Warp Factor Trek

We have recently lost members of the Star Trek family. Please join Warp Factor Trek in offering our condolences to the families, friends, and fans.

Barbara Bosson (1939-2023)

One-time Star Trek guest actress Barbara Bosson passed away on 18 February 2023, at the age of eighty-three. Bosson played the Bajoran woman Roana in the second season Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode “Rivals“.

Bosson’s best known role outside of Star Trek was her role of Fay Furillo in the 1980s police procedural drama Hill Street Blues. For the role of Furillo, Bosson earned five Emmy Award nominations during her time on the series from 1981 to 1986. Other roles Bosson had included films such as The Last Starfighter, and television series appearances in NYPD Blue, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, and Murder, She Wrote.

Gerald Fried (1928-2023)

Star Trek composer Gerald Fried passed away on 17 February 2023, at the age of ninety-five, from pneumonia. Fried composed the episode music for five TOS episodes: “Shore Leave“, “Amok Time“, “Catspaw “, “Friday’s Child“, and “The Paradise Syndrome“. One of the cues he composed for the episode “Amok Time” has become famous as Star Trek fight music audible in other episodes, as well as many non-Star Trek productions. 

Fried had nearly 300 credits in films, television, and specials. In addition to his work on the original Star Trek, he was an early collaborator with director Stanley Kubrick, composing the music for several of his films. He received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Score for the 1974 documentary Birds Do It, Bees Do It. On television, he had credits on shows like Gilligan’s Island, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Mission: Impossible, and Lost in Space. He won an Emmy Award in 1977 for the TV miniseries Roots; he also composed the music for its sequel TV miniseries The Next Generations and the 1988 TV film Roots: The Gift. 

Annie Wersching (1977-2023)

Two-time Star Trek guest actress Annie Wersching passed away from cancer on 29 January 2023, at the age of forty-five. She had been diagnosed with cancer in 2020. Wersching first appeared in the first season Star Trek: Enterprise episode “Oasis” in 2002, as Liana, which was her first Hollywood acting role, and had scenes with the late Rene Auberjonois. Twenty years later, she became the third actress to play the Borg Queen, playing her throughout Season 2 of Star Trek: Picard.

Outside of Star Trek, Wersching was best known to audiences as Renee Walker in the action series 24, which she played for two seasons in 2007 and 2008. Wersching also had guest roles in Frasier, Angel, Charmed, The Vampire Diaries, Bosch, Runaways, Timeless and The Rookie. A GoFundMe has been set up to help out her three sons: Freddie, Ozzie and Archie; you can donate here.

Earl Boen (1941-2023)

One time Star Trek: The Next Generation guest actor Earl Boen passed away on 5 January 2023 at the age of eighty-one, from lung cancer. Boen had guest-starred as Nagilum in the second season episode “Where Silence Has Lease”.

Boen was primarily known to science-fiction audiences as Dr. Peter Silberman in the first three Terminator films. Notable television credits Boen had included the Rev. Lloyd Meechum in the television series Mama’s Family. Boen played other clergy in episodes of The Golden Girls, The Wonder Years, Boy Meets World, Seinfeld and Three’s Company.

Boen also had notable roles in such films as Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult, and Nutty Professor II: The Klumps. He also lent his voice talents to such productions as the 1987 direct-to-video film G.I. Joe: The Movie and the introductions for the computer game World of Warcraft and its expansions.

J. Patrick McNamara (1942-2023)

One-time Star Trek guest actor J. Patrick McNamara passed away on 2 January 2023, at the age of eighty. McNamara played U.S.S. Repulse Captain Taggert in the Star Trek: The Next Generation second season episode “Unnatural Selection“.

McNamara’s best known role was Mr. Preston in Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure in 1989, and its 1991 sequel Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey. Other guest roles of his included the television miniseries Roots: The Next Generation, Dallas, Barnaby Jones, The A-Team, Hill Street Blues, Roseanne and Tales from the Crypt.

Maggie Thrett (1946-2022)

One-time Star Trek guest actress Maggie Thrett passed away on 18 December 2022, at the age of seventy-six. Thrett played Ruth Bonaventure in the first season Original Series episode “Mudd’s Women”.

Thrett had a short career from 1962 to 1970. She appeared in such television series as Cimarron Strip, The Wild Wild West, I Dream of Jeannie and had roles in such TV movies as Dimension 5, Three In the Attic, and I Love a Mystery.

Thrett left the entertainment business in 1970 after being in a motorcycle accident with singer-songwriter Gram Parsons. Thrett was not hurt, but Parsons suffered significant injuries.

Judy Levitt (1939-2022)

Three-time Star Trek movie guest actress Judy Levitt passed away on 9 December 2022, at the age of eighty-three. Levitt first appeared as a Mercy Hospital doctor in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home in 1986, then five years later reappeared as a Starfleet Command Admiral in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country and then lastly appeared as an El-Aurian refugee in Star Trek Generations in 1994.

