R.I.P. Roberto Orci 1973 - 2025

Writer and producer Roberto Orci died February 25 at the age of 51 after a battle with kidney disease. Orci along with his writing partner Alex Kurtzman co-wrote and produced Star Trek (2007), Star Trek Into Darkness, Transformers, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, jump starting those major franchises in the 21st century. 

Those were not the only movies as co-wrote The Island, The Legend of Zorro, Mission: Impossible III, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, and more. On the television front, he got his start working on Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess, later writing for and producing Alias, Fringe, Transformers: Prime, Sleepy Hallow, Hawaii Five-O and more. 

His other producing projects including the Now You See Me movies, Scorpion tv show and more. If you are a bit of a geek, he probably was far more influential on your interests than even aware. 

“He was a visionary storyteller with a boundless heart and a beautiful soul,” Orci’s brother, J.R. Orci said to Deadline. “But beyond his creative talents, he was a compassionate friend who would put his life on hold to help a stranger and find room in his home for the most overlooked pup at the shelter.” 

A long time Trekkie, in another world Roberto would have been in charge of the franchise instead of his ex-partner Kurtzman who was dragged by Orci into the franchise. Orci participated in Trek conventions, commented on the franchise online and in social media.

He even named the captain of the USS Kelvin in Star Trek (2009) after his uncle Richard Robau who introduced him the series as a young boy, commenting on TrekMovie saying "How much do I care [about Star Trek]? My late best wonderful uncle introduced me to this world. I would never do anything to hurt Trek. I will always care. For my Captain Robau."

Condolences to his friends and family on their loss.

R.I.P. Tony Todd 1954-2024

Actor Tony Todd died on November 6, 2024 at the age of 69. The news was revealed by his wife, Fatima, who said he died at home after a long illness. If you are an entertainment fan of any kind, chances are will recognize the name, the face or his voice.

For Star Trek fans, he was Kurn in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine. He also played Alpha Hirogen in Star Trek: Voyager. For horror fans, may recognize him as the star of Candyman franchise or appearances in Final Destination movies among many horror movies he was in. For TV fans, he was the voice of Zoom in The Flash, was on Law & Order, Homicide: Life on the Streets and many more. 

For movies, he was in Platoon, Lean on Me, Colors, Night of the Living Dead remake, and again many more. For video games, he voice Venom in Spider-Man 2, and voiced characters in Half-Live, Call of Duty and yep more. Animation he was the go-to voice for Darkseid in various DC animated movies among his many voice roles. Seeing the theme? He was basically everywhere in TV, movies, video games and animation with over 200 acting credits.

“You gotta have audience sympathy for the character in some way or another,” Todd told Deadline in a 2022 interview. “There’s gotta be something attractive about the character that makes people want to root for them but at the same time feel repulsed by the idea. And for me personally, for every film that I do, I create a backstory for all my tortured people and my heroes alike.” 

New Line Cinema summarized it best saying "The industry has lost a legend. We have lost a cherished friend. Rest in peace, Tony."

R.I.P James Darren 1936 - 2024

Deep Space Nine has lost a crew member as James Darren died at 88 on September 2nd. The news was shared by his friend Nancy Sinatra who wrote "One of my dearest, closest friends in all the world, of all my life has passed away. Godfather to my daughter, AJ. Wishing him a fast and beautiful journey through the Universe and beyond. Godspeed, sweet Jimmy. My heart is torn but full of love for Evy, Christian, Anthony and Jimmy, Jr."

For Star Trek fans he is forever Vic Fontaine, the holodeck club owner who was available to offer advice or a quiet place for the crew during the Dominion War. For others, he was the partner to William Shatner in the TV series TJ Hooker. His other work includes being the lead in Gidget series of films, All the Young Men, The Guns of Navarone, and other movies. For TV he was in Hawaii Five-O, The Love Boat, Fantasy Island and more. He also directed with credits on The A-Team, Walker Texas Ranger, Beverly Hills 90210 and more. He had a long and good career that touched onto a lot of today's pop culture milestones. 

As William Shatner wrote, "What a wonderful man - so talented; so loving. I had the best time with him. The world is less because of his loss." You can find a two hour interview with the actor from last year on The Shuttlepod Show.

He is survived by his wife Evy, three sons, five grandchildren and 1 goddaughter. Condolences to his family for their loss.

R.I.P. Manny Coto 1961 - 2023

Emmy Award winning Star Trek: Enterprise producer Manuel Coto ("Manny") died Sunday July 9 at the age of 62 after a thirteen month battle with pancreatic cancer. He was born on June 10, 1961 in Havana, Cuba. If you consider season 4 of Star Trek: Enterprise to be "the good one", you can thank him. 

