# The biggest celebrity to appear in the Star Trek Universe **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 28, 2003, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biggest-celebrity-to-appear-in-the-star-trek-universe/178109 "2003-05-28T20:44:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2003, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biggest-celebrity-to-appear-in-the-star-trek-universe/178109/21 "2003-05-29T06:33:23Z")
It was, originally but NBC told Roddenberry to shoot a different one 'cause “The Cage” was “too intellectual.” They didn’t like a woman being the second officer either. ---
**Author:** ![Banger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@Banger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banger)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2003, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biggest-celebrity-to-appear-in-the-star-trek-universe/178109/22 "2003-05-29T07:23:24Z")
…and unless I’m mistaken that second officer was Majel Barrett Roddenberry, Gene’s wife, who would later on become Dr. McCoy’s assistant, the voice of the Enterprise computers, and Deanna Troi’s mother in TNG! And now we’re back on the original topic 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2003, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biggest-celebrity-to-appear-in-the-star-trek-universe/178109/23 "2003-05-29T08:04:34Z")
Melvin Belli was on TOS, once. ---
**Author:** ![shep\_proudfoot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90db22/32.png) [@shep\_proudfoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shep_proudfoot)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2003, 9:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biggest-celebrity-to-appear-in-the-star-trek-universe/178109/24 "2003-05-29T09:39:39Z")
Iggy Pop was on DS9 as a Vorta. I read that Tom Hanks is a MAJOR trekkie, and it would be fun to see him in Enterprise, but that wont happen. Supposedly Robin Williams wanted to do a Trek too, but did not happen. Trek is really for B actors only. SP ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2003, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biggest-celebrity-to-appear-in-the-star-trek-universe/178109/25 "2003-05-29T10:16:29Z")
**Mick Fleetwood** was on TNG. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2003, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biggest-celebrity-to-appear-in-the-star-trek-universe/178109/26 "2003-05-29T11:37:55Z")
Leonard Nimoy’s subsequent directing career (3 Men and a Baby, Funny About Love) probably qualify him as the winner, but I hated both of those movies, so I’ll go with Ashley Judd. ---
**Author:** ![Skip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@Skip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skip)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2003, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biggest-celebrity-to-appear-in-the-star-trek-universe/178109/27 "2003-05-29T11:59:58Z")
F Murray Abraham was a villian in one of the later movies. He was also an Oscar winner by the time he did his stint. ---
**Author:** ![Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laughing_Lagomorph)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2003, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biggest-celebrity-to-appear-in-the-star-trek-universe/178109/28 "2003-05-29T12:08:29Z")
John Larouquette was in _Search for Spock_ which came out in 1984, the same year _Night Court_ started. In SOS he plays Maltz, the Klingon who is tricked by Kirk into beaming him onto the Klingon ship. ---
**Author:** ![Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laughing_Lagomorph)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2003, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biggest-celebrity-to-appear-in-the-star-trek-universe/178109/29 "2003-05-29T12:09:45Z")
SOS should be SFS=Search for Spock, obviously. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_Wright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@Steve\_Wright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_Wright)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2003, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biggest-celebrity-to-appear-in-the-star-trek-universe/178109/30 "2003-05-29T12:31:45Z")
The _unlikeliest_ guest star was probably tennis player Vijay Amritraj, as a Federation captain in _The Voyage Home_. But I’m not aware that he went on to a film career … ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2003, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biggest-celebrity-to-appear-in-the-star-trek-universe/178109/31 "2003-05-29T12:38:50Z")
Well, DS9 didn’t spawn too many huge acting careers from bit part characters, but it did bring in a bunch of fairly well-known older actors for bit parts… Brian Keith Frank Langella Wallace Shawn Billy Mumy Louise Fletcher Tracy Scoggins Andrea Martin Meg Foster Vanessa Williams Cecily Adams :dubious: James Darren Adrienne Barbeau Oh, and Kim Cattrall was in _Big Trouble in Little China_ before she made _Star Trek: The Undiscovered Country._ ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2003, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biggest-celebrity-to-appear-in-the-star-trek-universe/178109/32 "2003-05-29T12:57:21Z")
Kim Cattrall was also in (wait for it)… [_Porky’s_](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0084522) (1981) ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2003, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biggest-celebrity-to-appear-in-the-star-trek-universe/178109/33 "2003-05-29T13:17:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Steve Wright \* > \*\*The _unlikeliest_ guest star was probably tennis player Vijay Amritraj, as a Federation captain in _The Voyage Home_. But I’m not aware that he went on to a film career … \*\* He’s been in a Bond movie too (and they worked in a tennis-racquet gag). But isn’t he bigger in Bollywood than Western movies? ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2003, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biggest-celebrity-to-appear-in-the-star-trek-universe/178109/34 "2003-05-29T14:06:25Z")
Does [Kim Darby](http://us.imdb.com/Name?Darby,+Kim+(I)) count? She was Miri in TOS. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2003, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biggest-celebrity-to-appear-in-the-star-trek-universe/178109/35 "2003-05-29T14:09:25Z")
Kim (Miri) Darby later starred in **True Grit** and a solid list of films and TV, though she had been a frequent TV guest star before Star Trek. William Marshall (Dr. Daystrom in “The Ultimate Computer”) reached movie stardom (such as it was) playing Blacula. Barbara Babcock was in “Plato’s Stepchildren”; she later won an Emmy as Grace Gardner in **Hill Street Blues**. Yvonne Craig was in “Whom Gods Destroy” a year before becoming a star as Batgirl. Fred Williamson had a bit part in “The Cloud Minders,” and then went on to be a big star in Blaxploitation films (as well as in the film **M_A_S\*H**. Ah, the IMDB. 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biggest-celebrity-to-appear-in-the-star-trek-universe/178109.md?page=1)