What???

I was watching the A&E series City Confidential tonight, and after the show they ran a memorial for Paul Winfield, the narrator. Apparently he died from a heart attack last week. He was only 62.

He had a deliciously humourous style on the show, which spotlights the cities behind murders. His voice reminded me of Vincent Price's; in fact I'd often thought about looking up his bio to see if he were born in St. Louis, like Price. But I hadn't gotten around to it.

So, now, finally, I know his bio. He was born in Los Angeles, in Watts, actually. I didn't recognise his name, but I first saw him as the father in the movie Sounder, when I was eight (I love that movie, but it scarred me at a very young age. If you haven't seen it, you should. If you don't deal well with violence against animals, you'll have trouble with this one; the title character is a dog. The book upon which it is based is a Newbery winner. They showed us the movie--and we read the book--when I was in elementary school. As a kid who was nearly banned from watching 'Lassie', and who to this day hasn't seen Old Yeller--and most likely never will--it really upset me.) He was nominated for an Oscar for his role in the movie. He also played Capt. Terrell in Star Trek: the Wrath of Khan (he was the one who, along with Chekov, got to have one of those worm things put in his ear).

He also played both Thurgood Marshall and Martin Luther King, Jr. I must admit, I did not realise that the person I was listening to--he's never shown--on City Confidential was black. I rather imagined someone kind of like Price but a little plumper and maybe balding, with a sparkle in his eye. That just goes to show you that impressions can be deceiving. I sound like a young girl, after all. Still, the sparkle was definitely there. That voice is associated in my mind with the show; it just won't be the same without it.