Levitt was married to Star Trek cast member Walter Koenig, who she wed in 1965. She was also the mother of the late Star Trek: Deep Space Nine guest actor Andrew Koenig, who preceded her in death, by suicide, in 2010. Levitt also had bit parts in Babylon 5 and a space shuttle commander in the film Moontrap. Other minor roles she had were in two episodes of Mission: Impossible and the pilot episode of Dynasty.

Gabrielle Beaumont (1942-2022)

On 8 October, Star Trek television director Gabrielle Beaumont died peacefully at the age of eighty at her home in Fronalutx, Spain. Her death was only announced on 14 December. Beaumont was the first female director of a Star Trek episode, directing the episode “Booby Trap” for Star Trek: The Next Generation‘s third season in 1989. It was the first of nine episodes she directed for the franchise. She directed a total of seven TNG episodes, and one each from DS9 and Voyager.

Born in London, Beaumont also directed episodes of M*A*S*H, The Dukes of Hazzard, Miami Vice, Law & Order, and Beverly Hills, 90210. She was a frequent director of Aaron Spelling-produced series, such as Vega$, Dynasty, Hart to Hart, Hotel, The Colbys, and Melrose Place. In 1982, Beaumont married fellow British actor Olaf Pooley, who Beaumont directed in Voyager’s “Blink of an Eye”. They separated prior to 1994, when she married cinematographer Michael J. Davis.

Kirstie Alley (1951-2022)

Star Trek movie guest actress Kristie Alley passed away from cancer on 5 December, at the age of seventy-one. Alley originated the role of Saavik in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. It was the first role for Alley, who was discovered while working as an interior designer in Los Angeles.

She was discovered while appearing on the game shows Match Game in 1979 and Password Plus in 1980. After The Wrath of Khan, Alley was offered to return as Saavik in The Search for Spock, but it was reported she asked for more money than she got for The Wrath of Khan and thus the role of Saavik was re-cast with Robin Curtis for that film and its sequel, The Voyage Home. Alley later became known for the role of Rebecca Howe in the sitcom Cheers, which she played from 1987 to the show’s conclusion in 1993. She won an Emmy Award in 1991 for the role.

After Cheers, she also starred in Veronica’s Closet from 1997 to 2000. Other notable roles included the 1995 remake of the film Village of the Damned and playing a fictionalized version of herself in the 2005 series Fat Actress. She last appeared in 2022, on an episode of The Masked Singer.

Brad William Henke (1966-2022)

Star Trek movie guest star Brad William Henke passed away on 29 November 2022, at the age of fifty-six, though his death wasn’t reported until 2 December. Henke played Uncle Frank in a deleted scene from the 2009 Star Trek  film, in which he treated both James Kirk and his brother George badly. The scene was cut from the theatrical release due to pacing issues.

Henke, in addition to being an actor, was also a professional football player. He was drafted in the fourth round of the 1989 NFL Draft by the New York Giants as a defensive end from the University of Arizona. He was cut during training camp, but then was picked up by the Denver Broncos and eventually was a part of the team that made it to Super Bowl XXIV against the San Francisco 49ers; the 49ers won 55-10. Repeated injuries forced his retirement from football in 1994. 

After his retirement from football, he tried his hand at acting, appearing in such films as October Road and World Trade Center. He also made guest appearances in television series such as ER, Dexter, Lost, Justified, and The Office. His best known role was Desi Piscatella, a gay corrections officer, in Netflix’s Orange is The New Black. He played the role for two seasons, winning as part of the cast for the 2016 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series.

Tim McCormack (1948-2022)

Star Trek background actor Tim McCormack passed away unexpectedly on 21 November 2022, at the age of seventy-four. He frequently appeared as Ensign Bennett throughout the first four seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation. He also was the main stand-in for Brent Spiner as Data and a stand-in for recurring and guest actors for the first six seasons of TNG. In addition, he played a dead body in the fifth season TNG episode “Ethics”.

McCormack earned his Master of Fine Arts degree from Florida State University in 1977. Prior to TNG, he appeared in 1979’s Gal Young Un as Blaine and, from 1985 to 1987, he appeared in twenty-two episodes of the television series The Colbys.

Greg Bear (1951-2022)

Star Trek novelist and artist Greg Bear has died on 19 November, at age seventy-one. Bear also contributed artwork to the Star Trek Concordance, which was first published in 1969 and re-issued in 1976. Bear later wrote the fifteenth Original Series novel, Corona, which was originally published in April 1984, mere months before Star Trek III: The Search for Spock hit theaters in June of that year.

Bear was best known for his science-fiction novels, into which he put a high level of scientific detail. Through the novels he wrote, he often addressed questions in contemporary science and offered solutions to those questions.

Bear’s books earned him five Nebula Awards, two Hugo Awards, two Endeavour Awards, and the Galaxy Award (China). His last published novel was The Unfinished Land in 2021. In addition to his written works, Bear was also one of the original founders of San Diego Comic-Con, which began in 1970 and has grown to be one of the biggest annual conventions in the world.

