Peter Brocco

Peter Brocco
Carl Peter Brocco (January 16, 1903 – December 20, 1992) was an American screen and stage actor. He appeared in over 300 credits, notably Spartacus (1960) and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), during his career spanning over 60 years.
Early years
Brocco was born in Reading, Pennsylvania. He was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Peter Brocco.
Career
Brocco acted on stage with the Walter Hampton Players. He debuted on Broadway in Centuries (1927); he also performed in The Merry Wives of Windsor (1938).
Brocco appeared as a criminal type in several episodes of Adventures of Superman. He holds the distinction of having been killed off in two of them, a relative rarity for villains in the series. In the first, The Secret of Superman, he deduces that Kent is Superman, but is killed in a police shootout soon after. In The Clown Who Cried, he falls off a building and Superman is unable to save him. He also appeared as "The Spectre" in The Phantom Ring, where the criminals developed a machine that can make them invisible. Finally, in that episode, he survives, albeit rather banged up by Superman. Brocco was also on two episodes of Combat!, "The Long Walk" in 1964 and "The Flying Machine" in 1966. He appeared as Claymare, an Organian council member, in the Star Trek episode "Errand of Mercy", which established the uneasy treaty of peace between the United Federation of Planets and the Klingon Empire.
In 1969, he played an artist on the TV series Adam 12.
Brocco displayed a comedic talent portraying Peter The Waiter for 8 episodes of The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show on CBS during its 1955–1956 New York City season.
Brocco played Colonel Matterson, a patient who used a wheelchair and had dementia, in the Academy Award-winning One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975). He also appeared as the patient in the hospital, Mr. Eagane, in the Happy Days 1974 episode "Hardware Jungle". In 1983 he played Ali MacGraw's father in the epic TV miniseries The Winds of War.
Brocco lived for some 40 years in Laurel Canyon, in a 1920s Spanish style home on Laurel Canyon Blvd. near the Country Store. He had his ceramics studio in the ground floor, a source of income when he was blacklisted for a while during the red scare of the early 1950s.
Death
Brocco died from a heart attack in Los Angeles on December 20, 1992, aged 89.
Selected filmography
Roar of the Dragon (1932) as Wireless Operator
Devil and the Deep (1932) as Wireless Operator
Stand By All Networks (1942) as Cab Driver
The Return of Monte Cristo (1946) as Clerk
Alias Mr. Twilight (1946) as Brick Robey
The Lone Wolf in Mexico (1947) as Emil
The Swordsman (1948) as Groom
The Argyle Secrets (1948) as Scanlon
The Vicious Circle (1948) as Dr. Georges Samosch
The Saxon Charm (1948) as Cyril Leatham
The Gallant Blade (1948) as Sgt. Jacques – Cadeau's Servant
The Countess of Monte Cristo (1948) as Hotel Desk Clerk
The Boy with Green Hair (1948) as Bit Part
Appointment with Murder (1948) as Giuseppe Donatti
Boston Blackie's Chinese Venture (1949) as Rolfe
The Undercover Man (1949) as Johnny
Search for Danger (1949) as Morris Jason
Susanna Pass (1949) as Coroner Carter
The Lady Gambles (1949) as Horse Player
Flaming Fury (1949) as E.V. Wessman
Jolson Sings Again (1949) as Headwaiter
Post Office Investigator (1949) as Bruno Antista
Miss Grant Takes Richmond (1949) as Prospective Home Buyer, Father of Triplets
The Reckless Moment (1949) as Pete – Bartender
Tension (1949) as Balew
House by the River (1950) as Harry – Coroner
Key to the City (1950) as Waiter
Gunmen of Abilene (1950) as Henry Turner
Guilty of Treason (1950) as Judge Vilmos Oltey
Black Hand (1950) as Roberto Columbo
Champagne for Caesar (1950) as Fortune Teller
The Gunfighter (1950) as Card Player
Peggy (1950) as Bob Winters
The Breaking Point (1950) as Macho
Three Secrets (1950) as Stephani
