Star Trek in memoriam 2021: remembering those we've lost this year
(L-R) Eddie Paskey as Lt. Leslie in Star Trek, Camille Saviola as Kai Opaka in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and Christopher Plummer as Chang in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
DECEMBER 26, 2021 - As we draw another year to a close, it’s time for us to reflect on those members of the Star Trek family that we’ve lost this year. These are the people who, in their varying roles in front of and behind the camera, made Star Trek what it is today. Please join us here at Daily Star Trek News in remembering fondly those whose lives were lost in 2021.
Watch the full memorial on YouTube, or scroll down to read:
Gregory Sierra as Entek, in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine “Second Skin”
Gregory Sierra, Sanford and Son and Barney Miller actor and Star Trek guest star
January 25, 1937 - January 4, 2021
Notable sitcom actor and Star Trek guest star Gregory Sierra died on January 4, 2021 due to complications from cancer. He was 83.
Star Trek fans will know Sierra from his role as Entek in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season three episode “Second Skin”. He was the Cardassian and member of the secretive Obsidian Order who kidnapped Major Kira and altered her appearance to look like the daughter of a suspected member of the Cardassian Underground.
Before and after Star Trek, Sierra was a prolific television actor, best known for his roles as Julio Fuentes on Sanford and Son, and Sgt. Amenguale on Barney Miller. He also had memorable roles in Soap, Miami Vice and Murder, She Wrote.
Sierra is survived by his wife, Helene.
Peter Mark Richman as Ralph Offenhouse in Star Trek: The Next Generation “The Neutral Zone”
TV, film and Broadway actor (and Star Trek guest star) Peter Mark Richman
April 16, 1927 - January 14, 2021
Prolific and highly-respected actor Peter Mark Richman passed away on January 14, 2021 of natural causes. He was 93.
Star Trek fans will know Richman for his role as Ralph Offenhouse, one of the three cryogenically-frozen people that the Enterprise-D rescued and revived in the Star Trek: The Next Generation season one finale, “The Neutral Zone”. However, Star Trek was merely one of Richman’s hundreds of credits, which spanned eight decades of Broadway, film and television.
Some of Richman’s other notable television roles included the title role in crime drama Cain’s Hundred, attorney Andrew Laird in Dynasty, and Lawrence Carson in Beverly Hills 90210. He also had guest appearances on The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits, Wonder Woman, Galactica 1980, and Murder She Wrote, among many others.
Deadline reported that Richman published novels and short stories and was an accomplished painter. He was also awarded the Silver Medallion for outstanding humanitarian achievement by the Motion Picture and Television Fund in 1990.
Richman is survived by his wife Helen, and their five children and six grandchildren.
(L-R) William Shatner as James Kirk and Bobby Clark as the Gorn captain in Star Trek “Arena”
Kellam de Forest, TV researcher who advised Star Trek on the Gorn and stardates
November 11, 1926 – January 19, 2021
Kellam de Forest, a key researcher and technical advisor for Star Trek: The Original Series, passed away on January 19, 2021 due to complications from COVID-19. He was 94 years old.
A native of Santa Barbara, de Forest moved to Los Angeles in the early 1950s and created the Kellam de Forest Research Company (dFR), which performed legal and historical research for television productions. Initially a one-man operation, by the time dFR worked with Star Trek, it had grown to a small team. During their time with Star Trek, dFR made numerous contributions to the series, such as creating the format for the well-known “stardate”.
After retiring from the entertainment industry, de Forest returned to Santa Barbara, becoming an outspoken advocate for the preservation of the historical and cultural heritage of the area. He is survived by his three children, Ann, Carmaig, and Elizabeth and their spouses, with six grandchildren.
Star Trek archivist Richard Arnold. Image Mike Okuda on Twitter
Star Trek archivist Richard Arnold
April 28, 1954 – January 26, 2021
Richard Arnold, longtime Star Trek archivist, passed away on the morning of January 26, 2021 at the age of 66. The news was announced by Star Trek designer Mike Okuda on Twitter.
In the tweet, Okuda said, “We have just learned the sad news that Richard Arnold has passed away. Richard loved Star Trek and was president of Grace Lee Whitney's fan club before becoming an assistant to Gene Roddenberry at Paramount, where he served as Star Trek archivist for many years. He was 66.”
