Malachi Throne

Fans of genre programming over the past two decades may recognize Malachi Throne for his frequent acting and cartoon work. But Throne has been a mainstay of television since the '60s, making guest appearances in various dramas, Westerns, and action series.

One of his first recurring roles was as Martin Phelps in the medical show "Ben Casey," and during this time he was also hired to voice the Keeper for the pilot of "Star Trek," which did not air as originally intended. However, parts of it were eventually spliced into the classic "Trek" installment "The Menagerie," in which Throne also played Commodore Jose Mendez--who turns out to be an illusion created by a mysterious alien race.

He also played villainous master of disguise False Face in the campy '60s "Batman" series, which caused a stir when producers initially withheld the identity of the actor playing him. Interestingly, he would reappear in '90s incarnations of both "Trek" and Batman, guest-starring in an episode of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and providing voice work for Batman cartoons.

Possessor of a deep, erudite-sounding voice, he also appeared in such animated fare as "Animaniacs" and "Avatar: The Last Airbender." During the '90s, in the space series "Babylon 5," he played a prime minister whose assassination would have lasting repercussions.

Meanwhile, his non-sci-fi and non-superhero outings include co-starring on "It Takes a Thief" from '68 to '69 as Noah Bain, the ruthless government official who gives Robert Wagner's main character his orders.