Reports are coming in today that Brock Peters ("Joseph Sisko" & "Admiral Cartwright") has passed away from pancreatic cancer. He was 78.

Peters gained fame as Tom Robinson, the man accused of rape in the classic 1962 film "To Kill a Mockingbird." His other early films include "The L-Shaped Room," "Carmen Jones" and "Porgy and Bess." Star Trek fans will remember Peters for two roles; as Admiral Cartwright in "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" and "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country" and as Joseph Sisko, Benjamin Sisko's New Orleans-based father who ran his own creole restaurant.

The New York-born Peters, who gave the eulogy at his "Mockingbird" co-star Gregory Peck's funeral in 2003, had a deep, resonant voice that was well suited for voiceover and animation work. Peters' original name was George Fisher, but he dropped it in 1953 once he began his acting career.

Loulie Jean Norman

Loulie Jean Norman, who for more than 50 years was considered the most flawless studio soprano in the entertainment industry, passed away on August 2.

Star Trek fans may not recognize her name, but they certainly know her voice as the soaring soprano in the theme of the original Star Trek series. Her impressive range was also featured in The Tokens' hit "The Lion Sleeps Tonight." In her distinguished studio career she performed with numerous entertainers and musical legends including Frank Sinatra, Henry Mancini, Ray Charles, Bing Crosby and Elvis Presley.

It is her voice you hear in the film "Porgy and Bess" when Clara (played by Diahann Carroll) is singing. In addition, her talents were evident in Disneyland's "Haunted Mansion" as the shrieking opera-singing "Crazy Soprano Ghost" and in her performances with Spike Jones and his Orchestra. She appeared as a regular on comedy-variety shows hosted by Dean Martin, Carol Burnett and Dinah Shore.

Ms. Norman passed surrounded by her extended family at the age of 92.

The family would appreciate donations to:

The Society of Singers
6500 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 640
Los Angeles, CA 90048

or

Roze Room Hospice of the Valley
4717 Van Nuys Blvd., 3rd Floor
Sherman Oaks, CA 91403

Herta Ware

Noted actress and local theater founder Herta Ware died Monday at her home in Topanga, California of natural causes. She was 88.

Known to Star Trek: The Next Generation fans as "Yvette Gessard Picard," mother of Captain Jean-Luc Picard from her perfomance in the episode "Where No One Has Gone Before." She appears to the captain in a vision as he enters a hallway of the Enterprise-D. In disbelief at what he sees, Jean-luc calls to her, "Maman?"

Ware began her acting career on Broadway in the 1930s, and married actor Will Geer in 1934. Together they created the Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum in Topanga Canyon, a prominent cultural center in the Los Angeles artistic community.

In her distinguished career she appeared in numerous films including "Cocoon" and "2010" plus the television series incuding ER, Amazing Stories and The Golden Girls.

A public memorial service is planned for 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, September 10 at the Theatricum Botanicum, 1419 N. Topanga Canyon Blvd., Topanga.

Contributions in her name can be made to:

Herta's Young Actor Fund
Theatricum Botanicum
P.O. Box 1222
Topanga, CA 90290