I have been ostensibly introduced to a few Star Trek actors, but Majel is the only one I ever had a (short) conversation with. Of course, it was something of an awkward talk, since the subject was the t-shirt I was wearing with the unlicensed image of the Enterprise, and she wanted to know who she should sue over it. But I did appreciate that she didn’t blame me for buying it, she just blamed the creator and vendor of the item. Since I bought it in the lobby after a lecture by her husband, I’d assumed it was kosher.
She was a nice lady and businesswoman. I don’t think most folks remember that she ran Lincoln Enterprises, the company that marketed and licensed all the legally-allowed Star Trek stuff. She kept herself busy between calls from the movie and TV producers.
But capable of some incredible acts of compassion when a moment of clarity intrudes upon her First Daughter of Betazed bubble. Lwaxana was one of the more three-dimensional characters in the Trek canon, both in TNG and DS9.
I no longer have a link, but I watched an interview with Majel and her son, and her son said of Lwaxana, “That’s Mom.” She was essentially playing herself.
Having had the pleasure of attending college with him (and shamelessly “using” him to rope his mom into coming to our SciFi convention- “Don’t you want to come visit your son?”), I would like to extend my sincere condolences to Rod. I can’t imagine what it must be like to be orphaned in such a… public way, at a reasonably young age (let’s see, he was around 2 years behind me, so he’s in his early 30s).
There was a little jolt for me when I read of Majel Barrett’s passing. My great Star Trek crush as a teen was for Spock, so I related to Nurse Chapel although I did not want her love for Spock to be returned. I’ve always enjoyed the original pilot, with Jeffrey Hunter and Majel as Number One, too. Lwaxana Troi, though, is probably her most memorable Trek character for me. It’s hard to overlook the voice she provided for so many computers down through the years, though!
One thing is for certain: she will continue to “live” on through tv and film, in her many characters and voices. RIP, Majel; together again with Gene.
I agree that Nurse Chapel wasn’t the most interesting character, but she had her moments (and I always found Barrett surprisingly foxy in that platinum wig). And I agree that she managed to capture how annoying Lwaxana was to those around here without (mostly) making her annoying to the audience. I was very happy when she got included in Enterprise, small as her part was.
What a lady. Her appearances as Lwaxana were always the high point of the season for me. Now when I hear her voice in the next movie, I’m gonna start crying.
According to Wikipedia, she is also the voice that alerts Union Pacific train crews to problems.
Another face and voice from my childhood fades away…
Perhaps my favorite performance from her was the TOS ‘Return to Tomorrow’, when she reveals Spock’s “consciousness” (katra?) was stored in her. “It was beautiful”, she sighs.
They weren’t saying katras then, but I assume it was one & the same. And yes, she was quite lovely in that scene, but she always looked better as a brunette.
