Morgan Woodward & Our Favorite Guest Stars

[EnriqueH]

(Mods, if there's an existing recent thread, feel free to move my comments. I'm rushing to get this topic on here because I just HAVE to write it now.)

I just LOVE Morgan Woodward's two appearances in TOS.

In both cases, I wanted to see MORE of a Woodward's characters.

Van Gelder and Captain Tracey were memorable, and you have to give Woodward credit for making those characters come alive.

So who are some of your favorite guest stars?

(I wanted to mention Ricardo Montalban but thought that was kinda too obvious a pick.)

 

[Last Redshirt]

Ricardo Montalban is just so amazing that I don't think he even needs to be mentioned. He is one of my favorite guest stars of any television show.

Aside from that, Gary Lockwood as Mitchell in Where No Man Has Gone Before really completes the episode. He plays the descent into god-like arrogance really well, with every line and scene delivered and acted amazingly.

Another notable one for me was William Windon's Commodore Decker. Something about his performance in The Doomsday Machine seriously completes the episode. His guilt and actions don't feel forced at all, and they really do feel genuine, like he really did beam his entire crew to a planet that just got obliterated.

Lastly, Kang/Kor/Koloth acted by Michael Ansara, John Colicos, and William Campbell respectively were really amazing and I felt like they complemented Kirk/Shatner really well. It's nice that they not only appear in TAS and DS9, but also in the novels.

 

[tomalak301]

I just watched Errand of Mercy last night and I love Kor in that episode. Cocilios was a great actor and brought a lot to that role and I was glad he showed up in DS9.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

My TOS picks from a recent thread in General Trek:

Yeah, I love Steve Ihnat as Garth.

I'm very fond of Mark Lenard as Sarek and Jane Wyatt as Amanda. While we're on Vulcans, also Celia Lovsky as T'Pau. Mark Lenard as the Romulan Commander, too.

Michael Forest as Apollo.

William Windom as Commodore Decker.

Morgan Woodward as both Dr. van Gelder and Captain Tracey.

France Nuyen as Elaan.

Robert Walker as Charlie Evans.

That's just off the top of my head, and just covering TOS, so I may be back with more.

I really liked Barbara Babcock from "Plato's Stepchildren" and "A Taste of Armageddon". Plus she did the voice of the Tholian Commander Loskene from "The Tholian Web" and as the voice of Gary Seven's computer.

Hear, hear.

Also, Trelane's mother and apparently the Zetar voice too ("We only want the girl.").

 

[Melakon]

So who are some of your favorite guest stars?

Take a wild guess.

 

[Green Shirt]

So who are some of your favorite guest stars?

Take a wild guess.

Give me a minute.

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

(Mods, if there's an existing recent thread, feel free to move my comments. I'm rushing to get this topic on here because I just HAVE to write it now.)

I just LOVE Morgan Woodward's two appearances in TOS.

In both cases, I wanted to see MORE of a Woodward's characters.

Van Gelder and Captain Tracey were memorable, and you have to give Woodward credit for making those characters come alive.

Woodward easily ranks as one of the top 5 guest actors from TOS; his versatility to not mirror even an ounce of Van Gelder in Tracey--making them believable individual characters--speaks to that flexible talent.

Aside from that, Gary Lockwood as Mitchell in Where No Man Has Gone Before really completes the episode. He plays the descent into god-like arrogance really well, with every line and scene delivered and acted amazingly.

You will get no complaints about your wise observation.

 

[J.T.B.]

I am a big fan of Morgan Woodward, too. The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp is not my favorite TV Western, but Woodward as Shotgun Gibbs is great; odd, funny and dangerous. I was never a Dallas fan, but I would watch an episode today if there was a scene with Woodward and Jim Davis, two of the all-time great Western voices. The torment he brought to Van Gelder is very memorable.

My favorite female guest star is probably the first, Susan Oliver. Of course, she had a wider-ranging part than most TOS actresses, but she sold every bit of it effectively and effortlessly.

Teri Garr is also pretty much at the top of my list, though that's more from her whole body of work than "Assignment: Earth." When she would come on "Letterman" in the '80s, it was really must-see TV. I recently watched Tootsie for the first time in around 30 years, and Michael Dorsey was an idiot and pretty much a dick: Garr was so much sweeter and more appealing than Jessica Lange.

Woodward and Barbara Babcock were both two-time TOS guest stars who also went on to have recurring roles on Hill Street Blues, though Babcock was in a lot more episodes.

 

[Marsden]

Morgan Woodward is hard to top, he was great both times.

Ted Cassidy as Ruk was awesome, he's my pick for second best guest, he was also the Gorn's voice and I think he did some other voices, too.

I liked Barry Russo, he didn't have as much to do, but I liked both performances.