A couple of Star Trek writers offered up condolences about Bear’s passing on social media. In addition to John Jackson Miller referring to it on Twitter as “unhappy news,” Original Series writer David Gerrold had this to say the day before Bear’s passing, in a Facebook post: “Greg was always smiling, always fun-loving, always a delight to be around. And he was a damn good writer too. The worst part of getting old is losing friends one by one.” Star Trek: The Next Generation writer Melinda M. Snodgrass also offered up condolences. She commented, “Such very sad news that Greg Bear has passed away. He was not only a great writer, but a lovely human being. He gave me a lot of encouragement when I was a young writer just starting out.”

John Aniston (1933-2022)

One-time Star Trek: Voyager guest actor John Aniston passed away on 11 November 2022, at the age of eighty-nine. Aniston, the father of Friends actress Jennifer Aniston, played the Quarren Ambassador in the seventh season Star Trek: Voyager two-parter “Workforce” and “Workforce, Part II”. Aniston had a career spanning multiple decades. His best known role was that of Victor Kiriakis in the soap opera Days of Our Lives, which he had been playing since 1985. He also had a long-running stint on the soap opera Search for Tomorrow from 1980 to 1984. Aniston also had guest-starring roles on Airwolf,The West Wing, Combat!, and Mad Men.

William Knight (1933-2022)

Two-time Star Trek guest actor William Knight passed away on 8 November 2022, at the age of eighty-eight. Knight appeared as the character of Moody in the first season Star Trek episode “The Naked Time”. He also made an uncredited appearance a year later, in “The Trouble with Tribbles”.

Knight racked up over 300 appearances, mainly in short films and television series. He appeared in such television shows as Zoey 101 and Knight Rider.

Andrew Prine (1936-2022)

Two-time Star Trek guest actor Andrew Prine passed away on 31 October 2022, at the age of eighty-six, due to natural causes while he and his wife were on a vacation to Paris, France. Prine first appeared as Suna, in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “Frame of Mind”. Prine also appeared in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode “Life Support”, as Cardassian Legate Turrel.

Prine was best known for his role in the television series Weird Science, playing the character of Wayne Donnelly. He also was best known as Dick Garnett in the films Gettysburg and Gods and Generals. He was no stranger to science fiction prior to his Star Trek appearances, starring with TNG cast member Denise Crosby in 1986’s Eliminators. Prine also played the role of Steven in the miniseries V and its sequel V: The Final Battle.

Leslie Jordan (1955-2022)

One-time Star Trek: Voyager guest actor Leslie Jordan passed away on 24 October 2022, from a car accident in Los Angeles. Jordan was the second actor to play the Ferengi Kol, the associate of Dr. Arridor, in the third season episode “False Profits”. The episode, a sequel to “The Price” from TNG, was one of four episodes originally produced for the second season of Voyager that were held over and aired in the third season.

Outside of Star Trek, Jordan was best known to audiences as “Beverley Leslie”, the homophobic (though obviously homosexual) millionaire rival of Megan Mullally‘s character of Karen Walker in the long-running sitcom Will & Grace. For this role, Jordan won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series, which he won in 2006. Jordan also had recurring roles on Boston Legal and Boston Public. His other roles included ones in Nash Bridges, Murphy Brown, and Ally McBeal. He also lent his voice talent to the Seth MacFarlane animated comedy series American Dad; one of the episodes he lent his voice to happened to be titled “Star Trek”.

Robert Brown (1926-2022)

One-time Star Trek: The Original Series guest actor Robert Brown passed away on 19 September, at the age of ninety-five. Brown guest-starred as Lazarus in the original Star Trek episode “The Alternative Factor”.

It was a last-minute decision that Brown guest-star as Lazarus. The original choice for the role, John Drew Barrymore, failed to show up for shooting. Brown was also involved in a similar situation that happened a year later – he was originally slated to star as Detective Steve McGarrett in the original Hawaii Five-O television series, before the producers had a change of heart and replaced Brown with Jack Lord. 

To audiences of the late 1960s, Brown was best known as the charismatic lumberjack Jason Bolt in the television series Here Come the Brides, a role that lasted for two seasons and fifty-two episodes, from 1968 to 1970. He had worked on other shows prior to that one and Star Trek, appearing in such series as Wagon Train, Bonanza, and Perry Mason. 

After Here Come the Brides, Brown guest-starred in such television series as Bewitched, Mannix, Columbo, Archie Bunker’s Place, Fantasy Island, and In the Heat of the Night. The In the Heat of the Night role was his last on-screen credit, in 1994. Brown also had two film credits, in 1958’s The Flame Barrier and 1962’s Tower of London. 

