on his birthday, Paul Winfield, known for his role as Martin Luther King, Jr. in the NBC TV miniseries "King (1978)".
He played Sam on the CBS TV show "Touched by an Angel (1994-2003)".

Some other TV shows he appeared in are "Perry Mason", "The Man from U.N.C.L.E.", "Daktari", "Mission: Impossible", "Mannix", "Murder, She Wrote", "The Charmings", "227", "Family Matters", "Star Trek: The Next Generation", "Scarlett", "Picket Fences", "Babylon 5", "Walker, Texas Ranger" and "Crossing Jordan".

He appeared as Jim in the movie "Huckleberry Finn (1974)", as Captain Clark Terrell in "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)", as Lt. Ed Traxler in "The Terminator (1984)", as Don King in "Tyson (1995)" and as Lt. General Casey in "Mars Attacks! (1996)".

Winfield was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Nathan Lee Morgan in the movie "Sounder (1972)".