He started with the show as writer and co-executive producer in season three and then for the fourth was promoted to executive producer and showrunner. The result was a season that was a love letter to Star Trek finally showing the series full potential with great stories, characterizations and dives into lore. 

Coto said about working on season 4 of Enterprise, “I wanted to tell more complex stories. One of the first things I wanted to do was tell stories in three-episode arcs where we could actually create little min-feature films…. And I wanted to tell more sweeping tales that tied into The Original Series because Enterprise was a prequel and I felt that, at a certain point, the show should begin to tack towards things that we remembered from The Original Series. I thought it would be nice and fun and tremendously rich to explore facets of The Original Series and of the Star Trek universe that were there but had not been fleshed out.” 

After Star Trek, he worked on "24" in all its iterations including winning a writing Emmy in 2006 for his work on the series. Other writing and producing work included Odyssey 5, Dexter, American Horror Stories and more. 

20th Television and FX said in a statement, “Manny was an incredibly beloved member of the 20th Television and FX family for close to two decades. He was brilliantly creative with a deep intellectual curiosity, and his loyalty and friendship touched many. He will be immensely missed by all who were fortunate to have known and worked with him over the years, and our sincere condolences go out to his beautiful family at this most difficult time.” Star Trek: Enterprise creator Brannon Braga wrote "...Manny loved reading genre fiction and he was a master at writing it. I learned so much from Manny and consider myself one of the lucky people who got to know and work with him. I will miss his imagination and generosity and most of all, his laugh. RIP Manny Coto." 

More condolence messages can be found at TrekMovie.com. Oscar-winning screenwriter Brian Helgeland shared his thoughts on his friend that is worth reading. Condolences to his family on their great loss.

R.I.P. Annie Wersching 1977 - 2023

It is with sadness to announce that prolific TV actress Annie Wersching died of cancer this morning at the age of 45. The cancer type was not specified except that she was diagnosed in 2020. For Star Trek fans, she played the Borg queen in season two of Star Trek: Picard. You may also remember her from great turns in Bosch, Runaways, Timeless, 24, The Rookie, voicing Tess in The Last of Us, and a whole lot more.

Wersching’s husband, actor Stephen Full, issued a statement. “There is a cavernous hole in the soul of this family today. But she left us the tools to fill it. She found wonder in the simplest moment. She didn’t require music to dance. She taught us not to wait for adventure to find you. ‘Go find it. It’s everywhere.’ And find it we shall. “As I drove our boys, the true loves of her life, down the winding driveway and street, she would yell BYE! until we were out of earshot and into the world. I can still hear it ringing. Bye my Buddie. ‘I love you little family…’ “

Picard season 2 co-star Jeri Ryan (Seven of Nine), wrote "What a beautiful, bright light we lost today. I’m so lucky to have had the chance to work and play with the incredible @anniewersching. My heart breaks for her beautiful family and everyone who was lucky enough to know her." More words from her co-workers and friend here, here and here. Condolences to her family.

This was Annie Wersching pic.twitter.com/6KioDkIGct

— daní ᱬ (@LtMenalippe) January 29, 2023

R.I.P. Kirstie Alley 1951 - 2022

Kirstie Alley has died at the age of 71 after a fight with cancer. The actress, who recently appeared on The Masked Singer, is most known to Star Trek fans for playing Saavik in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. A few years later she joined the cast of Cheers earning an Emmy for the role of Rebecca Howe. Other roles including headlining Veronica's Closet and Fat Actress, starring in the Look Who's Talking movies, and many other roles throughout her four decades of acting. A write-up of her career can be found at THR, Deadline, and Variety. 

Her Cheers co-star Rhea Perlman said “Kirstie was a unique and wonderful person and friend. Her joy of being was boundless. We became friends almost instantly when she joined the cast of Cheers. She loved kids and my kids loved her too. We had sleepovers at her house, with treasure hunts that she created. She had massive Halloween and Easter parties and invited the entire crew of the show and their families. She wanted everyone to feel included. She loved her children deeply. I’ve never met anyone remotely like her.  I feel so thankful to have known her.  I’m going to miss her very, very much.”

Condolences to her friends and family.

R.I.P. Louise Fletcher 1934 - 2022

Oscar winning actress Louise Fletcher died on Friday at her home in France at the age of 88. For movie fans she may be most famous for her role as the legendary villain Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. For Star Trek fans she will always be remembered for Kai Winn Adama, the very ambitious Bajoran religious leader that often created problems for the crew of Deep Space Nine. The actress long career was mostly on TV with a few movies after Cuckoo Nest. 