Star Trek executive producer Rod Roddenberry, son of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, also made an emotional post on Instagram, remembering Arnold. He said, “The Federation flag must fly at half mast today to honor the passing of Richard Arnold. [...] Among a sea of suits pitching ideas, Richard’s voice was the one my father most often listened to; because Richard listened to the fans. [...] He was family,” Roddenberry said. “The loss of Richard, both for me personally and for the world of Star Trek, is ineffable.”
Christopher Plummer as General Chang in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Christopher Plummer, star of The Sound of Music and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
December 13, 1929 - February 5, 2021
Christopher Plummer, world-renowned actor and one of the stars of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, passed away on February 5, 2021 at the age of 91. Plummer’s talent agency, ICM Partners announced that he died peacefully at his home in Connecticut, with his wife by his side.
Star Trek fans know Plummer best, of course, as General Chang in The Undiscovered Country, but his film and television career spans across eight decades. Plummer is probably best known worldwide for his role as Captain Von Trapp in The Sound of Music.
A piece from The Hollywood Reporter related that Plummer was a huge fan of Star Trek, and friends with William Shatner. In Shatner’s 2011 documentary The Captains, Plummer admitted, “I was a serious Trekkie when it first came out.”
Shatner himself tweeted a tribute to his friend, saying, “A gentleman whose name is Christopher Plummer died today. He was what I call a friend. [...] I am so sad to lose him.”
Jeffrey M. Hayes, a former TV executive who helped develop Star Trek: The Next Generation, has passed away
Veteran producer Jeffrey M. Hayes, who helped develop Star Trek: The Next Generation
March 3, 1953 - March 9, 2021
Veteran TV producer Jeffrey M. Hayes passed away on March 9, 2021 from “an illness unrelated to COVID”. He was 68 years old.
Star Trek fans won’t recognize Hayes from the screen, but he did have an important role in the franchise. As an executive at Paramount Pictures Network Television, he helped oversee development of Star Trek: The Next Generation.
And there’s one more Star Trek connection for Hayes. According to Memory Alpha, Hayes’ father, Bill Hayes, was a business partner and friend of Jeffrey Hunter. Jeffrey M. Hayes was named after Jeffrey Hunter, who played Captain Pike in the original Original Series pilot, “The Cage”.
Hayes is survived by his wife Lisa, children Christopher and Jacqueline, and siblings Chip, Cathy and Cindy.
Henry Darrow as Admiral Savar in Star Trek: The Next Generation and as Kolopak in Star Trek: Voyager
Henry Darrow, who played both a “badmiral” and Chakotay’s father in Star Trek
September 15, 1933 - March 14, 2021
Emmy-winning actor Henry Darrow died at home of natural causes on March 14, 2021. He was 87.
Star Trek fans will know Darrow for his two guest roles. In the Star Trek: The Next Generation first season episode “Conspiracy”, he played the Vulcan Admiral Savar, one of the high-ranking officials infected with the parasitic bluegills. Then in Star Trek: Voyager, he played the part of Kolopak, Chakotay’s father.
But Star Trek was just one of Darrow’s numerous credits. He’s perhaps best known for playing Manolito Montoya in the NBC western The High Chaparral in the late 1960s. He also held series regular roles in the soap operas The Bold and the Beautiful and Santa Barbara (for which he won a Daytime Emmy in 1984). Overall, Darrow was an accomplished film and television actor who won accolades from both audiences and industry colleagues.
In addition to his successful career, Darrow also advocated for underrepresented minorities. In 1972, he co-founded the Screen Actors Guild Ethnic Minorities Committee with fellow actors Edith Diaz, Carmen Zapata and (a name familiar to Trek fans) Ricardo Montalban. It would be 40 years later, in 2012, that Darrow was awarded the Ricardo Montalban Lifetime Achievement Award at the ALMA (or American Latino Media Arts) Awards.
Darrow is survived by his second wife Lauren, daughter Denise and brother Dennis.
Star Trek film costumes. (L-R) Persis Khambatta as Ilia in Star Trek: The Motion Picture; DeForest Kelley, George Takei and Nichelle Nichols in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan; Ricardo Montalban as Khan in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan; Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
Star Trek and Broadway costume designer Robert Fletcher
August 23, 1922 - April 5, 2021
Costume designer Robert Fletcher passed away from undisclosed causes on April 5, 2021. He was 98.
