Paul Winfield

Paul Winfield was an African-American actor known for Sounder (1972, Academy Award nomination for Best Actor — one of the first Black men nominated in that category in decades), Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982), The Terminator (1984), and extensive television work including Roots: The Next Generations (1979). He was gay and was in a long relationship with his partner, but like virtually all gay Black public figures of his era, he never publicly disclosed his identity. He died of a heart attack in 2004. His story is part of the larger history of LGBTQ+ African-American performers navigating the compounded oppressions of both racism and homophobia in Hollywood.