A busy TV and film actor, his credits ranged from "Roots: The Next Generation" to "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" and "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country." He played rough Sgt. Brown in the film "Carmen Jones" and villainous Crown in the film "Porgy and Bess," as well as the accused rapist, Tom Robinson, in 1962's "To Kill a Mockingbird." At the time, he felt he was in danger of being typecast as the brooding or violent black man.