Barbara Babcock was great, she was also Cmd. Loskene, the Tholian. Does that make 5 appearances?

 

[CorporalCaptain]

Barbara Babcock was great, she was also Cmd. Loskene, the Tholian. Does that make 5 appearances?

Six. See my post upthread.

 

[Push The Button]

Some of my favorite guest stars:

William Windom
Mark Lenard
David Opatoshu
William Marshall
Jeff Corey
Diana Muldaur
Roger C. Carmel
William Campbell
Ricardo Montalban
Steven Ihnat

 

[EnriqueH]

OMG, Campbell as Trelane was so much fun, unpredictable and...yes...I've never seen a fop played with such gleeful menace.

"Oh! I see! This won't kill...and this will..."

Actually, Bruce Mars as Finnegan was right up there too.

It's a damn shame we didn't get to see this guys more than once. At least we got to see Mudd twice (or thrice if you count TAS).

No wonder, they were great, they made a great match for the almighty Shatner in terms of eccentric hamming.

You know who else I loved?

Anan 7 from A Taste of Armageddon. He also made a good match for Shatner.

His scene with Shatner talking about: "You mean all by yourself with a disruptor, you could destroy this planet?" "That's exactly what I mean." "I had no idea you were so...formidable."

HELL YEAH!!! I friggin LOVE that scene!!!

 

[EnriqueH]

By the way, one of the things I loved about Woodward's Van Gelder performance was that he spent the whole time looking like he was on Crack, but then when Spock mindmelded with him, he was super caaaaalm...relaxed.

As if Spock's mindmeld was somehow healing him...

 

[Melakon]

I think Woodward underestimated himself with "Dagger". He was worried he was playing deranged Van Gelder too over the top, but it was exactly what his crazy guy scenes needed for the style of the show. Those gurgled cries sold just how far gone the character was.

 

[Greg Cox]

William Marshall has been mentioned already, but he was indeed memorable as Daystrom. And the fact that he later played Blacula just adds to his cool factor.

And let's not forget Arnold Moss as Anton Karidian/Kodos the Executioner.

 

[Melakon]

I'll add John Abbott, simple, trustworthy Ayelbourne in "Errand of Mercy". I was watching Dobie Gillis episodes last week, and was pleasantly surprised to see him as a con-man selling self-improvement books and anxious to get out of town as soon as possible.

 

[AtoZ]

IMO Star Trek always had a knack for the right fit where guest stars were concerned. Not just the look, but their ability to gauge their performances, a few of them being perfectly delivered and deliciously over the top. Woodward, Windom and Campbell (the 1st time as Trelane) gave us that.

One of the reasons I enjoy Court Martial so much these days is because of the fine portrayals given us by Percy Rodriguez and Elisha Cook. As Stone, Rodriguez gave us the look, the physical presence and the delivery. He was believable and he played off of Shatner's energy and strong presence effortlessly. In Cook, we got a flawed sort of brilliance not unlike Spencer Tracy might have given us. His delivery and the conviction behind it demonstrate that he not only had the character down to a 'T'....he was Samuel T. Cogley in the soul.

A great actor can morph from character to character, making you forget who they played before, or the exude a subtle, often undefinable unique energy. Star Trek was great at choosing the right actors for the right parts...with one exception (Campbell as Koloth).

 

[urbandefault]

William Marshall has been mentioned already, but he was indeed memorable as Daystrom. And the fact that he later played Blacula just adds to his cool factor.

And let's not forget Arnold Moss as Anton Karidian/Kodos the Executioner.

Aside: Looking back, those early 70s horror flicks were pretty bad. But as an impressionable kid, the TV and radio commercials used to freak me out because I had to go out in the dark of early morning to throw papers. Blacula, Dr. Phibes, Last House on the Left, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, etc. With every new release I'd get my route done in record time.

 

[Melakon]

Elisha Cook was mostly retired by then, and having trouble remembering his lines, so they had cue cards all over the set for him.

 

[EnriqueH]

And let's not forget Arnold Moss as Anton Karidian/Kodos the Executioner.

You mean the character from "The Conscience of the KEEEEEING!!!"

One of my favorite episodes, definitely in my Top 5, but I have to admit that---as years have gone by and I've watched it many, many times---I think Arnold Moss and Barbara Anderson were chewing so much scenery that I'm surprised the set didn't look like The Empath by the end.

I *AM* TIIIIRED!!!!" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmOAEl2qVkM

(Did you guys see Kirk and Leonor's reunion after the 5-year mission? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdjAj3VZzCo )

Anyway, I also loved Malachi Throne as Commodore Mendez. One of my favorite Starfleet big wigs. Throne gave him a nice combination of friend and supervisor.

Speaking of Starfleet pencil pushers, I also enjoyed Ambassador Fox from Taste of Armageddon.