Brock Peters

Born of African and West Indian ancestry on July 2, 1927 in New York City, 'Brock Peters' (qv) set his sights on a show business career early on, at age ten. A product of NYC's famed Music and Arts High School, Peters initially fielded more odd jobs than acting jobs as he worked his way up from Harlem poverty. Landing a stage role in "Porgy and Bess" in 1949, he quit physical education studies at CCNY and went on tour with the acclaimed musical. His film debut came in _Carmen Jones (1954)_ (qv), but he really began to make a name for himself - having dropped his real name, George Fisher, in 1953 - in such films as _To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)_ (qv) and _The L-Shaped Room (1962)_ (qv). He received a Tony Award nomination for his starring stint in Broadway's "Lost in the Stars" in 1973. He also appeared in _Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)_ (qv) and _Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)_ (qv), two sequels to the popular Star Trek films. 'Brock Peters' (qv) died at age 78 of pancreatic cancer on August 23, 2005.::Tom Weaver <[email protected]>