Louise Fletcher (1934-2022)

Recurring Star Trek: Deep Space Nine guest actress Louise Fletcher died on 23 September 2022, at the age of eighty-eight. Fletcher played Winn Adami, the ambitious Bajoran religious leader, throughout the run of Deep Space Nine. Fletcher made fourteen appearances throughout the run of the series as Winn, first appearing in “In the Hands of the Prophets” and last appearing in the series finale “What You Leave Behind”.

Born “Estelle Louise Fletcher” on 22 July 1934 in Birmingham, Alabama, Fletcher had a career over nearly six decades starting in 1958, with television appearances in Lawman and Maverick and The Untouchables in 1959. However, in 1976, she achieved her greatest fame as Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.

She earned an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and a Golden Globe for her performance in the film. At the time, she was only the third actress to win all three awards for a single performance, joining Audrey Hepburn and Liza Minnelli. Since her parents were deaf, when she accepted her Oscar, she thanked them in sign language.

In her later years, Fletcher earned Emmy Award nominations for her roles in the television series Picket Fences in 1996 and Joan of Arcadia in 2004. Her last on-screen credit was that of Rosie in the 2017 Netflix comedy series Girlboss.

Marva Hicks (1956-2022)

Two-time Star Trek: Voyager guest actress Marva Hicks passed away on 17 September 2022, at the age of sixty-six. Hicks played T’Pel, the wife of Tuvok, in the episodes “Persistence of Vision” and “Body and Soul”. Her two appearances were separated by five years.

Hicks was primarily known as an R&B singer. She signed with record label Polydor in the late 1980s, and released a debut album in 1991. She had a top ten hit, “Never Been in Love Before”, which peaked at number seven. Hicks also sang with Michael Jackson as a background singer at the Jerudong Park amphitheater in Brunei.

Outside of her musical background, Hicks also appeared as an actress in over two dozen television and film productions. Before Voyager, she had a recurring role in the second and third seasons of the sitcom Mad About You. She was also a cast member of the soap opera One Life to Live from 1997 to 1998 and lent her singing talent to the family film The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars, which was a direct-to-video release also in 1998. Her last on-screen credit was in 2019, for an episode of Madam Secretary.

Marsha Hunt (1917-2022)

One-time Star Trek: The Next Generation guest actress Marsha Hunt passed away on 7 September due to natural causes, at the age of 104. Hunt guest-starred as Anne Jameson, the wife of Admiral Mark Jameson, in the first season episode “Too Short a Season”, in which Admiral Jameson took an anti-aging drug that made him increasingly younger until he eventually died. Hunt’s TNG appearance was actually one of her last on-screen appearances before she retired from acting in 2014.

She had a career spanning nearly eighty years, though most of her credits pre-date the Star Trek franchise. She appeared in a dozen films for Paramount Pictures from 1935 to 1938, starring alongside John Wayne in 1937’s Born to the West. She also made twenty-one film appearances for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer between 1941 and 1947, starring opposite Lionel Barrymore in The Penalty (1941) and Red Skelton in Panama Hattie (1942). Her last on-screen credit appearance was as herself in a 2014 documentary called Marsha Hunt’s Sweet Adversity.

Wayne Grace (1940-2022)

Three-time Star Trek guest actor Wayne Grace passed away on 13 August 2022, at the age of eighty-two. Grace first appeared as the Klingon Torak in the sixth season Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “Aquiel”. Later, Grace play an unnamed Cardassian Legate in the sixth season Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode “Wrongs Darker Than Death or Night”. His last Star Trek role was the Klingon Admiral Krell in the fourth season Star Trek: Enterprise episode “Divergence”.

Grace racked up a few other credits during his career. He appeared in such films as Dances with Wolves, Volcano, and Mulholland Drive. He also made a guest appearance in a 1995 episode of The X-Files.

Nichelle Nichols (1932-2022)

Nichelle Nichols passed away from natural causes on 31 July, at the age of eighty-nine. Nichols is perhaps best known for playing USS Enterprise communications officer Uhura. She played the role for twenty-five years, from The Original Series in 1966 through Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country in 1991. With film stock from TOS: “The Trouble with Tribbles”, she made an appearance as Uhura in the Deep Space Nine episode “Trials and Tribble-ations”. Via the use of archival audio files, her voice was also included in the Star Trek: Prodigy episode “Kobayashi”.

Outside of her role of Uhura, Nichols was perhaps best known for her recruiting efforts with NASA for many decades, to bring women and minority astronauts into the space agency. One such example was astronaut Dr. Mae Jemison, who guest-starred in TNG: “Second Chances”. Jemison always cited Nichols and Uhura as inspirations for joining NASA.  

Nichols broke television ground with her role in Star Trek during the civil rights movement of the 1960s. At one point, she met civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and informed him she was planning to leave at the end of Star Trek‘s first season in 1967. King emphatically told her she could not, as it was the one show his family were watching that portrayed African-Americans in a positive light. Nichols informed Gene Roddenberry of the positive acclaim King held for his series, and the rest is history.

