Today in Star Trek History: John Rubinstein is born

Human, Vulcan, and Mazarite John Rubinstein in Star Trek

On December 8, 1946, John Rubinstein was born. Rubinstein appeared in both Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Enterprise. Rubinstein’s mother was a dancer from Warsaw, Poland and his father was the Polish-Jewish concert pianist, Arthur Rubinstein, considered one of the greatest concert pianists of all time.

Rubinstein studied acting at the University of California, Los Angeles, graduating in 1967, later studying composition at Juilliard in New York. In 1972 he made his Broadway debut in Pippin, directed by Bob Fosse, and received a Theatre World Award for creating the titular role. In 1980 he played James Leeds in Children of a Lesser God, for which he received Tony, Drama Desk, Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle, and Drama-League Awards.

He wasn’t finished with Broadway and throughout his career he has appeared in Fools, by Neil Simon, The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial, M Butterfly, Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s Getting Away with Murder, Ragtime, and came full circle in 2014, appearing in the revival of Pippin, this time as Pippin’s father, Charlemagne. He also performed in several Off-Broadway plays, including originating the role of Guildenstern in Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. Other theater credits include Camelot, South Pacific, The Tempest, Arms and the Man, and On a Clear Day You Can See Forever.

Rubenstein has also appeared in over 200 films and television series, including Red Dragon, Someone to Watch Over Me, The Trouble with Girls, Perfect Murder and Roots: The Next Generations. He played Jeff Maitland III in the TV series Family, earning an Emmy Award nomination for the role and he starred in the comedy crime drama Crazy Like a Fox. In that series, he played the hapless and high-strung Harrison Fox, a lawyer whose free-spirited father, Harry (played by Jack Warden,) dragged him into his investigations. Rubinstein has also held recurring roles in many TV series, including The Mentalist, Desperate Housewives,The Wizards of Waverly Place, and The Young and the Restless.

In the Star Trek: Voyager second season opener, “The 37’s”, Rubinstein played John Evansville, one of several descendants of a group of 20th century alien abductees, who had been brought to the Delta Quadrant, along with famed pilot Amelia Earhart. In Star Trek: Enterprise’s “Fallen Hero,” he played a Mazarite Captain, bent on the death of Vulcan Ambassador V’Lar, who had been sent to investigate corruption within the Mazarite government. Finally, also in Enterprise, he appeared in two episodes, “Awakening” and “Kir’Shara,” as the Vulcan Minister Kuvak, who objected to the corruption in his own government and eventually took on a role in the new one.

You can find Rubinstein’s full biography on Wikipedia. Please join us at Daily Star Trek News in wishing him the happiest of 75th birthday.