Brock Peters Brock Peters was an accomplished veteran actor of stage , film , and television . He played Admiral Cartwright in and , and later portrayed Captain Benjamin Sisko ' s father , Joseph , a restaurateur in New Orleans , on . In addition to his canon " Star Trek " roles , Peters voiced the role of General Mi ' Qogh in the video game " " . Life and career . Peters was born as George Fisher in New York City to African and West Indian parentage and began acting at the age of ten . He trained in his craft at Fiorello H . LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts in New York City . He studied physical education at the City College of New York , which he abandoned after landing a role in the opera " Porgy and Bess " in 1949 . Beyond the realm of " Star Trek " , Peters is probably best known for his performance as Tom Robinson , the black man unjustly accused and convicted of raping a white girl , in the classic 1962 film . His co - stars on this film included guest actors Frank Overton , Paul Fix , William Windom , John Megna and Richard Hale . On the set of that film , he struck up a lifelong friendship with star , and delivered the eulogy at Peck ' s funeral in 2003 . Peters also became friends with actor after working with him on several stage productions in the 1940s and 1950s . Peters later worked with Heston on three films : ( 1965 ) , ( 1973 ) , and ( 1976 ) . 1954 - 1979 . Peters made his film debut in 1954 ' s , having dropped his birth name the previous year . He then made his Broadway stage debut as Ajali in the Martin Beck Theatre production of " Mister Johnson " in 1956 . He performed in the Broadway Theatre two years later in the musical production " The Body Beautiful " . Peters had a supporting role in the 1959 musical film , based on the stage opera which Peters had acted in ten years earlier . TOS actress Nichelle Nichols had a bit part in this film , while Loulie Jean Norman provided the singing voice of Diahann Carroll ' s character , Clara . Peters attracted attention with his roles in and the aforementioned " To Kill a Mockingbird " , both released in 1962 . His subsequent film credits included ( 1964 ) , the aforementioned " Major Dundee " , and " Slaughter ' s Big Rip - Off " ( 1973 ) . In 1967 , Peters guest - starred on an episode of the hit action drama series " Mission : Impossible " , which , like TOS , was produced by Desilu Studios . The following year , Peters co - starred with TOS regular George Takei and TOS guest actors Davis Roberts and Malachi Throne in an episode of " It Takes a Thief " , directed by Marc Daniels . In the 1973 science fiction film " Soylent Green " ( photographed by Richard H . Kline ) , Peters portrayed Chief of Detectives Hatcher while fellow " Star Trek " alumni Whit Bissell , Robert Ito , Roy Jenson , Leigh Taylor - Young , and Celia Lovsky also had roles . That same year , Peters was nominated for the for his portrayal of South African minister Stephen Kumalo in the stage musical . He also won the 1972 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Performance . He reprised the role of Kumalo in the film version of " Lost in the Stars " in 1974 . Peters guest - starred on many television shows throughout the 1970s , including " Mannix " ( directed by Corey Allen and co - starring Phillip Pine ) , " The Virginian " ( in a 1970 episode with Walter Koenig ) , " Gunsmoke " ( with Robert Pine ) , " The Streets of San Francisco " ( with Roy Jenson and Kenneth Tobey ) , " McCloud " ( with Teri Garr ) , and " The Bionic Woman " ( with James B . Sikking ) . He also worked with Ed Lauter in a 1975 episode of " Baretta " ( with Ron Soble ) and in two episodes of " Police Story " in 1976 . In 1979 , Peters was a guest star in one episode of the popular science fiction series , in which his role of Chief Opposer Solon returned him to a courtroom setting , this time as a prosecutor . Later that year he was a part of the ensemble cast of the epic mini - series . His co - stars in this production included fellow " Star Trek " alumni Bernie Casey , Percy Rodriguez , John Rubinstein , Bruce French , Paul Winfield , and Bill Quinn . 1980 - 2005 . In 1982 , Peters became a regular on the CBS daytime soap opera , portraying the role of Frank Lewis until 1989 . In the latter year , he was once again seen alongside his " Star Trek " film co - star William Shatner in the TV movie " Broken Angel " . regular Roxann Dawson also appeared in this production . During his time on " The Young and the Restless " , Peters guest - starred on the mystery drama series " Magnum , P . I . " ( along with Keone Young ) , " Murder , She Wrote " ( with Lenore Kasdorf ) , and " Cagney & Lacey " ( with Gregory Sierra ) . He also co - starred with John Schuck , Ben Vereen , and Alfre Woodard in the Fairie Tale Theatre production of " Puss in Boots " . In 1990 , the awarded Peters a for decades of outstanding performances . To date , Peters and Ricardo Montalban are the only " Star Trek " alumni to have received this honor . Peters had a supporting role in the 1996 drama . This film also featured Whoopi Goldberg , Susanna Thompson , Bill Smitrovich , Terry O ' Quinn , Richard Riehle , Bill Cobbs , and Thomas Kopache . He again worked with Terry O ' Quinn in the 2002 made - for - TV movie entitled " The Locket " . Peters ' rich , baritone voice was used on such animated shows as , , , , and . On the latter series , he voiced the recurring role of businessman ; other performers whose voices were heard in his episodes include Adrienne Barbeau , Ed Begley , Jr . , Robert Costanzo , Gary Frank , John Glover , Loren Lester , Ron Perlman , David Warner , and aforementioned TOS regular Nichelle Nichols . He also lent his voice to three non - consecutive Hanna - Barbera produced action cartoon , either as a main or primary villain – he played Tormack in " Galtar and the Golden Lance " , Bloth in " The Pirates of Dark Water " , and Dark Kat in " SWAT Kats : The Radical Squadron " ( the latter alongside Barry Gordon ) . In addition , Peters lent his voice to the character of Jomo in a 2000 episode of " The Wild Thornberrys " and in 2002 ' s , in which Alfre Woodard and Ethan Phillips also supplied voices . Peters even supplied the voice of in the , making him one of the few actors to have worked in both the " Star Trek " and " Star Wars " franchises ; coincidentally , , who voiced Vader in the " Star Wars " films , was nearly cast as Joseph Sisko ' s son . Peters made his final acting appearance in the 2005 episode of " JAG " entitled " Bridging the Gulf " . This episode also featured his fellow " Trek " performers David Andrews , Erick Avari , Scott Lawrence , Zoe McLellan , Phil Morris , and Jennifer Savidge . Death . Peters died of pancreatic cancer on 23 August 2005 in Los Angeles , California . He was 78 years old . He was honored and remembered at the , along with many other departed entertainers and people in television from that year , including James Doohan .