Paul Sorvino (1939-2022)

Star Trek guest actor Paul Sorvino has died at the age of eighty-three, after battling multiple health issues. His death was reported by his wife, DeeDee Sorvino. Paul Sorvino guest-starred as Nickolai Rozhenko, the foster brother of Worf, in the seventh season Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “Homeward”.

Sorvino was best known for playing Mafia don Paulie Cicero in Goodfellas, considered by many to be one of the best films ever made, particularly of the gangster genre. Sorvino also played NYPD Sergeant Philip Cerreta in Seasons 2 and 3 of the original Law & Order television series. Other notable credits of his included Dick Tracy, The Rocketeer, Henry Kissinger in Nixon, and Hey Arnold!: The Movie.

David Warner (1941-2022)

Due to cancer, David Warner passed away at the age of eighty on 24 July. Warner played three iconic roles in Star Trek. He originally played the Federation ambassador to Nimbus III, St. John Talbot, in 1989’s Star Trek V: The Final Frontier. Two years later, he returned to Star Trek as Klingon Chancellor Gorkon in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. A year after that film was released, he returned as the Cardassian Gul Madred in the sixth season Star Trek: The Next Generation two-parter “Chain of Command”.

Warner had a prolific career, spanning multiple decades. He had iconic roles such as Jack the Ripper in the 1979 film Time After Time, which also starred Star Trek Generations actor Malcolm McDowell and was directed by The Undiscovered Country director Nicholas Meyer. Warner also had roles such as Keith Jennings in 1976’s The Omen and Ed Dillinger in 1982’s Tron. In his later years, he played Professor Jordan Perry in 1991’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze, Spicer Lovejoy in 1997’s Titanic, Admiral Geoffrey Tolwyn in the 1999 adaptation of the video game Wing Commander, and Senator Sandar in the 2001 remake of Planet of the Apes. His last film role was that of Admiral Boom in the 2018 film Mary Poppins Returns.

Gregory Itzin (1948-2022)

Five-time Star Trek guest actor Gregory Itzin has passed away at the age of seventy-four.  He first appeared as the Tandaran Ilon Tandro in the Deep Space Nine episode “Dax”, an early first season episode that ended up being the last on-screen writing credit for Dorothy “D.C.” Fontana. Five years later, Itzin reappeared as Hain in the sixth season DS9 episode “Who Mourns for Morn?”  In 2000, he returned to Star Trek as Dr. Dysek in the Star Trek: Voyager episode “Critical Care”. His last two Star Trek appearances were in Star Trek: Enterprise, in which he first appeared as the Vulcan Captain Sopek in “Shadows of P’Jem” and then as the Mirror Universe Admiral Black in “In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II”.

His best known role was that of Charles Logan in 24. His death was reported by former 24 producer Jon Cassar on Twitter. His career spanned five decades, appearing in such hit 1970s and 1980s television series as Charlie’s Angels and Fame.

Dorothy Duder (1952-2022)

Dorothy Duder, the wife of Star Trek scenic artist Doug Drexler, has passed away at the age of seventy.

Duder was the food stylist for the entire four-season run of Star Trek: Enterprise. Enterprise was the first Star Trek production to have a permanent food stylist on the production crew preparing food for filming. The work she did included all of the meals that were served on the Mess Hall set and the Captain’s Dining Table, including retro-Trek food and alien banquets.

Greg Jein (1945-2022)

Greg Jein has died, as was reported by a friend and colleague of his, former Star Trek illustrator Rick Sternbach.

Jein was a model maker with the Star Trek franchise for almost thirty years. He was subcontracted in 1977, when Magicam hired him to work on the Klingon D7-class cruiser for the aborted Star Trek: Phase II television series. While this version was ultimately not used, he was hired to do several miniatures for Star Trek: The Motion Picture. He went on to help create several well-known miniatures, such as the USS Enterprise-D for The Next Generation. He was nominated in 1997 for his work on the Deep Space Nine episode “Trials and Tribble-ations”.

Outside of Star Trek, Jein was known for his work on Close Encounters of the Third Kind and 1941, which earned him an Academy Award nomination each for both films. One of his most recent credits was working on the 2014 film Interstellar.

Mary Mara (1960-2022)

Mary Mara has died at the age of sixty-one.

According to a police report published 27 June 2022, Mara was discovered in the St. Lawrence River in Cape Vincent around 8:10 pm on 26 June by various officers of the New York State Police. According to a statement from a representative, Mara was staying at the summer home of her sister Martha. A preliminary investigation suggested Mara died by drowning while swimming.

Mara guest-starred as the unnamed Sphere Builder Presage in the final three episodes of Star Trek: Enterprise’s third season: “The Council”, “Countdown”, and “Zero Hour”.

Mara was a prolific actress. She appeared in recurring roles in ER and Law & Order before landing a starring role in 1996, playing Inspector Brynn Carson in the first two seasons of CBS police procedural Nash Bridges.

