Actor Paul "Capt. Terrell in Wrath of Khan" Winfield dead at 62

'Sounder' thesp dies at 62

Mon Mar 8, 7:00 PM ET

(Variety) Oscar-nommed and Emmy-winning thesp Paul Winfield died Sunday in Los Angeles of a heart attack. He was 62.

Winfield's last role was in the 2003 telefilm remake of "Sounder." He was nominated for an actor Oscar for his role in the original 1972 "Sounder."

In recent years Winfield was the sassy narrator of A&E crime docu series "City Confidential."

Los Angeles-born thesp's career began when he was the first African-American to win best actor in a regional high school drama competition and then played Jesus in an L.A. religious pageant. He attended the U. of Portland, Stanford and UCLA, and was then cast by Burgess Meredith (news) in controversial plays "The Dutchman" and "The Toilet."

After a short stint as a contract player at Columbia Pictures, Winfield returned to legit, joining the Stanford Repertory Theater and L.A.'s Inner City Cultural Center Theater.

He then began a busy career on television and in films, as well as continuing to appear onstage at the Mark Taper Forum. He appeared in the notable 1977 telepic "Green Eyes," about a Vietnam vet returning to the country to seek out the son he fathered.

He won an Emmy in 1992 for his guest role as a judge in a racially charged pair of episodes of "Picket Fences" and was Emmy-nommed for his roles in "King" and "Roots: The Next Generation." Among the TV series, telefilms and miniseries in which Winfield appeared are "Julia," "L.A. Law," "Touched by an Angel" and "Strange Justice," in which he played Thurgood Marshall.

He also appeared in more than 40 features, including "Damnation Alley," "A Hero Ain't Nothin' But a Sandwich," "Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan," "White Dog" and "Mars Attacks!"

Winfield received the NAACP Image Award for best actor and was inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame.

He is survived by his sister.