Actor Brock Peters Dies At 78

[Talon Karrde]

The following is an excerpt from www.imdb.com:

Actor Brock Peters, best known for his role as Tom Robinson, a black man falsely accused of rape in the classic film To Kill a Mockingbird, died Tuesday in Los Angeles of pancreatic cancer; he was 78. According to reports, he had been diagnosed with the disease in January and had been receiving chemotherapy treatments, and the actor passed away at his home surrounded by family. An actor with a distinctive, authoritarian baritone who worked extensively in films, television and on the stage, Peters made his film debut in the lush melodrama Carmen Jones, an re-imagining of Bizet's Carmen starring Dorothy Dandridge, and appeared five years later in another musical adaptation, Porgy and Bess. In 1962, Peters took the role of Tom Robinson in To Kill a Mockingbird, and during filming was befriended by star Gregory Peck; in fact, Peters read the eulogy at Peck's funeral in 2003. His magnetic and heartbreaking performance in Mockingbird led to roles in The L-Shaped Room and The Pawnbroker, and though he rarely achieved leading man status, Peters worked steadily throughout the 60s, 70s, and 80s in both movies and TV, and received a Tony nomination in 1973 for Lost in the Stars. He appeared in thrillers Soylent Green and Two-Minute Warning, miniseries Roots: The Next Generation, and innumerable guest spots on television series ranging from Gunsmoke to The Bionic Woman. To a later generation of fans, Peters was known for two different Star Trek roles, playing Admiral Cartwright in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country as well as a recurring role on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine as Joseph Sisko, the father of star Avery Brooks' character. In 1991, Peters received a lifetime achievement award from the Screen Actors Guild. Peters is survived by his longtime companion Marilyn Darby and a daughter from his first marriage.

Some of you may remember Brock Peters as being the voice of Darth Vader in the National Public Radio Dramatizations of Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. He will be missed.