Skip Homeier was a former child star who played a Nazi youth in the 1944 film Tomorrow, the World! He later appeared in many Westerns, war films and TV shows, including Star Trek. He died on June 25, 2017 at the age of 86 from spinal myelopathy, a condition that affects the spinal cord. Here are some details about his life and career.
Contents
Early Years and Breakthrough Role
Skip Homeier was born as George Vincent Homeier on October 5, 1930 in Chicago, Illinois. He began acting on radio shows at the age of six as Skippy Homeier. He joined the cast of the Broadway play Tomorrow, the World! in 1943, playing Emil Bruchner, a child indoctrinated into Nazism who is brought to the United States from Germany after his parents’ death. He received praise for his performance and reprised the role in the film adaptation in 1944, starring opposite Fredric March and Betty Field as his American uncle and aunt. The film was controversial at the time for its portrayal of a Nazi sympathizer.
Transition to Adult Roles
Homeier changed his first name from Skippy to Skip when he turned 18. He attended the University of California, Los Angeles. He continued to work in films and television, often playing violent or neurotic characters. He was memorable as a gunslinger wannabe in The Gunfighter (1950), starring Gregory Peck, and as a nervous soldier in Halls of Montezuma (1951), directed by Lewis Milestone. He also starred in Sam Fuller’s Fixed Bayonets! (1951), Black Widow (1954), Between Heaven and Hell (1956) and Stark Fear (1962).
Westerns and TV Shows
Homeier’s resume was packed with Westerns, both on the big screen and on the small screen. Some of his notable films in this genre were Ten Wanted Men (1955), The Tall T (1957), Comanche Station (1960) and Showdown (1963). He also appeared in many TV Westerns, such as Wanted: Dead or Alive, The Rifleman, Wagon Train, Branded, Bonanza and The Virginian.
Homeier also guest-starred in various other TV shows, such as Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Millionaire, The Addams Family, The Outer Limits, Mission: Impossible, Mannix, Fantasy Island, Vega$ and Quincy M.E. He had a recurring role as a doctor on The Interns (1970-71) and played Judge Charles Older in Helter Skelter (1976), a TV movie about the Charles Manson case.
Star Trek Appearances
Homeier is also known to fans of the original Star Trek series for playing two different roles in two episodes. In “Patterns of Force” (1968), he played Melakon, a Nazi-like leader of a planet that was influenced by a Federation historian. In “The Way to Eden” (1969), he played Dr. Sevrin, a renegade scientist who carried a deadly bacteria within him and sought to find a mythical planet called Eden.
Retirement and Death
Homeier retired from acting in the late 1970s at the age of 50. He moved to Indian Wells, California with his wife Della Sharman, whom he married in 1963. He had two children from his previous marriage to Nancy Van Noorden Field, which ended in divorce in 1962.
Homeier died from causes related to spinal myelopathy on June 25, 2017 at his home in Indian Wells. He was survived by his wife, children and grandchildren.
Skip Homeier was a versatile actor who had a long and varied career in Hollywood. He will be remembered for his roles as a Nazi child star and as a Star Trek villain.