If you’re a Star Trek fan, you’re probably very familiar with Fletcher’s work, but you might not even realize it. Fletcher was the costume designer for the first four Star Trek films. His work was so iconic in those films that it earned him three Saturn Award nominations and a win, in 1987.
Fletcher’s work wasn’t just confined to Klingons and Vulcans and Monster Maroons, though: outside of Star Trek, and film in general, he had successful careers in costuming for television and for Broadway as well. He was nominated for three Tony Awards for his various stage productions, a Primetime Emmy award for his work on the miniseries North and South (which featured Star Trek: The Next Generation’s Jonathan Frakes before he was Riker), and he earned a lifetime achievement award in 2005 from the Costume Designers Guild.
Mary Linda Rapelye as Irina in Star Trek “The Way to Eden”
Mary Linda Rapelye, Star Trek’s Irina in “The Way to Eden”
November 16, 1944 - April 5, 2021
Star Trek guest actor Mary Linda Rapelye passed away from cancer on April 5, 2021. She was 76 years old.
Star Trek fans will know Rapelye for her guest role as Irina in the Star Trek season three episode “The Way to Eden”. She also appeared as Ambassador Rayna Morgan in the fan web series Star Trek New Voyages: Phase II episode “To Serve All My Days”. But outside of that short appearance, she had a nearly eight-decade performing career on stage, screen and television.
Rapelye moved to Maine in 1999 and created what would become the current Lyric Meadow Farm, which, in addition to being a certified organic farm, is also an event venue and kennel for goldendoodles.
Rapelye is survived by her brother Gardiner and several cousins and their families.
Star Trek author Margaret Wander Bonanno has passed away at 71
Star Trek novelist Margaret Wander Bonanno
February 7, 1950 - April 8, 2021
Star Trek novelist Margaret Wander Bonanno passed away unexpectedly of natural causes on April 8, 2021. She was 71.
Bonanno was the author of several Star Trek novels, including 1987’s Strangers from the Sky, a story about humanity’s first contact with Vulcans. The story, of course, was superseded by the events of the later film Star Trek First Contact, but it remains a fan favorite nonetheless.
Outside of Star Trek, Bonanno also wrote other books including 1996’s science fiction novel Saturn’s Child (which she co-wrote with Nichelle Nichols), and 2016’s political thriller Ain’t Exactly Clear.
Dayton Ward, a fellow Star Trek author, described Bonanno as “a gifted writer with a wicked sense of humor, but also a kind soul, warm and welcoming.”
Image StarTrek.com
Actor Felix Silla - The Addams Family’s Cousin Itt and Star Trek Talosian
January 11, 1937 - April 16, 2021
Actor Felix Silla passed away from pancreatic cancer on April 16, 2021. He was 84.
Star Trek fans will know Silla as one of the Talosians in the original pilot “The Cage”, but his career was much, much bigger than that. Standing just 3’11”, he was a memorable performer in just about anything he took on.
Silla was born in Italy and came to the United States in 1955, travelling with the Ringling Brothers circus as a trapeze artist and tumbler. He often did stunt work in Hollywood, standing in for children in films such as Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, where he doubled for the role of Short Round.
Silla also held notable acting roles like Cousin Itt from the television series The Addams Family, the robot Lucifer in the original Battlestar Galactica, and of course, Twiki in Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. He also played a child gorilla in Planet of the Apes, as well as an Ewok in Return of the Jedi.
Silla is survived by his wife Sue and their children, Bonnie and Michael.
Nathan Jung as Genghis Khan in Star Trek “The Savage Curtain”
Nathan Jung, Star Trek’s Genghis Khan
November 29, 1946 - April 24, 2021
Star Trek: The Original Series guest actor Nathan Jung died on April 24, 2021 at the age of 74. No cause of death was disclosed.
The Original Series episode “The Savage Curtain” was one of Jung’s first on-screen credits, as Genghis Khan. In that episode, he was teamed up with Kahless and other notorious villains from history, in an unlikely battle against Abraham Lincoln, Surak, Captain Kirk, and Mister Spock.
His appearance on Star Trek led to a number of guest-starring roles on classic television shows including M*A*S*H, Starsky & Hutch, and CHiPs. He also appeared in such well-known films as Big Trouble in Little China, Black Rain, and Beverly Hills Ninja.
Nathan Jung is survived by his nephew Keith Jung.
