Winfield was the son of Lois Beatrice Edwards, a single mother who was a union organizer in the garment industry. Although published obituaries stated he was born May 22, 1941 in Los Angeles,[1][2] some sources indicate he was born May 22, 1939 in Dallas, Texas.[a] His stepfather from the age of eight was Clarence Winfield, a city trash collector and construction worker.[4][5] Winfield graduated from Manual Arts High School in Los Angeles. From there, he attended the University of Portland, 1957–59; Stanford University, 1959; Los Angeles City College, 1959–63; University of California, Los Angeles, 1962–64; University of Hawaii, 1965 and the University of California, Santa Barbara, 1970–71, but did not earn a degree from any of them.[6]
Career
A lifetime member of The Actors Studio,[7] Winfield carved out a diverse career in film, television, theater and voiceovers by taking groundbreaking roles at a time when black actors were rarely even cast. He first appeared in the 1965 Perry Mason episode "The Case of the Runaway Racer" as Mitch, a race car mechanic. His first major feature film role was in the 1969 film The Lost Man starring Sidney Poitier. Winfield became well known to TV audiences when he appeared in several seasons of the groundbreaking television series Julia opposite Diahann Carroll. The show, filmed during a high point of racial tension in the U.S., was unique in featuring a black female as the central character. Winfield also starred as Martin Luther King Jr. in the 1978 miniseries King.
Winfield gained a new segment of fans for his brief but memorable roles in several science fiction television series and films. He portrayed Starfleet starship Captain Terrell, an unwilling minion of the villain Khan, in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, and Lieutenant Ed Traxler, a friendly but crusty cop partnered with Lance Henriksen in The Terminator. In 1996, he was in the 'name' ensemble cast in Tim Burton's comic homage to 1950s science fiction Mars Attacks!, playing the complacently self-satisfied Lt. General Casey. On the small screen, he appeared in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Darmok"[9] as Dathon, an alien captain who communicates in allegories. He appeared in the second season Babylon 5 episode "Gropos" as General Richard Franklin, the father of regular character Dr. Stephen Franklin, and on the fairy tale sitcom The Charmings as The Evil Queen's wisecracking Magic Mirror. He also portrayed Julian Barlow in the last two seasons of the TV series 227.
Winfield was gay, but remained discreet about it in the public eye. Prior to realizing his sexuality, he was in a relationship with his Sounder co-star Cicely Tyson.[10] His partner of 30 years, architect Charles Gillan Jr., died of bone cancer on March 5, 2002.[11]
^His grave marker at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) gives his birth year as 1939, and the Social Security Index gives his place and date of birth as Dallas, Texas, on May 22, 1939.[3]
^ abcde"Paul Winfield (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved September 23, 2023. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
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