Trek guest actors in maybe surprising roles

Discussion in 'Star Trek - The Original & Animated Series' started by Maurice, Mar 12, 2013.

  1. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 15, 2001
    The other day, I watched He Walked by Night (1948), the movie that inspired Jack Webb's Dragnet. Loosely based on the infamous Erwin Walker crime spree, it opened with the (inaccurate) claim that it was a true story with only the names changed to protect the innocent. Webb was in it as a soft-spoken, charming police lab tech, very unlike his later Joe Friday persona, but Webb was inspired to create Dragnet by a conversation with the film's police consultant.

    What makes it relevant here is that, while I watched it for its Dragnet connection, I was pleasantly surprised to discover Whit Bissell in a major role, as the electronics dealer who'd been duped by the criminal (Richard Basehart) into working as his partner and got caught between him and the police in their attempts to draw the killer out. It's the earliest movie I've ever seen Bissell in, aside from his brief, uncredited cameo as a London bobby in Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon. Before this, the earliest credited Bissell role I'd seen was probably in Lost Continent on MST3K. ("Rock climbing, Joel. Rock climbing.")
     
  2. The Old Mixer

    The Old Mixer Mih ssim, mih ssim, nam, daed si Xim. Moderator

    Joined:
    Feb 4, 2002
    Location:
    The Old Mixer, Somewhere in Connecticut
    Melvin Belli is referenced, in his role as a lawyer, in "Love and the Artful Codger" (Oct. 1, 1971), a Love, American Style segment starring Burgess Meredith and Tom Bosley.
     
  3. Forbin

    Forbin Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 15, 2001
    Location:
    I said out, dammit!
    Warren Stevens and Joan Marshal grace the classic Twilight Zone episode "Dead Man's Shoes."

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Joseph Mell also had a bit part as a flunky. He was the bald guy in Captain Pike's "Vina as a green Orion dancing girl" illusion. He has a quick scene with Stevens too:
    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
  4. Forbin

    Forbin Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 15, 2001
    Location:
    I said out, dammit!
    Barry Atwater as "The Reasonable Man" in the Have Gun Will Travel ep of the same name.

    [​IMG]
     
  5. FormerLurker

    FormerLurker Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    May 17, 2009
    Barry Atwater was a bit of a chameleon, at least to me. He was never recognizable from role to role. Which can be a good thing for an actor, of course.
     
    Forbin and ZapBrannigan like this.
  6. DarrenTR1970

    DarrenTR1970 Commodore Commodore

    Joined:
    Aug 1, 2015
    Location:
    Bothell, WA
    I just saw Warren Stevens in a brief role on what appears to be a sixth or seventh season episode of Mission: Impossible on MeTV+. (Sorry, I've never really delved into the latter seasons; I'm more of a seasons 1-4 kinda guy.)
     
  7. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 15, 2001
    Season 5 is my favorite. It reinvigorates the show by breaking free of formula, deconstructing past tropes, having more stories where plans go wrong and the team has to improvise, doing episodes that delve into the team members' past and personalities (well, once each for Jim, Paris, and Barney), and just generally being smarter and more ambitious all around. Seasons 6-7 are not among the best, though, and they revamp the show to focus almost exclusively on domestic mob-busting rather than espionage.

    I figure the episode you're talking about must be "Image" from season 6, where Stevens played a gangster with the improbable name of Thor Coffin. He'd appeared previously in the 2-parter "The Slave" in season 2 and in "The Bargain" in season 3 (also as a mobster).
     
  8. Forbin

    Forbin Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 15, 2001
    Location:
    I said out, dammit!
    Agreed! I only knew it was him because of the closing credits.
     
  9. Forbin

    Forbin Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 15, 2001
    Location:
    I said out, dammit!
    Richard Webb as another Trek alum as a senior army officer in the Bearcats episode "Assault on San Saba."
     
  10. Forbin

    Forbin Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 15, 2001
    Location:
    I said out, dammit!
    Harry Townes is "The Bostonian," harassed by a local rancher who wants his land in a first season "Have Gun, Will Travel." That's his weekly purchase of flower all over him.

    [​IMG]
     
  11. Forbin

    Forbin Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 15, 2001
    Location:
    I said out, dammit!
    On a roll - the penultimate episode of Bearcats, "The Return of Estaban," featured Kathryn Hayes, who I never recognize right away in a speaking role. :) and Brioni Farrell, who was Tula in Return of the Archons

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

     
  12. FormerLurker

    FormerLurker Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    May 17, 2009
    Looks more like some kind of white powder.
     
  13. M'Sharak

    M'Sharak Definitely Herbert. Maybe. Moderator

    Joined:
    Aug 22, 2002
    Location:
    Terra Inlandia
    If it was his weekly purchase of flour, that would fit.
     
  14. Forbin

    Forbin Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 15, 2001
    Location:
    I said out, dammit!
    Flour, yes, obviously. I used the wrong word. I'm sure y'all figured that out. :)
     
  15. Forbin

    Forbin Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 15, 2001
    Location:
    I said out, dammit!
    Have Gun... again, "The Girl from Picadilly," and there's Bill Schallert lurking in the background. Credited only as "Soldier," and with no lines, his job was just to pass Paladin a note.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
  16. Alice_27

    Alice_27 Lieutenant Red Shirt

    Joined:
    May 5, 2021
    Location:
    Attaché deployed to the T.A.R.D.I.S.
    Though this isn't exactly a "surprise" guest star role I couldn't help but to see a way to make an homage:

    [​IMG]

    (My Trek loving son told me to post this somewhere so I'm making the leap. If it doesn't resonate with you please be kind as this is the first time I've attempted this kind of thing [​IMG]:whistle:)
     
    Neopeius, Nerys Myk and Forbin like this.
  17. Forbin

    Forbin Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 15, 2001
    Location:
    I said out, dammit!
    Having a great streak lately! The Twilight Zone ep, "The Last Rites of Jeff Myrtlebank" featured the oh-so-lovely Sherry Jackson, and the oh-so-wrinkly John Lormer.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Other notables were Dub Taylor, and Hooper's best friend James Best.
     
    ZapBrannigan likes this.
  18. DarrenTR1970

    DarrenTR1970 Commodore Commodore

    Joined:
    Aug 1, 2015
    Location:
    Bothell, WA
    Fred Freiberger wrote this morning's episode of 'Cheyenne'.
     
  19. Forbin

    Forbin Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 15, 2001
    Location:
    I said out, dammit!
    The very classic Twilight Zone "To Serve Man" snuck in Theo Marcuse as the Soviet ambassador to the UN.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
  20. FormerLurker

    FormerLurker Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    May 17, 2009
    Thank you for recognizing that Ted Cassidy and Richard Kiel are two different people.
     
    Forbin likes this.