Norman Lloyd as Galen (left) and Sir Patrick Stewart as Picard (right) in Star Trek: The Next Generation “The Chase”
Norman Lloyd, distinguished actor whose character introduced the Kurlan naiskos to Star Trek: The Next Generation
November 8, 1914 - May 11, 2021
Star Trek: The Next Generation guest star Norman Lloyd, who played Captain Picard’s mentor Professor Galen in the sixth-season episode “The Chase,” died on May 11, 2021. He was 106 years old.
Lloyd’s TNG guest role as famed Federation archeologist Galen was brief but memorable, giving insight into Jean-Luc Picard and his time at Starfleet Academy. In the reference book Star Trek: The Next Generation 365, episode director Jonathan Frakes said of Lloyd, “He was a wonderful storyteller and a brilliant actor. We were so lucky to have this guy on our show.”
Lloyd had a long and fascinating career, detailed in a retrospective by the British newspaper The Guardian. Beginning in the theater at age 17, Lloyd was a charter member of Orson Welles’ famed Mercury Theatre group in the 1930s. His on-screen career began on television in 1939, and three years later he began a long friendship with Alfred Hitchcock, playing a villain in the classic Hitchcock film, Saboteur. His promising career was sidelined during the famous McCarthy Hollywood witch hunts, after which Hitchcock helped him find work as a producer and director. Lloyd’s acting career was revived in the 1970s, and in 1982 he returned to television for what is probably his best-known role, Dr. Auschlander on the medical drama, St. Elsewhere, which ran for six years. Afterwards his acting career took him to big-screen roles in films like Dead Poet’s Society, and guest-starring roles in shows such as Star Trek and Murder, She Wrote. His most recent appearance, at the age of 101, was in the 2015 comedy Trainwreck.
Clarence Williams III as the Jem’Hadar Omet’iklan in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine “To the Death”
Clarence Williams III, star of The Mod Squad and guest on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
August 21, 1939 - June 4, 2021
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine guest star Clarence Williams III, who played Jem’Hadar Omet'iklan in the fourth season episode, “To The Death,” passed away on June 4, 2021 following a battle with colon cancer. Williams was 81.
Clarence Williams III served as a paratrooper with the 101st Airborne Division before turning to acting. He built a strong reputation on stage as a Tony-nominated Broadway performer in the 1960s before moving his career to Hollywood and landing his role as Hayes in the Emmy-nominated series The Mod Squad. His big-screen debut came in 1984 playing an abusive father to Prince’s character “The Kid” in Purple Rain.
Williams is survived by his daughter Jamey Phillips and sister Sondra Pugh.
Lisa Banes (right) appears as Dr. Renhol in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine “Equilibrium”
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine guest star and Gone Girl actor Lisa Banes
July 9, 1955 - June 14, 2021
Actress Lisa Banes, who guest-starred as Trill doctor Renhol in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode “Equilibrium,” died on June 14, 2021 from injuries sustained in a hit-and-run incident on June 4, 2021. Banes was 65 years old.
Banes’ performance as Doctor Renhol in Deep Space Nine’s third season introduced viewers to the Symbiosis Commission, the Trill organization responsible for overseeing the process of joining a Trill symbiont with a suitable host. Outside of Star Trek, Banes was known for her work with Tom Cruise the 1988 release Cocktail, and she also played Ben Affleck’s concerned mother-in-law in the 2014 thriller Gone Girl. Besides DS9 she also appeared in many other TV shows such as China Beach, Six Feet Under, Boston Legal, and Nashville.
Banes is survived by her wife, Kathryn Kranhold.
Joanne Linville in Star Trek “The Enterprise Incident”
Joanne Linville, Star Trek’s Romulan Commander from “The Enterprise Incident”
January 15, 1928 - June 20, 2021
Joanne Linville, whose performance as a Romulan Commander in Star Trek: The Original Series helped to make the episode “The Enterprise Incident” a fan-favorite, passed away on June 20, 2021 at the age of 93.
Linville began her career on the small screen in the 1950s, appearing in a number of anthology programs such as Kraft Television Theatre, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and Studio One. Over the years she worked a number of times with William Shatner, with the pair even playing husband and wife a couple of times before appearing on Star Trek together. After Star Trek, she appeared on a number of popular shows including ChiPs, Dynasty, and L.A. Law, as well as appearing in films like the 1976 remake of A Star is Born.
Linville is survived by two children with ex-husband Mark Rydell, three grandchildren, and a great-grandson. Her legacy in Hollywood also lives on in the Stella Adler Academy of Acting & Theatre, which she co-founded in 1985.