Mara most recently had two guest-starring roles on television, both in 2014 – on the ABC soap opera General Hospital and the CBS crime drama Criminal Minds.

Walter Soo Hoo (1932-2022)

Background Star Trek guest actor Walter Soo Hoo passed away on 20 June 2022 at the age of ninety. Soo Hoo made three background appearances during the first two seasons of the original Star Trek series, and received no credit for his appearances. He appeared in the first aired episode, “The Man Trap”, as an Enterprise command level technician, and later on in “The Devil in the Dark” as a Janus VI engineer. During Season 2, Soo Hoo made an uncredited appearance as a Kohm guard in “The Omega Glory”.

Survived by six siblings (all of whom are also actors), Soo Hoo started as a child actor at the age of five with the short film The Rainbow Pass. He joined the Screen Actors Guild in 1954, took over his family’s business (Chew Yuen Company), founded Phoenix Imports in 1975, and then established Hop Louie restaurant in Los Angeles’ Chinatown neighborhood in 1985.

Eric Webb (1978-2022)

Eric Webb passed away on 6 June 2022, after a month-long battle with sepsis. He’d helped to contribute a story treatment for an unproduced sequel to 2013’s Star Trek Into Darkness prior to Star Trek Beyond being commissioned and produced in 2016.

A post on his social media pages reads: “He was at home with his mother and fiancé as his heart gave out after this long and difficult health battle. It is impossible to describe how much Eric meant to all of us and how much of a tragedy it is that someone so loving, passionate, and unique has been lost to this world.“

The family is asking for donations to his GoFundMe page to help pay for funeral expenses: which can be found here, https://www.gofundme.com/f/lay-a-beloved-writer-friend-and-partner-to-rest.

Michael Braveheart (1960-2022)

Frequent Star Trek background performer Michael Braveheart passed away in May of 2022 at the age of sixty-one from chronic congestive heart failure and arthritis. Braveheart, born of Native American descent, was a frequent stand-in and background actor for The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise and even appeared in Star Trek: First Contact and Star Trek: Insurrection. One of his background roles was that of Crewman Martinez, first appearing in “The Child”. 

Braveheart also appeared as various aliens and Klingons throughout Deep Space Nine and Voyager and as a background actor, he received no credit for his appearances. He also appeared as a Klingon in two Star Trek video games. Outside of Star Trek, he appeared as background for the television series Cagney & Lacey in the 1980s. He even directed a couple of short films, Prayer for My Daughter and Fame, both in 2019.

Jack Kehler (1946-2022)

Jack Kehler has passed away at the age of seventy-five. His death was reported on 9 May 2022, but his son Eddie said that he died on 7 May 2022, of complications from leukemia, at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Kehler was a one-time Star Trek guest actor, having played the Boslic freighter captain Jaheel in the first-season Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode “Babel”.

Outside of Star Trek, Kehler had numerous supporting roles in various television series and films. His most notable credits include The Dude’s landlord Marty in The Big Lebowski as well other notable roles in films such as Invincible, Pineapple Express, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, Lethal Weapon 4, Waterworld,I Love You to Death, Men in Black II, and Year of the Dragon. His acting credits on television included Hill Street Blues, Hunter, Cagney & Lacey, L.A. Law, Newhart,St. Elsewhere,ER, 24, NYPD Blue, Angel, Mad Men, Monk,Bones, and, most recently, Love, Victor.

Kenneth Welsh (1942 – 2022)

Kenneth Welsh passed away on 5 May 2022, at the age of eighty.

A highly regarded film actor in Canada, he is perhaps best known for his role in Twin Peaks. He also appeared as the Vice President of the United States, Raymond Baker (modeled after then-VP Dick Cheney), in the 2004 disaster film The Day After Tomorrow and as Dr. Hepburn, the father of Katherine Hepburn, in The Aviator.

Welsh played Admiral Senna Tal, one of the hosts of the Tal symbiont, in the third season Star Trek: Discovery episodes “People of Earth” and “Forget Me Not”.

Pamela Kosh (1928-2022)

Two-time Star Trek: The Next Generation guest actress Pamela Kosh passed away on 4 May 2022 at the age of ninety-three. Kosh, who was born in Kent, England, played two different characters. She first appeared as the landlord Mrs. Carmichael in “Time’s Arrow, Part II”, in 1992, then two years later reappeared as Data’s housekeeper Jessel in the series finale “All Good Things…”

Kosh’s other acting credits included multiple episodes of The King of Queens, Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman, Northern Exposure, Frasier, Family Matters, Providence, and Alias. Kosh’s best known role on television was drama teacher Mrs. Simpson in Saved By the Bell, a role she had for four seasons of that show and one appearance in its spin-off series, Saved By the Bell: The New Class.

Naomi Judd (1946 – 2022)

An honorable mention to Naomi Judd, the mother of two-time Star Trek: The Next Generation guest star Ashley Judd. Naomi died of suicide on 30 April 2022 in Nashville, Tennessee. She was seventy-six.

