PASSINGS: Malachi Throne
MALACHI THRONE
Character actor was
in ‘It Takes a Thief’
Malachi Throne, 84, a character actor who had a featured role as Robert Wagner’s boss Noah Bain on the television spy series “It Takes a Thief” in the late 1960s, died Wednesday of lung cancer at his Brentwood home, said his wife, Marjorie.
He also appeared in several incarnations of the “Star Trek” television series, including providing the voice for a character called the Keeper in a pilot episode of the original “Star Trek.”
When Throne portrayed the villainous False-Face on the “Batman” TV series in 1966, his face went unseen because he wore a mask. Introduced in a two-part episode, he was credited as “?” at the end of the first part and as “Throne” after the second.
“Everyone wanted to know who played False-Face,” he later said. “It was the best press I ever got in my life.”
Born Dec. 1, 1928, in New York City, Throne sang at the New York World’s Fair in 1939. He later acted on the New York stage and was active in Theatre West in Los Angeles.
Between 1959 and 2007, he appeared on dozens of television shows, including the 1990s programs “Law & Order” and “Babylon 5.”
His son Zachary is an actor and musician. His other son, Joshua, is a production manager.
Times staff reports
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