John Erman, via the Directors Guild of America
Award-winning director John Erman, who helmed Star Trek’s “The Empath”
August 3, 1935 - June 25, 2021
John Erman, whose extensive television directing career included the Star Trek: The Original Series episode “The Empath,” died on June 25, 2021 at the age of 85 after a brief illness.
Erman began his career in show business with a brief stint as an actor before becoming a television director in the 1960s. He was most known for his work on classic ‘60s shows like The Flying Nun, My Favorite Martian, and That Girl.
In the 1970’s Erman moved into the burgeoning realm of TV mini-series, garnering Emmy nominations and a win, also receiving Directors’ Guild awards for Roots, starring LeVar Burton, and An Early Frost, which was the first TV movie to address the AIDS crisis.
Licensing International Executive Bill Burke, who recently passed away. Image Licensing International
Star Trek licensing executive Bill Burke
c. 1966 - August 9, 2021
The Star Trek family lost a dear friend with the recent passing of Bill Burke. Burke passed away unexpectedly at his home on August 9, 2021. He was 55.
For 14 years, Burke worked as a licensing and marketing executive for the CBS brand. As the Vice President of Marketing for CBS Consumer Products, Burke oversaw the licensing operations (including international licensing), along with the global marketing and retails needs of the Star Trek franchise. Prior to his work for CBS, Burke helped to develop well known brands such as Thomas the Tank Engine, Bob the Builder, and Barney, as well as developing licensing agreements with Sesame Workshop.
Star Trek Vice President of Franchise Planning and Brand Development John Van Citters said of his friend and former colleague, “Most of you don’t know Bill, but I promise if you bought a piece of Trek merch or attended a con, a Cruise, or one of our SDCC exhibits in the past 14 years, you experienced the dedication Bill brought every single day. And night. And weekend.”
Eddie Paskey as Lt. Leslie in Star Trek
Star Trek's Lt. Leslie, Eddie Paskey
August 20, 1939 - August 17, 2021
You will know him when you see him, because you’ve seen him in 58 of the 79 episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series. Sadly, Eddie Paskey, most often known as Lieutenant Leslie, passed away on August 17, 2021, just three days shy of age 82.
Star Trek author and consultant, Dayton Ward, noted on his blog that Paskey’s many appearances began as early as the second TOS pilot, “Where No Man Has Gone Before.” Of those appearances, he received screen credit only twice, though he had speaking parts in four of them. He even had the unique distinction, in one of those speaking parts (though under the influence of mind-altering spores), of openly supporting mutiny against Captain Kirk, in the season one episode, “This Side of Paradise”.
Paskey also stood in for William Shatner, and close-up shots of his hands were used to substitute for James Doohan’s hands, due to the latter’s missing middle finger.
Outside of Star Trek, Paskey appeared in shows such as Ben Casey, The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Lucy Show, The Wild Wild West, and Mission: Impossible.
Fran Bennett as Fleet Admiral Shanthi in Star Trek: The Next Generation “Redemption II”
Fran Bennett: actor, educator and Star Trek: The Next Generation guest star
August 14, 1937 - September 12, 2021
Actor and educator Fran Bennett died on September 12, 2021 at the age of 84.
Bennett appeared as Admiral Shanthi in the Star Trek: The Next Generation season five episode, “Redemption II.” She also appears in a deleted scene as a Vulcan midwife in Star Trek (2009).
Bennett was a veteran actor and faculty member at the California Institute of the Arts. CalArts’ Dean Travis Preston said of Bennett that her “voice was unmistakable. She never shied away from using it. [...] She unceasingly championed students, artists and innovators of all backgrounds and demanded that leaders do more to serve the left out and kept out.”
Bennett’s appearances include stage, television, and film. Her onscreen debut was in Guiding Light, in 1965. She appeared in shows such as Roots: The Next Generations and St. Elsewhere, and in films, most recently Jessabelle and The Manor. Bennett was also a founding member of the Los Angeles Women’s Shakespeare Company and an Ovation Award and NAACP Theatre Award winner.
Reuben Klamer with his creation, Star Trek’s phaser rifle. Image Julien’s Auctions on YouTube.
Reuben Klamer, creator of The Game of Life and Star Trek's phaser rifle
June 18, 1922 - September 14, 2021
Reuben Klamer, the inventor of the phaser rifle seen in the Star Trek: The Original Series second pilot episode, “Where No Man Has Gone Before,” died on September 14, 2021 at the age of 99.