Naomi Judd was best known as a singer – one half of the country-music duo The Judds, along with her daughter Wynonna – and died one day before she would have been inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Ashley Judd guest starred as Robin Lefler in two early fifth-season episodes – “Darmok” and “The Game” – the latter of which originally aired four days after the death of Gene Roddenberry in 1991.

Mike Hagerty (1954 – 2022)

Mike Hagerty passed away on 29 April 2022, at the age of sixty-seven. His death was confirmed by his co-star on the HBO comedy Somebody Somewhere, Bridget Everett.

Hagerty is perhaps best known for the role of Mr. Treeger in the sitcom Friends as well as the used-clothing store owner Rudy in Seinfeld.

Hagerty played two characters in Star Trek, both during Star Trek: The Next Generation. He played the Klingon Larg in the fifth-season episode “Redemption II”. In that episode, Larg and Kurn (Tony Todd) shared a drink with each other in a bar in the capital city on Qo’noS. Two years later, he played the Barkonian blacksmith Skoran in Season 7’s “Thine Own Self”.

David Birney (1939 – 2022)

David Birney passed away on 27 April 2022, after a lengthy battle with Alzheimer’s Disease. He was eighty-three.

Birney was best known for playing Bernie Steinberg in the short-lived sitcom Bridget Loves Bernie and Dr. Ben Samuels in the 1980s medical drama St. Elsewhere. To Star Trek fans, he was a memorable Romulan who took potshots at Klingons across a table.

Birney played the Romulan Senator Letant in the sixth season finale of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, “Tears of the Prophets”. In a memorable scene that takes place while the Federation Alliance are planning to attack the Dominion in the Chin’toka system, Letant takes shots at the Klingons sitting across the table from him. He even enrages General Martok (J.G. Hertzler) by saying, “Notice the primitive rage in his eye… the uncontrolled brutality. Klingons can be quite entertaining, don’t you agree? I think every Romulan zoo should have a pair.”

Gary Bullock (1941-2022)

Two-time Star Trek guest actor Gary Bullock passed away on 11 April 2022 at the age of eighty. Bullock first appeared in the third season Star Trek: Voyager episode “Rise” in 1997 as Goth, an Etanian commander who led an invasion of the neighboring Nezu by bombarding their planet with asteroids as a prelude. Six years after that appearance in Voyager, Bullock reappear as a Klingon councilor in the Star Trek: Enterprise second season finale “The Expanse”.

Bullock’s other credits included such films as RoboCop 3, Holes, Children of the Corn V: Fields of Terror, Children of the Corn 666: Isaac’s Return, Bubble Boy and Species. He made several appearances as Abraham Lincoln in three different television series: Sabrina, The Teenage Witch, Teen Angel and Weird Science. Other television credits Bullock had included The X-Files, Roseanne, The Shield and NYPD Blue.

Nehemiah Persoff (1919-2022)

One-time Star Trek: The Next Generation guest actor Nehemiah Persoff passed away on 5 April 2022 at the age of 102 from heart failure. Persoff guest starred as the collector Palor Toff in the third season episode “The Most Toys”. Persoff appeared in over 200 film and television appearances throughout his career, and he retired in 1999. Other acting roles of his included Jake “Greasy Thumb” Guzik in The Untouchables television series, Papa Mouskewitz in the American Tail series, Gunsmoke, Doogie Howser, M.D., Murder, She Wrote and L.A. Law.

In addition to his acting, due to his declining health in the 1980s, he took up watercolor painting as a hobby in 1985. When he retired fourteen years later, he started to create many works of art, much of which was exhibited in California.

Estelle Harris (1928-2022)

One-time Star Trek: Voyager guest actress Estelle Harris passed away on 2 April 2022 at the age of ninety-three of natural causes. Harris played the part of “Old Woman” in the third season episode “Sacred Ground”. The episode was originally shot and produced for season two of Voyager, but this episode and three others were held over and aired as a part of season three. 

Harris was best known to sitcom audiences of the 1990s as Estelle Costanza in the sitcom Seinfeld, first appearing in 1992 and began a run as the character for a total of twenty-nine episodes throughout the sitcom’s run, even appearing in that show’s series finale in 1998. She also made a career working in family-oriented fare as well, voicing Mrs. Potato Head in three of the four Toy Story films, Dave the Barbarian as Lula, The Suite Life of Zack & Cody as Muriel and Fanboy & Chum Chum as the mother of one of the supporting characters.

Valora Norland (1941-2022)

One-time Original Series guest actress Valora Norland passed away on 27 March 2022 at the age of eighty. Norland guest starred as Daras in the Original Series episode “Patterns of Force”. In addition to Star Trek, Norland guest starred in shows such as The Rifleman, Laramie, Wagon Train, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., and Mannix. 