She portrayed Kai Winn starting in 1993 off and on throughout the series run with other appearances in shows like Picket Fences and an Emmy nomination for a guest appearance on Joan of Arcadia. On working on DS9 in 2012, she said "It was like playing a symphony for the 99th time. I still get fan mail. People are still interested. They still want your autograph. Or they’ll send those [trading] cards and ask you to sign them and send them back. I would say that my mail is 40 percent Cuckoo’s Nest, 40 percent Star Trek, and 20 percent other shows and movies. And that’s great. I’m glad I did Star Trek. I’m so glad I’m part of that whole happening."

Hit the links above for more on her career and famous characters she played. Below is a look at her many acting roles over the years. Condolences to her family on their loss.

R.I.P. Nichelle Nichols 1932 - 2022

On July 30, Star Trek icon Nichelle Nichols passed away at the age of 89. The actress is most famous for her role as Uhura in the series and movies.  Her son reported the tragic news saying:

I regret to inform you that a great light in the firmament no longer shines for us as it has for so many years.

Last night, my mother, Nichelle Nichols, succumbed to natural causes and passed away. Her light however, like the ancient galaxies now being seen for the first time, will remain for us and future generations to enjoy, learn from, and draw inspiration.

Hers was a life well lived and as such a model for us all.

She is known for participating in the first inter-racial kiss on television, something significant back in 1966 and of course no big deal today in part thanks to her to her. She was an inspiration that influenced the next generation of scientists, engineers, inventors, astronauts and even President Barack Obama. If a person's life is measured by the legacy they leave, then hers is incredible. 

You can read more about her life here and here. Sentiments from Star Trek cast members, Hollywood and more can be read here, here, and here.

Nichelle Nichols was a true pioneer, one who used her Star Trek fame to encourage women and people of color to pursue careers in the sciences. May her memory be a blessing and inspire us all to work together to make a better future and share it in peace. #RIPNichelleNichols pic.twitter.com/DRBW47gUiJ

— David Mack (@DavidAlanMack) August 1, 2022

RIP René Auberjonois 1940-2019

René Auberjonois most known for playing Deep Space Nine's Odo has died. The 79 year old actor died of metastatic lung cancer in his LA home. The actor was born in New York in 1940, graduated from then Carnegie Institute of Technology, better known as Carnegie Mellon University in 1962. From there he began working on theater productions in LA, DC, New York and more. He event recieved a Tony nominations for his Broadway performances The Good Doctor, Big River, and City of Angels. His very long career included roles in the movies MASH, King Kong, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, Batman Forever and many more. For TV, he appeared on classic shows like The Mod Squad, The Jeffersons, Bob Newhart Show, Wonder Woman and played Clayton Endicott, III on Benson for its entire run. When not acting on a screen he was voicing characters for cartoons and video games like Batman: The Animated Series, Justice League, Young Justice, and many more. For Star Trek fans he will forever be known as Constable Odo, essentially the sheriff of Deep Space Nine for the entire run of the show. The shape shifting character could become any inanimate object whose moral code was often the conscious of the show and occasional caused great consequence for him. He often reprise the character for various properties as needed especially for video games including most recently for Star Trek Online. He was often on the Star Trek convention circuit meeting fans on a regular basis. He is survived by his wife of 56 years and his two children. Acting has lost one of the great character actors.

RIP Star Trek Writer, Creator D.C. Fontana 1939-2019

She was there from Star Trek's very beginning. Prolific Star Trek and television writer Dorothy Catherine Fontana, D.C. Fontana, died peacefully on December 2 at the age of 80. She started as Gene Roddenberry's secretary where he encouraged her to write. Which she did for various TV shows before joining Gene on his next project - Star Trek. She was part of shows development and became its first female writer in its second episode with "Charlie X." By the middle of the first season she was promoted to Story Editor which meant she continued to mold the series and influence its tone, characters, and more. This included writing drafts for the legendary episode "The City on the Edge of Forever" based on the that was Harlan Ellison's initial draft. Which having read his version, the ability to improve what was a dumpster fire of a script into one of the most critically acclaimed television episodes of all time is no small feat. She eventually went on to write eleven TOS episodes including Journey to Babel, The Enterprise Incident, and The Way to Eden. Babel is most known for introducing Spock's father Sarek, his human mother Amanda, and providing details on Vulcan culture. In effect the Spock we know today is largely a creation of DC Fontana's influence and work.