Klamer is best known as the inventor of toy company Milton Bradley’s The Game of Life, among hundreds of other toys and games. Klamer also invented television props, including the well-known gun for The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Gene Roddenberry was impressed with the U.N.C.L.E. weapon and sought out Klamer to oversee the design and production of the phaser rifle – which Klamer has said he only had two weeks to do. Roddenberry also approached Klamer after the show was picked up about continuing to produce props for Star Trek, but no further arrangements were made.
Klamer’s original phaser rifle was auctioned in 2013, and it sold for $231,000, and just this year, after his death, it sold at auction again for a staggering $615,000.
Gavan O’Herlihy as Maje Jabin in Star Trek: Voyager “Caretaker”
Prolific actor and Star Trek guest Gavan O'Herlihy
July 29, 1951 - September 15, 2021
Actor Gavan O’Herlihy died on September 15, 2021 of undisclosed causes. He was 70 years old.
O’Herlihy is known to Trek fans from his role as the Kazon Maje Jabin, in the Star Trek: Voyager season one episode, “Caretaker.” But that’s not his only Star Trek connection. O’Herlihy was also the nephew of Star Trek: The Original Series director Michael O’Herlihy.
O’Herlihy’s acting career started with the role of Chuck Cunningham, Richie’s older brother on Happy Days. (He was the second of three actors to portray that particular role.) O’Herlihy’s turn gave rise to what’s known in Hollywood as “Chuck Cunningham Syndrome”.
O’Herlihy later reunited with the former Richie Cunningham, Ron Howard, on the film Willow. Howard remembered him as “a talented actor with a big free spirit.”
Willie Garson as Riga in Star Trek: Voyager “Thirty Days”. Inset image IMDb
Sex and the City actor and Star Trek guest Willie Garson
February 20, 1964 - September 21, 2021
Actor Willie Garson passed away from pancreatic cancer on September 21, 2021 at the age of 57.
Garson is best known for his role 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”.
Garson’s television appearances hearken back to shows including The X-Files and Quantum Leap, 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.
Richard Evans as Isak in Star Trek “Patterns of Force”
Actor and Star Trek guest Richard Evans
January 23, 1935 - October 2, 2021
“If we adopt the ways of the Nazis, we’re as bad as the Nazis.” So observed Isak, the Zeon underground member who aids Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock in their mission on the planet Ekos in the Star Trek: The Original Series season two episode, “Patterns of Force.” Following a 40-year career, Richard Evans, who played Isak, died of cancer on October 2, 2021. He was 86.
Evans was born in Kansas City, Missouri and “wrote, directed and produced for the big screen and for local theater and was an artist and author. His final book, completed shortly before his death, is a collection of plays to be performed free of rental fees when staged as fundraisers for the homeless.”
Outside of his one appearance in Star Trek, Evans also showed up in many film and television productions, including Wagon Train, Peyton Place, Dirty Little Billy, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and Gunsmoke.
Jan Shutan Levinson at Lt. Mira Romaine in Star Trek “The Lights of Zetar”
Jan Shutan Levinson, Lt. Mira Romaine from Star Trek "The Lights of Zetar"
November 5, 1932 - October 7, 2021
Jan Shutan Levinson, who played Lt. Mira Romaine in the Star Trek: The Original Series season three episode, “The Lights of Zetar,” passed away peacefully on October 7, 2021. She was 88 years old.
Star Trek fans remember Lt. Romaine as the sciences specialist who was on her way to Memory Alpha, the Federation central library and archive, when the Zetarians disrupted her plans and those of the U.S.S. Enterprise. She was also one of the rare individuals who managed to establish a relationship with Montgomery Scott away from his engines and technical journals.
According to her obituary in the Los Angeles Times, Levinson also made dozens of commercials and appeared in guest spots on many popular series, such as The Andy Griffith Show and Charlie’s Angels. Levinson also appeared in The Outer Limits, The Fugitive, and The FBI, among other television shows and films.
Bob Herron as Kahless the Unforgettable in Star Trek “The Savage Curtain”
Bob Herron, legendary stuntman and Star Trek's Kahless the Unforgettable
September 23, 1924 - October 10, 2021
Legendary Hollywood stuntman and Star Trek veteran Bob Herron, died on October 10, 2021 after suffering complications from a fall. He was 97 years old.