Her film roles included supporting roles in the 1963 film Beach Party and the 1964 film Muscle Beach Party, followed by a larger role in Summer Children (1965). Her last known film role was in 1967’s The War Wagon, acting alongside John Wayne. Norland left Los Angeles and the acting profession in January 1968, shortly after filming her scenes in “Patterns of Force”. She later became an active photographer and writer under the name “””Valora Tree.

Kathryn Hays (1933-2022)

One-time Star Trek guest actress Kathryn Hays passed away on 25 March 2022 at the age of eighty-eight. Hays played the character of Gem in the Original Series third season episode “The Empath”. She had an active career, appearing in such shows as The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Bonanza, The Virginian, Night Gallery, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and Naked City, in an episode written by Gene Roddenberry. She also appear in shows such as Law & Order and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit in her later acting career.

However, to soap opera fans, Hays was best known for playing Kim Hughes in As The World Turns. She play the role from 1972 until the show’s cancellation in 2010. She appeared in only four feature films throughout her career, Ladybug Ladybug (1963), Ride Beyond Vengeance (1966), Counterpoint (1968) and Yuma (1971).

Mitchell Ryan (1934-2022)

One-time Star Trek: The Next Generation guest actor Mitchell Ryan passed away on 4 March 2022 at the age of eighty-eight from heart failure. Ryan played Kyle Riker, the father of Jonathan Frakes’ William Riker, in the second season episode “The Icarus Factor”. He had auditioned for the role of Jean-Luc Picard, the role that ultimately went to Patrick Stewart.

Ryan was known for playing the villain of the original Lethal Weapon film, and other roles in Hot Shots! Part Deux, Liar Liar, Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers and the 1995 version of Judge Dredd. Other roles of his included the North and South miniseries, Dharma & Greg, and the soap opera Dark Shadows.

Kirk Baily (1963-2022)

One-time Star Trek: Voyager guest actor Kirk Baily passed away on 28 February 2022 at the age of fifty-nine. Baily guest starred as Magnus Hansen, the father of Annika Hansen (aka Seven of Nine) in the feature-length fifth season episode “Dark Frontier”. Baily took over the role from David Anthony Marshall, who had played the character in “Scorpion, Part II” and “The Raven”. Baily had worked primarily as a voiceover actor, appearing in anime series such as Cowboy Bebop, and Ghost in the Shell: Complex.

He got his start in show business in 1988, working as a sound coordinator on the film Killer Klowns from Outer Space. He also appeared in such shows as Salute Your Shorts, Felicity, Sisters, and NYPD Blue.

Laurel Goodwin (1942-2022)

Original Star Trek cast member Laurel Goodwin passed away on 25 February 2022 at the age of seventy-nine. Goodwin played Yeoman J.M. Colt in the first Star Trek pilot, “The Cage”. Scenes with Goodwin as Colt also appeared in the first season two-part episode “The Menagerie”. At the time of her death, she was the last surviving credited cast member of the original pilot.

Goodwin had a short entertainment career, spanning from 1962 to 1971. Goodwin first appeared in the 1962 Girls! Girls! Girls! as Elvis Presley’s love interest in the film. Other notable credits include Papa’s Delicate Condition, and the television series Mannix, Get Smart, and The Beverly Hillbillies. Goodwin retired from acting in 1971 to pursue a career in home nursing for over three decades.

Sally Kellerman (1937-2022)

One-time Star Trek guest actress Sally Kellerman passed away on 24 February 2022 at the age of eighty-four. Kellerman played Dr. Elizabeth Dehner, the Enterprise’s psychiatrist, in the second Star Trek pilot, “Where No Man Has Gone Before”. Kellerman had a career spanning nearly six decades. Kellerman’s best known role outside of Star Trek was Major Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan in the 1970 film version of M*A*S*H. The role earned Kellerman an Oscar nomination.

Other notable film credits include several other films with M*A*S*H director Robert Altman, such as Brewster McCloud, Welcome to L.A., and The Player. Other television series that Kellerman appeared include The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits, Bonanza, The Minor Accomplishments of Jackie Woodman and the Beverly Hills 90120 remake 90120. One of her major voice accomplishments was in 1985’s Sesame Street Presents: Follow That Bird.

Ralph Maurer (1933-2022)

Two-time Original Series guest actor Ralph Maurer passed away on 24 February 2022 at the age of eighty-eight, in Edina, Minnesota. Maurer first appeared as Bilar in the first season Original Series episode “The Return of the Archons” then a year later he appear as a SS Lieutenant in “Patterns of Force”. Besides his roles on Star Trek, Maurer appeared in such shows as The Lucy Show, Mission: Impossible, Mrs. Columbo, Mannix, Quincy M.E., Dallas and The Star Wars Holiday Special.

He continued his work as a voiceover actor in the 1980s and 1990s, lending his vocal talents to such films as The Seventh Sign, An American Tail: Fievel Goes West, RoboCop 3, The Flintstones (1994), Independence Day, Stargate, and Die Hard: With a Vengeance. Maurer retired from acting in 2000, and taught acting classes in Minnesota, where he resided until his death.