Paul Winfield, the Emmy Award-winning actor whose one Broadway credit was Ron Milner's Checkmates in 1988, with Ruby Dee and Denzel Washington, died March 7, 2004, of a heart attack, Variety reported. Mr. Winfield was 62 and is remembered for his performance in the 2003 TV movie, "Sounder," made 30 years after he was Academy Award-nominated for the 1972 Martin Ritt film version.

Variety reported that the Los Angeles native was the first African-American to win best actor in a regional high school drama competition in Southern California. He studied the University of Portland, Stanford and UCLA. Burgess Meredith cast him in The Dutchman and The Toilet on stage.

Mr. Winfield was a company member of the Stanford Repertory Theater and Inner City Cultural Center Theater in L.A.

Mr. Winfield also appeared in regional theatres such as Mark Taper Forum and The Shakespeare Theatre in Washington, DC, where he played Falstaff in The Merry Wives of Windsor.

His snagged an Emmy Award in 1992 for his guest role as a judge in "Picket Fences" and was also nominated for his work in "King" and "Roots: The Next Generation." He was also featured in the TV sitcom, "Julia," with Diahann Carroll, which broke barriers by focusing on an independent black woman.

Mr. Winfield recently narrated the A&E crime series "City Confidential."

Mr. Winfield is survived by his sister, Patricia Wilson, of Las Vegas, according to The New York Times.