She later returned to Star Trek with the animated series writing "Yesteryear." During that same period she wrote episodes for Logan's Run, Dallas, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. Yet Star Trek beckoned. This time with the pilot episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation called Encounter at Farpoint which she co-write with Gene Roddenberry and later explorer the Trill species in the Deep Space Nine episode "Dax". She chose the name DC Fontana and occasionally used Michael Richards as a way of getting pass sexists Hollywood standards. Her contribution to Star Trek was critical in defining what Star Trek is and her influence on the show will continued to be felt for the life of the franchise. William Shatner said it up best, "She was a pioneer. Her work will continue to influence for generations to come."

Its worth reading her two part 2013 interview from StarTrek.com about the development of the show - Part 1 | Part 2

R.I.P. Aron Eisenberg 1969-2019

On Saturday, September 22, Aron Eisenberg died at the age of 50. The cause of death was not reported but he has had two previous kidney transplants. The actor is most known to Star Trek fans for his series long role as Nog on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and probably many met him at the many Star Trek conventions he attended. The actor long stayed involved in Star Trek, including co-hosting "The 8th Rule" with fellow DS9 actor Cirroc Lofton (Jake Sisko). He most recently appeared in the documentary "What We Left Behind Looking Back At Star Trek Deep Space Nine". A GoFundMe page to pay for memorial costs has already blown past its $10,000 goal. Condolences to his family and friends for their lost. His wife wrote on Facebook announcing his passing spoke about Aron Eisenberg best.

It is with extreme regret and sadness to announce that my love and best friend, Aron Eisenberg, passed away earlier today.
He was an intelligent, humble, funny, emphatic soul. He sought to live his life with integrity and truth.
He was so driven to put the best he had into whatever work was put before him.
He lived his life with such vigor and passion.
He was like a breath of fresh air, because I knew I would always hear the truth from him. Even if I didn't want to hear it and even if the truth was inconvenient.
He made me (and still makes me) want to be the best human I can possibly be, because he always strove to be the best human he could be.
His resilience and willingness to learn was and is an inspiration.
We didn't officially announce that we had eloped on December 28th, 2018. We were hoping to have a big shindig in celebration of our nuptials, but had to wait to save up the money.
While, our marriage, on paper, was a short one. Our hearts had been married for far longer.
I will be forever thankful for the time we had to love each other.
Five years felt like a lifetime, in the best possible ways.
There will never be another light like Aron's. The beauty that he was and the legacy he leaves behind is beyond words. I love him dearly and will miss him eternally.
At the moment I'm not sure how to do life without him...

His fellow DS9 actors wrote on Twitter:

R.I.P. Anton Yelchin 1989-2016

Star Trek can be both a gift and a curse for its actors. It means a life time of adoration from fans (the good and the bad of that), type-casting and until today it generally brought a long lived life as the main cast actors involved with the show essentially died of complications brought on by living a long life. Until now. This morning Star Trek lost an Enterprise crew member with the death of Anton Yelchin at the age of 27.

The actor played Chekhov on the JJ Abrams movies and in the upcoming Star Trek Beyond. He was killed when his car rolled down his driveway and pinned him against his mailbox and metal fence. The actor's movie credit include Terminator: Salvation, Fright Night, Alpha Dog and many more. I long suspected he would have been one of the first Star Trek alumni to win an Oscar. Sadly that day is no longer meant to be. He will be missed, condolences to his friends and family. Links to comments from Star Trek actors here and here.

RIP Yvonne Craig

The Star Trek universe lot one of its more famous guest stars as Yvonne Craig died Monday at the age of 78 due to cancer. The actress is best know to Star Trek as the green Orion slave girl in the 3rd season episode "Whom Gods Destroy" while others may recognize her as Batgirl in the 60's Batman TV series. She never could quite get away from those two now iconic roles despite her film resume and multiple other TV appearances. Condolences to her family.

Star Trek II Composer James Horner Dies in Plane Crash

Oscar winner and decades long composer James Horner died Monday when his plane crashed near Santa Barbara. The composer, probably most famous for the score to Titanic, was 61. He probably wasn't world famous but should have been for his music was some of the greatest created in the modern era. His scores include Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (whose queues continued to be use for decades after), Avatar, Aliens, A Beautiful Mind, An American Tail, Fields of Dreams, Apollo 13, The Rocketeer, and many more. Some of my favorite music includes his scores including Searching for Bobby Fischer, Glory, Bicentennial Man, and Braveheart. He really was one of Hollywood's great composers and a loss to music in general. Even without you knowing it he probably helped play a strong part into why you enjoyed some of your favorite movies as his beautiful music accompanied a favorite scene. Condolences to his family.

