Herb Wallerstein did a masterful job directing several 3rd season episodes. I've heard that he was dead, but until I did a Google search on him I didn't know that he was murdered by his housekeeper. Sheesh, life can be cruel sometimes.
Herb Wallerstein, TOS Director
- Thread starter Spock's Barber
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I was unaware of this as well, but further reading reveals the maid was found not guilty, so I would guess it is a cold case now.
http://articles.latimes.com/1986-07-17/local/me-21703_1_manslaughter-charges
Sir Rhosis
http://articles.latimes.com/1986-07-17/local/me-21703_1_manslaughter-charges
Sir Rhosis
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Dang. Not guilty? The internet news source states that she beat him to death and then tried to dispose of his body. She must have had an accomplice to help her somehow.
Wallerstein was the director hired to replace Ralph Senensky on "The Tholian Web." Senensky was wrongly blamed for falling behind schedule, when the real culprit was the late delivery of spacesuit costumes. But Senensky got fired.
Anyway, Wallerstein was known as a "fireman" by the studios. He would come in and rapidly finish filming a TV episode to save the schedule.
Anyway, Wallerstein was known as a "fireman" by the studios. He would come in and rapidly finish filming a TV episode to save the schedule.
IIRC, there were two Wallerstein brothers who were both talented production people in Hollywood. Herb's career was just cut way too short by a murderer. What a waste...
You're kind of missing the point of "not guilty" there...
No I'm not. She was found not guilty of manslaughter. The housekeeper admitted to bludgeoning Wallerstein after he supposedly assaulted her. Then she tried to dispose of the body. Does that sound like she's not guilty? Wallerstein was dead and couldn't testify one way or the other. She found a way to get off scot free with a capital crime.
Isn't there a double standard there? You say he "supposedly" assaulted her, giving him the benefit of the doubt, but you refuse to give her any. The report makes it clear that the jury accepted that she acted in self-defense, as many battered women have done against their abusers. Why are you unwilling to believe that? And what makes you more qualified to judge the facts of the case than the jury that actually heard its specifics?
Ugh. Go find your own answers by delving into the L.A. District Attorneys case files.
Hello to all of you...I am Herb Wallerstein's niece and I just wanted to say that I appreciate all of your wonderful words about Uncle Herb. He was, as all of his brothers and sister, was incredible human beings. The "Wallerstein boys" Herb, Rowe (my father), and Norman were all in the industry and were highly regarded as people, as well as, bosses. What you don't know is that my grandfather passed away during the depression, leaving my grandmother a widow with five minor children to raise. The family were so close knit and took care of each other, hence, me growing up with honorable role models, who had character and integrity. My cousins and I, never needed a village to raise us, we had the family. So, when Uncle Herb was murdered, it tore the guts out of all of us, and to tell you the truth, it still does to this day, for me. The trial was a travesty, I knew Uncle Herb and he would no more throw or hit a bug, more or less another person. My family and I know that this murder was about my cousin getting into drugs and my uncle refusing to pay the debt. It was a warning to my cousin by murdering my uncle.. Anyway, I grew up running on movie lots and when Uncle Herb was doing Star Trek, my father was doing Mannix and Mission Impossible. I remember playing on the transporter when I was a kid. Again, thank you for the kind memory of Uncle Herb, you have no idea how I appreciate people remembering my family.
Thanks for posting. I'm sorry about your uncle's tragic passing. I hope he rests in peace.
Welcome, Alex. We definitely appreciate hearing from you! And for what it's worth, I find your explanation of the murder case far more credible than the defendant's convenient story. I won't go on because that might be tacky, but trust me, I'm with you.
I can see on imdb that Herb worked on more than a few of my favorite series. I have all of his episodes of The Six Million Dollar Man, Wonder Woman, The Partridge Family, and of course Star Trek on DVD. Based on my love of these shows, he's practically my Uncle Herb.
We know that he came into "The Tholian Web" as a replacement director, behind schedule and under a lot of pressure, yet somehow he filmed one of the best episodes of the season and an enduring fan favorite. He was a remarkable artist.
Alex, thank you for the beautiful post. I'm very sorry for your loss. I love your memory of the transporter room! Ever make it to the bridge, or anything else you can remember for us obsessives?
Welcome, Alex. We definitely appreciate hearing from you! And for what it's worth, I find your explanation of the murder case far more credible than the defendant's convenient story. I won't go on because that might be tacky, but trust me, I'm with you.
I can see on imdb that Herb worked on more than a few of my favorite series. I have all of his episodes of The Six Million Dollar Man, Wonder Woman, The Partridge Family, and of course Star Trek on DVD. Based on my love of these shows, he's practically my Uncle Herb.
We know that he came into "The Tholian Web" as a replacement director, behind schedule and under a lot of pressure, yet somehow he filmed one of the best episodes of the season and an enduring fan favorite. He was a remarkable artist.
Hear, hear! I love that episode and it was *expertly* directed. Just an outstanding job.
Yes, I imagine it was very difficult to be thrown into the middle of an episode without having the usual weeks prep time that TOS directors usually got. Herb worked a miracle on Tholian Web.
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