Brock Peters - wikipedia Brock Peters Brock Peters Peters, 1961. George Fisher ( 1927 - 07 - 02 ) July 2, 1927 Harlem, New York City, New York, U.S. August 23, 2005 ( 2005 - 08 - 23 ) ( aged 78 ) Los Angeles, California, U.S. Other names Brock G. Peters Education High School of Music & Art City College of New York Occupation Actor Years active 1949 -- 2005 Spouse ( s ) Dolores Daniels ( m. 1961 ; d. 1989 ) Children Brock Peters or Brock G. Peters ( born George Fisher ; July 2, 1927 -- August 23, 2005 ) was an American actor, 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. Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 3 Personal life and death 4 Selected filmography 5 Other notable performances 6 References 7 External links Early life Peters was born George Fisher in New York City, the son of Alma A. ( née Norford ) and Sonnie Fisher, a Senegalese sailor with the French Navy. Peters set his sights on a show business career early on, at the age of 10. Avidly encouraged by his mother Alma to pursue a musical career, he studied the violin from 10 to 14 years of age, but found his singing talents were more prodigious and upon enrolling at New York 's famed High School of Music & Art, immediately signed up for several productions in the musical theatre program. Upon graduation, Peters initially fielded more odd jobs than acting jobs, often working as a hospital orderly at night while he worked his way through physical education studies at City College of New York ( CCNY ), but still stayed connected to the burgeoning theatre and creative community in New York, occasionally doing background parts in musical plays like `` Black Aida ''. After auditioning and landing a spot touring with the Leonard DePaur Infantry Chorus ( of which he was a civilian member from 1945 to 1947 ), however, he officially quit CCNY. Peters often joked that he `` grew up '' in the chorus, as his vocal range changed from baritone to bass baritone during his years with them. DePaur subsequently gave him the lead in the Chorus ' popular rendition of `` John Henry '' ( which became a repertoire mainstay of Peters in later years, singing the work on one of his two solo albums produced by United Artists Records in the 1960s ). Peters at that time with the Chorus was still performing under the name of George Fisher, but was encouraged by his agent to change it to something a bit more memorable. Future African American entrepreneur Peter Brock was a childhood friend and as he had always liked the name, Peters merely switched the order and presented the idea to his agent. After auditioning and landing a stage role in the touring company of Porgy and Bess in 1949 on the great contralto Etta Moten 's suggestion, he went on tour with the opera, where the opera 's statesman as Porgy, William Warfield, commended his performances and requested Peters as his understudy. It was during this time touring in Europe with the opera that celebrated African American actor - singer - activist Paul Robeson saw him in his career - defining role as `` Crown '' and purportedly declared him `` a young Paul Robeson ''. Career Peters with Fess Parker on Daniel Boone in the `` Pompey '' episode, 1964. 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. Peters 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 led the chorus at recording sessions for Belafonte 's 1956 album Calypso. 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. In 1970 Peters portrayed the voice of African - American boxer Jack Johnson in Bill Cayton 's film of the same name, and it is in this role that he can be heard at the end of Miles Davis ' soundtrack album, Jack Johnson, saying : `` I 'm Jack Johnson. Heavyweight champion of the world. I 'm black. They never let me forget it. I 'm black all right ! I 'll never let them forget it ! '' Between 1981 and 1996, Peters provided the voice of Darth Vader for the radio adaptation of the original Star Wars trilogy for National Public Radio. He also played the role of a Colonial prosecutor trying to make a murder case against Starbuck in an episode of the original Battlestar Galactica. He appeared