The Killer That Stalked New York (1950) as Tom the Wino
Belle Le Grand (1951) as Tyler
Flame of Stamboul (1951) as Sadik Raschin
Francis Goes to the Races (1951) as Dr. Marberry
The Great Caruso (1951) as Father Bronzetti
The Fat Man (1951) as Racetrack Bookkeeper
Sirocco (1951) as The Barber
Hollywood Story (1951) as Charles Rodale
The Tall Target (1951) as Fernandina
His Kind of Woman (1951) as Thompson's First Henchman
Chain of Circumstance (1951) as Clerk
Drums in the Deep South (1951) as Union Corporal
Roadblock (1951) as Bank Heist Man
The Whip Hand (1951) as Nate Garr
Too Young to Kiss (1951) as Waiter
Radar Men from the Moon (1952) as Krog
Harem Girl (1952) as Ameen
Mutiny (1952) as Sykes, gunner
The Narrow Margin (1952) as Vincent Yost
Young Man with Ideas (1952) as Butler
Actor's and Sin (1952) as Mr. Herbert (segment "Actor's Blood")
Cripple Creek (1952) as Cashier Ed
Holiday for Sinners (1952) as Father
Big Jim McLain (1952) as Dr. Carter
The Ring (1952) as Barney Williams
The Prisoner of Zenda (1952) as Johann
Woman in the Dark (1952) as Nick Petzik
The Bandits of Corsica (1953) as Angelo
The Story of Three Loves (1953) as Bartender (segment "Mademoiselle")
Invaders from Mars (1953) as Brainard – Wilson's Aide
Ma and Pa Kettle on Vacation (1953) as Adolph Wade
The Desert Song (1953) as Old Refugee
El Alamein (1953) as Selim
Duffy of San Quentin (1954) as Nealy
Tobor the Great (1954) as Dr. Gustav
Rogue Cop (1954) as George 'Wrinkles' Fallon
The Atomic Kid (1954) as Comrade Mosley
The Silver Chalice (1954) as Stall Keeper
The Racers (1955) as Gatti
Wyoming Renegades (1955) as Dawson
I'll Cry Tomorrow (1955) as Doctor
Diane (1956) as Court Painter
Hot Blood (1956) as Doctor Robert Turchino
Stranger at My Door (1956) as Saddler
He Laughed Last (1956) as Al Fusary
Black Patch (1957) as Harper
Twilight Zone (1959) as Mr. Marshak in the episode “The Four Of Us Are Dying”
Compulsion (1959) as Albert, Steiner's Chauffeur
Elmer Gantry (1960) as Benny – Photographer
Spartacus (1960) as Ramon
Let No Man Write My Epitaph (1960) as Salesman at Florist Shop
Underworld U.S.A. (1961) as Vic Farrar
Fear No More (1961) as Steve Cresca
A Public Affair (1962) as Leonard Lohman
The Three Stooges in Orbit (1962) as Doctor Appleby
Hemingway's Adventures of a Young Man (1962) as Headwaiter
The Interns (1962) as Arnold Auer
The Balcony (1963) as Judge
The Pleasure Seekers (1964) as Arturo
Dark Intruder (1965) as Chi Zang
Our Man Flint (1966) as Dr. Wu
The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming (1966) as Reverend Hawthorne
Enter Laughing (1967) as Lawyer Peabody
Games (1967) as Count, Party Guest
In Enemy Country (1968) as Prisoner at Factory Yard
Dr. Heidegger's Experiment (1969) as Dr. Heidegger
Some Kind of a Nut (1969) as Mr. Suzumi
Hail, Hero! (1969) as Old Man #1
The Comic (1969) as Minister
Gaily, Gaily (1969) as Swami
A Time for Dying (1969) as Seth
Johnny Got His Gun (1971) as Ancient Prelate
What's the Matter with Helen? (1971) as Old Man
Fuzz (1972) as Man with Garbage
Papillon (1973) as Doctor
The Killing Kind (1973) as Louise's Father
Homebodies (1974) as Mr. Blakely
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) as Col. Matterson
Raid on Entebbe (1976) as Mr. Scharf
The One and Only (1978) as Autograph Hound
Butch and Sundance: The Early Days (1979) as Old Robber
Fighting Back (1982) as Donato
Jekyll and Hyde... Together Again (1982) as Hubert Howes
Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983) as Mr. Mute (Segment #2)
Money to Burn (1983) as Harry
Throw Momma from the Train (1987) as Old Man
The War of the Roses (1989) as Elderly Mourner
Other People's Money (1991) as Garfield's Office Valet
Television
References
External links
1903 births
1992 deaths
American male film actors
American male television actors
American male stage actors
20th-century American male actors
Actors from Reading, Pennsylvania
Male actors from Pennsylvania