Herron, a high school track star and U.S. Navy veteran who was also a champion boxer, began his film career wrangling horses for westerns in the 1940s, but his natural athleticism led him to stunt work starting in 1950. Although he mostly featured in westerns, Herron also doubled in such classic films as 1956’s The Ten Commandments and the 1960 epic Spartacus. He was also a founding member of the Stuntman’s Association.
Herron had a number of connection points to the Star Trek universe, first serving as Jeffrey Hunter’s stunt double in the pilot episode, “The Cage,” and then playing a crew member in the first season episode “Charlie X.” Herron is best known, though, for originating the role of Kahless the Unforgettable (or at least an alien recreation of him) in the TOS episode “The Savage Curtain.”
Following his work on Star Trek, Herron continued in the industry until the age of 86, providing stunt services for TV shows like Mission: Impossible, Batman, The Six Million Dollar Man, and Wonder Woman. He also did stunts for films such as Diamonds are Forever, The Black Hole, and Poltergeist.
William Lucking as Bajoran leader Furel in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
William Lucking, Sons of Anarchy actor and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine guest star
June 17, 1941 - October 18, 2021
William Lucking, who guest-starred on both Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Enterprise, died on October 18, 2021. He was 80 years old.
Lucking’s role as Bajoran resistance leader Furel in three DS9 episodes helped to fill in the backstory of Kira Nerys and Bajoran resistance efforts during the Cardassian occupation. On Enterprise he played Orion privateer Harrad-Sar, who attempted to capture Captain Archer in the fourth season episode “Bound.”
Lucking’s Hollywood career began in 1968 on the TV show Ironside, and he worked steadily for over 40 years. His television credits include classic shows like Mission: Impossible, The X-Files, and William Shatner’s police drama T.J. Hooker. His film credits included The River Wild, Red Dragon, and the Bill Murray comedy Stripes. In 2008 he landed a role in hit crime drama Sons of Anarchy on FX, a featured role he continued until departing the show in its fourth season.
Lucking’s wife Sigrid wrote of him in a Facebook post, “He was a giant of a man with the soul of a poet.”
Camille Saviola as Kai Opaka in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Camille Saviola, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's Kai Opaka
July 16, 1950 - October 20, 2021
Broadway star and Star Trek veteran Camille Saviola passed away on October 20, 2021 of heart failure following a brief illness. She was 71.
Saviola was known to Trek fans for her four-episode turn on Deep Space Nine as Kai Opaka, the pivotal Bajoran spiritual leader who first identified Benjamin Sisko as the foretold Emissary of the Prophets.
Saviola had a variety of career highlights on stage and screen, making her Broadway debut in the show Nine in 1982. Her stage career also included appearing in a revival of Chicago and winning a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award in 2003 for her role in The House of Bernarda Alba. Along with Deep Space Nine, she appeared on a number of classic TV series such as Remington Steele, JAG, ER, and Nip/Tuck. In 2006 she began a recurring role on HBO’s Entourage, playing mom to Jerry Ferrara’s character Turtle.
Dean Stockwell as Colonel Grat in Star Trek: Enterprise “Detained”
Quantum Leap star Dean Stockwell, who also guest starred on Star Trek: Enterprise
March 5, 1936 - November 7, 2021
Actor Dean Stockwell died on November 7, 2021 of natural causes. He was 85 years old.
Stockwell began acting by the age of seven, and almost changed careers at one point prior to being brought on to do Paris, Texas in the early 1980s. He continued acting and retired in 2015. In his career, he appeared on stage, screen, and television with notables such as Errol Flynn, Roddy McDowell, and Katherine Hepburn, among other well-known actors. He earned four Emmy nominations for his iconic lead role as Al Calavicci on Quantum Leap.
He appeared again with his Quantum Leap co-star Scott Bakula as a Tandaran, Col. Grat, in the Star Trek: Enterprise season one episode, “Detained.”
Outside of Star Trek, he also appeared with several other Trek alumni in various projects, including Michael Ansara, Jeffrey Hunter, Arnold Moss, Leonard Nimoy, and George Takei.
“So you will understand when I say, ‘Death is that state in which one exists only in the memory of others...which is why it is not an end.’ No goodbyes. Just good memories. Hailing frequencies closed, sir.”
Parts of this article were originally written by Chris Peterson, Jack Brown and David Powell
