Sex and the City actor and Star Trek guest Willie Garson has died from pancreatic cancer at 57

Willie Garson as Riga in Star Trek: Voyager “Thirty Days”. Inset image IMDb

SEPTEMBER 23, 2021 - This week will not be looked upon favorably when it comes to news regarding the Star Trek family. Following the deaths of Reuben Klamer and Fran Bennett, we must now pass on the sad news of the death of guest actor Willie Garson, at the age of 57. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Garson succumbed to pancreatic cancer on Tuesday, September 21st.

Garson is best known as Stanford Blatch on Sex and the City, but Star Trek fans will remember him from his guest role as the Monean scientist Riga in the Star Trek: Voyager season five episode, “Thirty Days”. An HBO spokesperson said, “Willie Garson was in life, as on screen, a devoted friend and a bright light for everyone in his universe. He created one of the most beloved characters from the HBO pantheon and was a member of our family for nearly twenty-five years.”

Garson’s television appearances hearken back to shows including The X-Files and Quantum Leap (with Star Trek: Enterprise’s Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell), and his breakthrough role came in 1996 as Henry Coffield in NYPD Blue. He also showed up on both the big and small screens with a host of other fellow Trek alumni, including Kim Cattrall, Whoopie Goldberg, Rosalind Chao, and Gwynyth Walsh.

Please join us in offering our condolences to Willie Garson’s friends and family.