in the films Star Trek IV : The Voyage Home and Star Trek VI : The Undiscovered Country as Fleet Admiral Cartwright of Starfleet Command. Peters portrayed Joseph Sisko, father of Deep Space Nine 's commanding officer, Benjamin Sisko, on Star Trek : Deep Space Nine. In 1993, he was a member of the jury at the 43rd Berlin International Film Festival. In early 2005, six months before his death, Peters guest - starred in an episode of JAG during its final season, `` Bridging the Gulf '', season 10 episode 15. Peters worked with Charlton Heston on several theater productions in the 1940s and 1950s. The two became friends and subsequently worked together on several films, including Major Dundee, Soylent Green, and Two - Minute Warning. He voiced Lucius Fox in several episodes of Batman : The Animated Series and Morris Grant / Soul Power in the animated series Static Shock ( 2000 -- 2004 ). Personal life and death Peters was once romantically involved with actress Ja'net Dubois. Peters was married to Delores Daniels from 1961 until her death in 1989 ; They had a daughter Lise Jo Peters born November 3, 1962. Peters delivered the eulogy at Gregory Peck 's funeral in 2003. His character, Tom Robinson, was defended by Peck 's Atticus Finch in 1962 's To Kill a Mockingbird. He died in Los Angeles, of pancreatic cancer on August 23, 2005, at the age of 78. Selected filmography Carmen Jones ( 1954 ) - Sergeant Brown Porgy and Bess ( 1959 ) - Crown The L - Shaped Room ( 1962 ) - Johnny To Kill a Mockingbird ( 1962 ) - Tom Robinson Heavens Above ! ( 1963 ) - Matthew Robinson The Pawnbroker ( 1964 ) - Rodriguez Major Dundee ( 1965 ) - Aesop The Incident ( 1967 ) - Arnold Robinson PJ ( 1968 ) - Waterpark Daring Game ( 1968 ) - Jonah Ace High ( 1968 ) - Thomas The McMasters ( 1970 ) - Benjie Black Girl ( 1972 ) - Earl Soylent Green ( 1973 ) - Lieutenant Hatcher Slaughter 's Big Rip - Off ( 1973 ) - Reynolds Lost in the Stars ( 1974 ) - Reverend Stephen Kumalo Framed ( 1975 ) - Sam Perry Two - Minute Warning ( 1976 ) - Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum security chief Paul SST : Death Flight ( 1977 ) - Dr. Therman Abe Lincoln : Freedom Fighter ( 1978 ) - Henry The Incredible Journey of Doctor Meg Laurel ( 1979 ) - Joe Star Trek IV : The Voyage Home ( 1986 ) - Fleet Admiral Cartwright Alligator II : The Mutation ( 1991 ) - Chief Speed Star Trek VI : The Undiscovered Country ( 1991 ) - Fleet Admiral Cartwright The Secret ( 1992 ) - Thurgood ' Uncle T. ' Carver III The Importance of Being Earnest ( 1992 ) - Doctor Chasuble Ghosts of Mississippi ( 1996 ) - Walter Williams Park Day ( 1998 ) - Heseeit Turner The Last Place on Earth ( 2002 ) - Jack Field The Wild Thornberrys Movie ( 2002 ) - Jomo ( voice ) Other notable performances Runaway slave Pompey in `` Daniel Boone '' episode `` Pompey '' ( 12 - 10 - 64 ) Phinn Harper in Rawhide episode `` The Spanish Camp '' ( 5 - 7 - 65 ) Stephen Kumalo in Kurt Weill & Maxwell Anderson 's Lost in the Stars ( stage revival and 1974 film version ) -- nominated for a Tony Award Sergeant Rollins in the TV miniseries Seventh Avenue The Reverend Canon Frederick Chasuble, DD in an all - black film version of Oscar Wilde 's The Importance of Being Earnest ( 1992 ) Darth Vader in the Star Wars radio series The Ogre in the Faerie Tale Theatre episode `` Puss in Boots '' Detective Frank Lewis in The Young and the Restless Lucius Fox in Batman : The Animated Series Joseph Sisko, Benjamin Sisko 's father, in Star Trek : Deep Space Nine Dark Kat in SWAT Kats : The Radical Squadron, Bloth in The Pirates of Dark Water, Tormack in Galtar and the Golden Lance and Boneyard in Gravedale High Voice - acting performance as the boxer Jack Johnson on the Miles Davis album A Tribute to Jack Johnson Ex-Union soldier Lemuel Stove in The Loner episode `` The Homecoming of Lemuel Stove '' References ^ Jump up to : Mel Watkins ( August 24, 2005 ). `` Brock Peters of ' To Kill a Mockingbird ' Is Dead at 78 ''. New York Times. Retrieved 2015 - 01 - 29. Brock Peters, the versatile film and stage actor, singer and producer who first rose to prominence in the ( 1960s