Tall, deep-voiced character actor with a long and storied career, who initially made his mark on screen in the 1964 film "Santa Claus Conquers the Martians", a project that may have taken him some time to live down.
Following this early role, he found himself most comfortable playing the heavy, often donning monster make-up to bring his characters to life, as seen in the 1966 episode "Merlin the Magician" from "The Time Tunnel".
He also had the distinction of playing the blue-faced alien hunter Megazor in the third season episode of "Lost in Space" (1965),titled "Hunter's Moon".
In a clever display of self-awareness, Beck lampooned his sinister screen incarnations in several installments of "The Monkees" (1965),most notably in the episode "The Card Carrying Red Shoes".
Beck's theatrical career stretched back to 1946, when he appeared in the Broadway production of "A Flag is Born". He also had roles in notable stage productions such as "Peter Pan", "Oliver", and "Irma La Douce", and was seen in TV commercials before making his debut in syndicated TV shows.
Just a year before his passing, Beck became the president of the New York section of the Screen Actors Guild, a testament to his enduring influence in the world of entertainment.
