genres: Action Crime Drama Thriller
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1983-07-08
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Midnight Cowboy
Overview: Joe Buck is a wide-eyed hustler from Texas hoping to score big with wealthy New York City women; he finds a companion in Enrico "Ratso" Rizzo, an ailing swindler with a bum leg and a quixotic fantasy of escaping to Florida.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1969-05-25
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Rosewood
Overview: Spurred by a white woman's lie, vigilantes destroy a black Florida town and slay inhabitants in 1923.
Genres: Drama History Action Thriller
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1997-02-21
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Some Kind of Hero
Overview: A Vietnam vet returns home from a prisoner of war camp and is greeted as a hero, but is quickly forgotten and soon discovers how tough survival is in his own country.
Genres: Comedy Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1982-04-02
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Distance
Overview: ’Distance’ is an award-winning, independent feature film exploring the distance between men and women through the intertwined stories of two couples. Made by the filmmaker while he was still in his 20s, ‘Distance’ features Oscar-nominee James Woods in his first leading role.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1975-12-22
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Across 110th Street
Overview: In a daring robbery, some $300,000 is taken from the Italian mob. Several mafiosi are killed, as are two policemen. Lt. Pope and Capt. Mattelli are two New York City cops trying to break the case. Three small-time criminals are on the run with the money. Will the mafia catch them first, or will the police?
Genres: Action Crime Drama Thriller
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1972-12-19
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The Breaks
Overview: Derrick, a racially-confused Irishman raised in the hood by a black family is having the worst day ever. Determined to prove to his fed-up mother and would-be girlfriend that he's not a screw-up, he sets out to do one thing right (get some milk) and even that proves to be a challenge! Hilarious encounters with racist red-neck cops, local gangsters and 'flamboyant' pawn shop owners ensue, and along the way Derek shows that he can actually do things for others and maybe even get his own life together.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1999-02-26
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Back in the Day
Overview: A young man slides back into a life of crime after reuniting with a shady acquaintance from his past.
Genres: Crime Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2005-05-24
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DMX: Angel
Overview: Angel is a fascinating glimpse into the psyche of rap's most conflicted and charismatic MC. DMX commands arena stages, wrecks his competition in battles, and takes time to show fans some tough love. Leading off this two-hour tale of the X is the 20-minute short "Angel" directed by Bill Duke. It's a mini-movie about DMX's rise to super-stardom and his constant fight with evil. Co-stars Mary J. Blige. View "Angel" once and then forget about it... the rest of the DVD is what makes it a must-have. "Tales of X" is a look into the life and times of DMX. You can finally hear him, understand him and enter his world. "One More Road to Cross" documents step-by-step how X and his team lay down an album in the studio and the creative and emotional intensity surrounding the process. A full taste of DMX in front of a hometown audience is given by "Survival of the Illest" shot during his legendary 1999 performance at the Apollo Theater.
Genres: Documentary Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2001-12-18
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Judge Horton and the Scottsboro Boys
Overview: In 1930s Alabama, nine young black men are accused of raping two white women. The judge in the case, unlike the rest of the town, comes to believe that the boys are innocent and, against all advice from his friends and family, sets them free, which turns the entire community against him.
Genres: Drama History
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1976-04-22
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Born to Win
Overview: A smart-mouthed junkie and a former hairdresser spends his days looking for just "one more fix".
Genres: Comedy Crime Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1971-12-01
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Friday Foster
Overview: Friday Foster, a magazine photographer, goes to Los Angeles International airport to photograph the arrival of Blake Tarr, the richest black man in America. Three men attempt to assassinate Tarr. Foster photographs the melee and is plunged into a web of conspiracy involving the murder of her childhood friend, a US senator, and a shadowy plan called "Black Widow".
Genres: Action Thriller
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1975-12-25
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A Stranger Waits
Overview: Most men consider the widow Kate Bennington to be irresistible, but when she dives into a madly passionate love affair with a mysterious younger man, one of her secret admirers sets in motion a terrifying plan to end their relationship, forever.
Genres: TV Movie Thriller
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1987-03-29
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Nuts
Overview: A high-class call girl accused of murder fights for the right to stand trial rather than be declared mentally incompetent.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1987-11-20
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The Meeting
Overview: Fictional meeting between Dr. Martin Luther King and Malcolm X in Harlem in the early '60's.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1989-05-03
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