Melvin Belli
From Memory Alpha, the free Star Trek reference.
| This article is written from the Real World point of view |
 |
Melvin Belli (29 July 1907 – 9 July 1996; age 88) is most famous as a criminal defense and personal injury lawyer, not an actor. Among his many legal accomplishments are the defense of Jack Ruby, the man who murdered Lee Harvey Oswald, and numerous refinements to personal injury litigation, including "day in the life" films designed to graphically demonstrate the impact of injuries on their victims. In 1954, his accomplishments led Life magazine to dub him the "King of Torts." Walter Koenig objected to his playing the role of "Gorgan" in TOS: "And the Children Shall Lead", believing the role should have gone to someone in the acting business. He died in 1996 of complications due to pancreatic cancer.
He was the father of Caesar Belli, who played Steve O'Connel in the same episode.
He had a peripheral role in the investigation of the "Zodiac" killings which took place in the San Francisco area between 1969 and 1973, and was portrayed by Brian Cox in David Fincher's film Zodiac, which dramatized those events.
