Welcome to Screen Gems, our weekend dive into queer and queer-adjacent titles of the past that deserve a watch or a re-watch.
The Classic: Sounder
What actors can boast a career as long and varied as that of Paul Winfield? The classy method actor flourished in a career that spanned forty years, and that saw him perform in such varied fare as the films Cliffhanger, Huckleberry Finn, and The Terminator, and in TV series including Julia, The Simpsons and as the title role in the Martin Luther King, Jr. miniseries King. He also had high profile roles in Star Trek: The Wrath of Kahn and The Next Generation.
Winfield always kept his private life private, in part, because he was a gay, African-American man working in a time when roles for black actors were limited, and when homophobia ran high. Following his death, Winfield’s friends and family let his secret out into the open, and celebrated his relationship with his boyfriend Charles Gillan Jr. which spanned more than 30 years.
For Winfield at his absolute best–and indeed, for acting at its absolute best–we offer up the 1972 classic Sounder, for which Winfield became only the third African-American man in history nominated for Best Actor. The film, incidentally, also became the first movie ever to have African-Americans nominated in both leading acting categories.
The plot centers on the Morgan family, sharecroppers living in 1930s Lousiana. Nathan (Winfield), the family patriarch, loves his wife Rebecca (Cecily Tyson) and children, and does his best to make them believe in a brighter future. One day, police arrest Nathan for stealing meat from a local smokehouse. In the struggle of Nathan’s arrest, accidentally shoots the family dog, Sounder. Nathan is taken to a work camp, leaving Rebecca and their son, David (Kevin Hooks), to support the family alone. As Sounder recovers from his injuries, David plots to locate his father in his distant camp and restore the family’s sense of hope.
Once upon a time, Hollywood would actually take a chance on a “family” film without relegating it to TV movie or direct-to-video status. Sounder marks a moment where the system took a risk on a family-oriented and black-centric story, and with fantastic results. Critics hailed Sounder as an instant classic. Viewed today, the film still has a deep power, due in large part to the work of Winfield and Tyson. This may be a simple story about a loving family and their dog, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a master class in acting.
This weekend, we pay tribute to the late, great Mr. Winfield, with this sweet and tender classic of 70s cinema. For those unfamiliar with his work, let Sounder whet the appetite for an intriguing body of work. He’s one of the great, underrated gay actors of our time.
Streams on YouTube, Tubi, Roku, Amazon & Hulu.
Jim
Winfield was a gem to be sure.
But if you see his later tv work you would have guessed he was gay.
Ed R.
It was 227 that cemented it for me…Seems he was definitely playing a version of him..
Ed R.
Gaydar went high with him..even as a kid..It wasn’t until his short stint on the sitcom 227, you could see him in all if his gay glory…
Essie
Oh, honey. EVERYBODY knew Paul Winfield was gay. At least in the Black community. He was one of my favorite actors. I LIVED for whatever movie or TV show he was in. All my friends and family talked about him and how he was gay and we were just happy to see a Black man working as an actor. (Well, they didn’t use the word “gay” because it wasn’t used much then. The “F” word was used because those were different times and we weren’t very accepting.)
stan_heck984623462
He tried to pick me up in Las Vegas. I wish now I didn’t. I was young. When your 25 everybody over 35 seems old
wiggie
Black community knew he was gay just as we knew Luther Vandross was gay and Nick Ashford was bisexual
Den
So sad that Vandross never felt he could come out, and equally sad (or sadder) was how soon his life ended. I listen to his greatest hits at least once a month and cry pretty much every time I hear “Dance With my Father” and “A House is not a Home.”
yEOMAN
OH YESsss …
BEARY FLINTSTONE
Thank you. Just because the others didn’t know is an issue? LMAO!
Darson
I think he was the bitchy magic mirror on ABCs The Charmings.
Kangol2
He essentially let the word out in his 227 role, but there was a movie, I can’t remember the name, in which he was running around in a caftan, and it was clear even to my young eyes he was gay. Does anyone else remember this? Same with Luther Vandross and Raymond St. Jacques, who were clearly family. The actors who most people probably didn’t realize was gay were Duane Jones (star of Night of the Living Dead), who died fairly young (and never got enough good film or TV roles) and Howard Rollins (star of Ragtime and the TV show In the Heat of the Night), who sadly was taken from this world by AIDS.
BarryM
I always thought that Rollins got AIDS from intravenous drugs.
theaterbloke
You might be thinking of Mike’s Murder, which co-starred Debra Winger and Mark Keyloun as the title character. Winfield wore a caftan in that film and I believe his character was gay.
Kangol2
Yes, TheaterBloke, it was Mike’s Murder! Thanks for sharing that.
BarryM, Howard Rollins was gay, but I don’t think he was an intravenous drug user. He did suffer from cocaine addiction and alcoholism and was fired from In the Heat of the Night because of the alcohol problems. His obit said he died of lymphoma, but subsequent reports said it was AIDS. He was only 46.
Inspector 57
Wow! Duane Jones! This may seem kind of twisted, but all throughout watching *Night of the Living Dead* for the first time, which scared the hell out of me, I was totally crushing on Duane. It never occurred to me that the character or actor might be gay. I just had a ton of respect for the character, loved the fact that the most sensible person in the group was the only Black person, and thought he was sexy AF.
barryaksarben
I am a 65 yr old white guy who is shocked. not that he was gay but because I have been out my entire life and thought I knew every single actor singer or celeb who was gay, Who knew who the African Queen was and Rock Hudson but I did not know this and i had such a huge crush on him because of Sounder. My dad was a con man lying pos and Paul played the perfect dad in this movie. I saw every movie he was in even tho I was in a small midwestern city where most movies did not play unless they were family fare. I thought he was so damned sexy. Did he have a lover? I hope he led a happy life. So glad to know he was gay
kalyphas
It seems to me that there was a whole article in People Magazine in the 70s, when everyone was suddenly jumping on the gay bandwagon announcing they were or had a gay phase and I remember a whole article about Paul Winfield showing him and his young, blond partner and the Victorian they occupied in San Francisco. People Magazine was hardly sneaking it by the public. In that magazine during the same time period Richard Burton said he had been in a seven year relationship with another man that ended so badly that he ended up with Liz Taylor quickly afterward.
MISTERJETT
i knew.
nitejonboy
As someone from Louisiana, I think this may be the greatest film ever that is set and filmed here, ( well, okay, it ties with Steel Magnolias, lol ). I cry buckets every time I watch it. He should have won the Oscar. Beautiful film, see it if you haven’t. It’s true they don’t make films like that anymore, and they should. Rest in Power Mr. Winfield, thank you for bringing such a strong portrait to life.
Joseph1971
I remember seeing him in “Mike’s Murder” and instantly thinking either he’s an incredible actor or obviously gay. There was no getting around the subject, and the best part about him was that he didn’t seem to give a damn who knew, and he continued to work in film and television for years.
He was respected in Hollywood long before we began to see younger, more high profile actors and actresses coming out as gay. He had an incredible career that went on for decades.
Man About Town
“In the struggle of Nathan’s arrest, accidentally shoots the family dog, Sounder.”
Think you might have left something out of that sentence, Davey?
BEARY FLINTSTONE
We knew Winfield was Gay…STOP IT!
PoetDaddy
Well, I knew, but I used to run into him at the supermarket in West Hollywood and we’d sometimes have a little chat over the produce.
SUPREME
i just found out recently that Billy Preston was gay.
rocknstan
“Mike’s Murder” Gay playing gay.