TVSquad

The legacy of Star Trek includes many memorable guest stars, Joan Collins as Edith Keeler in "City on the Edge of Forever," Ricardo Montalban as Khan on "Space Seed," Jane Wyatt as Spock's mother on "Journey to Babel." And those are just the ones that come first to mind.

But what about the less celebrated stars who appeared on ST? There were many who made a great impression because of the larger than life character they were given to play, and the ability to seize the spotlight.

Here are five of my favorite, and most memorable, though less celebrated, Trek stars...


1) Roger C. Carmel - Harcourt Fenton Mudd, "I, Mudd"
There were actually two Mudd episodes, "I, Mudd" and "Mudd's Women," both featuring star turns by the bigger-than-life character actor Roger C. Carmel. Harry Mudd was the ultimate con artist, an intergalactic charlatan, and the perfect foil for Kirk's irritation. How funny is it that after being imprisoned for his misdeeds after "Mudd's Women," Harry would actually arrange for the Enterprise to come to his new kingdom, where he is a feted, but bored, emperor? Carmel was really good at projecting the right amount of comedy with the malevolence, a trait that helped him on Batman, too (he was the stamp-obsessed Colonel Gumm).

2) Bruce Hyde - Lieutenant Kevin T. Riley, "The Naked Time"
Can you ever hear the song "I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen" and not think of Bruce Hyde? He was adorable as Lt. Riley, and in this and "The Conscience of the King" from the first season, he was a welcomed addition to the crew. He was kind of lovable and goofy, two qualities that Chekov didn't have, but apparently with the wig, he was deemed a Davey Jones-type (The Monkees) and more appealing to teen girls. If NBC really knew their business back then, they would have known that the teens were going ga-ga for Spock and Kirk, not the younger crewmen. Anyway, even if NBC had chosen to keep Bruce Hyde, he was moving on to another life, outside show business. Still, in that one great episode -- a seminal one at that -- Hyde as Riley made his mark.

3) William Marshall - Dr. Richard Daystrom, "The Ultimate Computer"
To play a role with the heft of Dr. Richard Daystrom, the creator of the M-5 computer without which the Enterprise can hardly operate, the producers chose an actor with size, voice and manner that was in every way impressive. William Marshall was such an actor, and he seemed to tower over Kirk and Spock physically -- but that could have been an outgrowth of how he played the role. Egotistical and brilliant, determined and domineering, Marshall made the character as impressive on film as he must have been on the page. When Daystrom breaks down, realizing that his new creation is a disaster, the results are devastating -- and played beautifully by Marshall. How amazing that Marshall was also Blacula (in the movies), as well as the King of Cartoons on Pee-Wee's Playhouse. It was also noteworthy that ST chose an African-American actor for the role. Today, we wouldn't blink at such casting, but in 1968, this was socially relevant -- as socially relevant as that first interracial kiss between Kirk and Uhura.

4) James Daly - Flint, "Requiem for Methuselah"
This one is a borderline choice because in 1969 when this episode first aired, James Daly was a very well-known star. He was starring in Medical Center on CBS with Chad Everett. But I love this episode, so I've decided to include it -- and James Daly made it special. He was brilliant as the man who's lived for eons, a man who was at one time Brahms, DaVinci and men as renown. To pull off that kind of stature, like Daystrom in "The Ultimate Computer," the producers had to bring in a really classy actor, one who immediately demands respect from the moment he's shown on camera. Daly brought authority and dignity to the role, as well as a sense of sorrow and regret. The concept of an immortal who cannot die and grows weary of life is fascinating, as Spock might say. In addition to this and other noteworthy performances, James Daly is also responsible for two of today's finest actors -- Tim Daly and Tyne Daly.

5) William Campbell - Trelane, "The Squire of Gothos"
Like a few other actors, William Campbell appeared in more than one Trek, but this was the one in which he had the best role. (As Koloth in The Trouble with Tribbles, he was upstaged by the tribbles -- every was, except Shatner!) Trelane turned out to be a big kid, using the Enterprise and the crew as his playthings -- a great Twilight Zone take off, by the way -- but as portrayed by Campbell, the squire was a fey, petulant pain in the ass. He had elements of Liberace in his swishiness (especially when he was at the harpsichord), but was nonetheless scary and dangerous. He's all Charles Laughton in the court scenes, for instance, and Kirk is definitely ticked off by him. "Greetings and felicitations" indeed!