and 1970s ) with his powerful singing voice and poignant screen portrayals of angry, belligerent black men, died yesterday at his home in Los Angeles. He was 78. The cause was complications of pancreatic cancer, his companion, Marilyn Darby, told The Associated Press... Jump up ^ `` Brock Peters Biography ( 1927 -- 2005 ) ''. Filmreference.com. Jump up ^ Robb, Brian J. ( 2012 ). A Brief Guide to Star Wars. London : Hachette. ISBN 9781780335834. Retrieved July 21, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Brock Peters Biography ''. StarTrek.com. CBS Studios. Retrieved 2008 - 10 - 08. Jump up ^ `` Berlinale : 1993 Juries ''. berlinale.de. Retrieved 2011 - 05 - 29. Jump up ^ JET Magazine - November 12, 1959 Jump up ^ Rubin, Joel ; Hoffman, Alice ( June 17, 2003 ). `` Peck Memorial Honors Beloved Actor and Man ''. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 15, 2015. Jump up ^ McLaughlin, Katie ( February 3, 2012 ). `` ' Mockingbird ' film at 50 : Lessons on tolerance, justice, fatherhood hold true ''. CNN. Retrieved June 15, 2015. Jump up ^ `` Brock Peters Is Chosen For Role in ' Pawnbroker ' ''. New York Times. September 24, 1963. Retrieved 2015 - 01 - 29. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Brock Peters. Brock Peters on IMDb Brock Peters at the TCM Movie Database Brock Peters at AllMovie Brock Peters at Memory Alpha ( a Star Trek wiki ) Brock Peters at Find a Grave Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award 1962 : Eddie Cantor 1963 : Stan Laurel 1965 : Bob Hope 1966 : Barbara Stanwyck 1967 : William Gargan 1968 : James Stewart 1969 : Edward G. Robinson 1970 : Gregory Peck 1971 : Charlton Heston 1972 : Frank Sinatra 1973 : Martha Raye 1974 : Walter Pidgeon 1975 : Rosalind Russell 1976 : Pearl Bailey 1977 : James Cagney 1978 : Edgar Bergen 1979 : Katharine Hepburn 1980 : Leon Ames 1982 : Danny Kaye 1983 : Ralph Bellamy 1984 : Iggie Wolfington 1985 : Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward 1986 : Nanette Fabray 1987 : Red Skelton 1988 : Gene Kelly 1989 : Jack Lemmon 1990 : Brock Peters 1991 : Burt Lancaster 1992 : Audrey Hepburn 1993 : Ricardo Montalbán 1994 : George Burns 1995 : Robert Redford 1996 : Angela Lansbury 1997 : Elizabeth Taylor 1998 : Kirk Douglas 1999 : Sidney Poitier 2000 : Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee 2001 : Ed Asner 2002 : Clint Eastwood 2003 : Karl Malden 2004 : James Garner 2005 : Shirley Temple 2006 : Julie Andrews 2007 : Charles Durning 2008 : James Earl Jones 2009 : Betty White 2010 : Ernest Borgnine 2011 : Mary Tyler Moore 2012 : Dick Van Dyke 2013 : Rita Moreno 2014 : Debbie Reynolds 2015 : Carol Burnett 2016 : Lily Tomlin 2017 : Morgan Freeman VIAF : 208894 LCCN : n88172144 ISNI : 0000 0003 6841 1204 GND : 135002079 SUDOC : 089012445 BNF : cb140157916 ( data ) IATH : w67d3hcd Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Brock_Peters&oldid=804256634 '' Categories : 1927 births 2005 deaths American people of African descent Male actors from New York City African - American male actors American male film actors American male television actors American male musical theatre actors American male radio actors American male voice actors Deaths from cancer in California Deaths from pancreatic cancer People from Harlem Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park ( Hollywood Hills ) The High School of Music & Art alumni Hidden categories : Use mdy dates from May 2017 Articles with hCards All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from February 2017 Find a Grave template with ID same as Wikidata Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with ISNI identifiers Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Wikipedia articles with BNF identifiers Wikipedia articles with SNAC - ID identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Čeština Deutsch Español فارسی Français Italiano Nederlands 日本 語 Polski Simple English Suomi Svenska 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 7 October 2017, at 20 : 10. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: who played tom in to kill a mockingbird
Answer: Brock Peters