Grace Lee Whitney 1930-2015

Grace Lee Whitney died this weekend at the age of 85. The actress is most known for playing Yeoman Janice Rand in the first 8 episodes of of Star Trek: The Original Series but forced off the show due to her then drug and alcohol addiction. With help from Leonard Nimoy the actress was able to get back on the road to sobriety. Later she returned to Star Trek for Star Trek movies 1, 3, 4, and 6 along with flashback episodes for Star Trek: Voyager. She was also a mainstay on the Star Trek convention circuit including last year in Las Vegas. Her other credits include guest appearances on multiple shows in the 60s and 70s. Her autobiography "The Longest Trek: My Tour of the Galaxy" chronicled her life's up and downs. The actress spent her final years with her family and grandchildren and would prefer to be remembered as a "successful survivor of addiction" with 35 years of sobriety.

Star Trek Fan Dies Days After Granted Final Wish

Just days after JJ Abrams and Paramount granted the dying wish of Daniel Craft, he died of cancer on Friday. Craft was the director of the New York Asian Film Festival and shown a rough cut of the film on DVD on Sunday ever a Reddit campaign started by his friend and his wife was brought to the attention of JJ Abrams and Damon Lindelof. His friend Grady Hendrix wrote about the day and his passing last night.

Dan was super-bummed that he hadn't gotten a chance to see the 9 minute Star Trek: Into Darkness teaser before The Hobbit. He's a big movie fan, and one of the directors of the New York Asian Film Festival, and movies mean a lot to him. He has known he's dying for a few weeks and he wanted to see as many movies as possible before he went. When ideeyut started that thread for him to get a chance to somehow see Into Darkness it seemed like a long-shot, and it had a hard time getting traction. Other Reddit boards didn't upvote it much, and I figured it was a nice try, doomed to failure. But you guys wouldn't let it disappear, and as you upvoted ideeyut's post some of you also took to Twitter and Facebook. Word got out. The press picked it up. A lot of different people started making noise about this online and word traveled fast and got to the right people through a variety of channels. But it started here, and it started with ideeyut and you guys.

The Roddenberrys' Bound for Space

TMZ.com is reporting that Celestis will be sending Gene and recently passed Majel Roddenberry's ashes to space together and are providing an opportunity for fans to send their well-wishes with them.

The late Gene Roddenberry -- who created "Star Trek" -- and wife Majel (who passed away last year) are about to explore the final frontier together. Their remains are going to be shot into space.

Majel "The First Lady of Star Trek" Roddenberry's dream before she died last December was for a portion of her and Gene's ashes to be sent into space together -- and a company called Celetis is granting that wish.

Celestis -- which has its own rocket -- just announced the Roddenberrys' ashes will be launched into deep space on a mission aptly name Voyager.

Trekkies are invited to go to the Celestis website, where they can post tributes to the Roddenberrys, which will all be digitized and sent into space with them.

Celestis is the same company that shot a lipstick-sized container of Gene's ashes into space back in '97.

Ricardo Montalban Dead at 88

Legendary actor Ricardo Montalban has passed away at the age of 88 after experience declining health over the last several days. He died at 6:30am in his home. The exact cause of dead was not released.

While most people may know him as Mr. Roarke from Fantasy Island, Star Trek fans know the actor best for his role as one of the more famous sci-fi villains of Khan Noonien Singh introduced in The Original Series "Space Seed" and reprising the role for fan favorite Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.

My condolences to his family, Star Trek and Hollywood has lost one of its best.

Majel Barrett Roddenberry Public Memorial Announced

Roddenberry.com has announced the details for the public memorial for Star Trek actor Majel Barrett Roddenberry who died on December 18th of leukemia.

Majel Barrett Roddenberry Memorial Service

Sunday, January 4, 2009 at 10:00 AM
(Please arrive by 9:30 AM).

Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills,
6300 Forest Lawn Drive
Los Angeles, CA 90068
Phone: 800-204-3131

For additional details, to indicate if your attending the service or if you wish to send condolences click here.

Majel Barrett-Roddenberry Dead

Damn. A Star Trek legend has passed away. Majel Barrett-Roddenberry died of leukemia at her Bel Air home at the age of 76. She was the wife of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry and survived by her son Eugene Roddenberry.

The actress is probably best known for her many roles in Star Trek from its very beginning right up to its reboot in the upcoming movie. In the original pilot episode she was "Number One", in the series that followed she was Nurse Chapel and in The Next Generation she was Lwazana Troy. Through the entire history of the series she also served as the "voice" of the Enterprise and will continue to do so in the upcoming movie, her last role. Picture below and more is at TrekMovie.com.

My condolences to her family and friends. She will be missed.