Brock Peters

 Brock Peters, born George Fisher; July 2, 1927 – August 23, 2005)

He was best known for playing the role of Tom Robinson in the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird and for his role as "Crown" in the 1959 film version of Porgy and Bess. In later years, he gained recognition among Star Trek fans for his portrayals of Fleet Admiral Cartwright in two of the Star Trek feature films and Joseph Sisko, father of Benjamin Sisko, in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. He was also notable for his role as Hatcher in Soylent Green. Peters made his film debut in Carmen Jones in 1954, but began to make a name for himself in such films as To Kill a Mockingbird and The L-Shaped Room. He received a Tony nomination for his starring stint in Broadway's Lost in the Stars. He sang background vocals on the 1956 hit "Day-O" by Harry Belafonte, as well as on Belafonte's 1957 hit, "Mama Look a Boo-Boo". He also sang on the song "Where" from Randy Weston's 1959 album Live at the Five Spot and shared vocal duties with Martha Flowers on Weston's album of the following year, Uhuru Afrika. During this time, Peters and Belafonte became fast friends, sharing similar political views and approaches to their careers. In 1963, he played Matthew Robinson in Heavens Above, a British satirical-comedy film starring Peter Sellers, directed by John and Roy Boulting. He played a supporting role as the gangster Rodriguez in the 1965 film, The Pawnbroker. He was a special guest star in the third season of The Streets of San Francisco, playing the character "Jacob" in the episode called "Jacob's Boy" (1974).

In the film Abe Lincoln, Freedom Fighter (1978), Peters plays Henry, a freed black slave who is falsely accused of robbery but, defended by Abraham Lincoln, is found not guilty due to the fact he has a damaged hand and could not have committed the crime. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Peters plays Tom Robinson, a black man falsely accused of raping a white girl, whom Atticus Finch shows could not have committed because his hand (and arm) were damaged. Peters delivered the eulogy at Gregory Peck's funeral in 2003, who was his co-star in the film. Peters died of pancreatic cancer on August 23, 2005, at the age of 78. He is interred at Forest Lawn-Hollywood Hills.