Skip Homeier

Prolific Golden Age actor Skip Homeier started his career at the age of six, when he lent his high-pitched vocals to the radio soap opera "Portia Faces Life." By 14 he was on Broadway, starring in "Tomorrow the World," a play about a Nazi-influenced German boy who is brought to the United States after the death of his parents. He earned acclaim for his harrowing portrayal of the deranged orphan and reprised the role in the 1944 film adaptation, leading to a string of performances as troubled adolescents. He made the transition from child actor to grown supporting player with ease, staying within his niche as a bad boy in such films as the Jack Palance World War II drama "Halls of Montezuma" and the family-feud Western "Day of the Bad Man." As the decades wore on, Homeier grew tired of playing villains and sought out hero roles in television, which he rarely acquired. He is well remembered by "Star Trek" fans as both the Nazi Deputy Führer Melakon and the insane and large-lobed Tiburonian, Doctor Sevrin. After more than 130 appearances in film and television and nearly 40 years in the business, Homeier retired from screen acting in 1982, making his final appearance in a one-off role on the crime-solving coroner drama, "Quincy M.E."