Robert Stack Pierce (June 15, 1933 – March 1, 2016) was a Hollywood actor who was previously a boxer and professional baseball player. His acting career began in the early 1970s with television roles in the series Arnie, Room 222, Mannix, Mission Impossible and later as Jake, the alien commander in the 1980s science fiction series V. His film roles include Night Call Nurses, Hammer, Cool Breeze, Low Blow and Weekend at Bernie's II. Background Pierce was state boxing champion. Later he played professional baseball, beginning with the Cleveland Indians organization and later the Milwaukee Braves organization. Having left high school, he joined up to the army where he was an Airborne Engineer. While in the army he played baseball in the Special Services. He came up on the radar of the Cleveland Indians and he was signed to a Major League contract. Not long after the Milwaukee Braves bought his contract and was with them for six years until his retirement in 1960. Later he moved to Los Angeles with his wife. He has had prominent and recurring roles in a number of Leo Fong exploitation films as well as a few Fred Williamson films. Among the films in which he appeared with Williamson are Hammer (1972), No way Back (1976, in the part of Bernie). Others included, The Big Score (1983), The Messenger (1986) and Transformed (2005). He has appeared on Michael Dante's radio show, On Deck. Acting career 1960s to 1970s Pierce's entry into acting came about as a result of his wife's encouragement. She pushed him to audition for his first play, Ebonites. He was diligent in studying acting and did a lot of work with a repertory company. Pierce first appeared on television in a 1970 episode of Arnie. He moved into film roles in 1972, appearing in three films that year: he played the henchman, Tinker, in Cool Breeze; played the role of Jon Sampson in the Jonathan Kaplan directed Night Call Nurses; and appeared in Hammer, his first of five films, over his career, that starred Fred Williamson. 1980s In 1980, Pierce played Frank Washington in The Last Reunion, his first of seven films, over his career, that starred Leo Fong. In 1980, Pierce was nominated for an NAACP Image Award for his role in the "Sweet Land of Liberty" episode of the television series Quincy, M.E.. He also appeared with Wings Hauser