Percy Rodriguez was “Commodore Stone,” the commander of Starbase 11 who presided over the trial of James T. Kirk in the Original Series episode “Court Martial.” Rodriguez died last Thursday, September 6, of complications from kidney disease, according to his talent agency and various reports. He was 83.

A Canadian of Afro-Latino descent, the veteran film, TV and stage actor was the first black actor to play a flag officer (with a rank of commodore or above) in the Star Trek franchise. He would go on to play “Primus Isaac Kimbridge” in Gene Roddenberry’s 1973 TV movie “Genesis II,” and also guest-star on Mission: Impossible, the Planet of the Apes TV series, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Peyton Place, “Roots: The Next Generations,” T.J. Hooker, Benson and many other shows.

One of his most iconic roles was that of the narrator of the “Jaws” trailers in 1975. “That ominous, basso rumbling that coldly threatened us with talk of a bloodthirsty creature that roamed the deep evocatively raised audience’s fears before they even had a chance to see the film. That anticipation and excitement for ‘Jaws’ was unequivocally due to the vocal work of voice artist Percy Rodrigues,” writes this article at SpielbergFilms.com (using an alternate spelling of his name).

Rodriguez recently came out of his 20-year retirement to grant an interview and to narrate the trailer for a new documentary about the impact and legacy of “Jaws,” called “The Shark is Still Working.” You can see that trailer and a tribute to Rodriguez at SharkIsStillWorking.com.

Source: StarTrek.com