Star Trek in History

Events in Film & TV

  • 1964-06-29 NBC approves Gene Roddenberry's script for pilot episode of "Star Trek" titled "The Cage"

Film & TV History

1964-11-27 Filming starts for "Star Trek" pilot "The Cage"; cast includes Jeffrey Hunter, Susan Oliver, Leonard Nimoy, and Majel Barret; although it never airs, some footage re-used in "Menagerie" episode of the series

  • 1964-12-18 Filming is completed for "Star Trek" pilot "The Cage"; cast includes Jeffrey Hunter, Susan Oliver, Leonard Nimoy, and Majel Barret; although it never airs, some footage re-used in "Menagerie" episode of the series
  • 1965-05-18 Gene Roddenberry suggests 16 names for Star Trek Captain; they include Kirk
  • 1965-07-19 Shooting begins on Star Trek 2nd pilot "Where No Man Has Gone Before"

Television Premiere

1966-09-08 "Star Trek" premieres on NBC-TV starring William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy

  • 1967-12-29 Star Trek's "Trouble With Tribbles" 1st airs
  • 1968-03-01 NBC's unprecedented on-air announcement, Star Trek will return
  • 1968-11-22 1st interracial TV kiss (Star Trek - Captain Kirk and Uhura)
  • 1969-06-03 Last episode of Star Trek airs on NBC (Turnabout Intruder)
  • 1973-09-08 "Star Trek - Animated Series" premieres on TV
  • 1976-09-17 NASA publicly unveils space shuttle Enterprise in Palmdale, California, named after Star Trek Enterprise with cast attending
  • 1979-12-07 "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" first movie of the series premieres directed by Robert Wise, starring William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy
  • 1982-06-04 "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan," released in USA

Television Debut

1987-09-28 "Star Trek: The Next Generation," starring Patrick Stewart debuts on syndicated TV

  • 1989-06-09 "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier" premieres in USA
  • 1990-03-25 10th Golden Raspberry Awards: Star Trek V wins
  • 1991-12-06 "Star Trek VI-Undiscovered Country" premieres
  • 1991-12-18 DeForest Kelly (Dr McCoy on Star Trek) gets a star in Hollywood

TV Show Appearance

1993-05-24 Star Trek episode "Second Chances" airs guest starring Mae Jemison, the 1st real life astronaut to appear on the show

  • 1993-07-29 Walter Koenig (Chekov in Star Trek) suffers a mild heart attack
  • 1993-08-01 Walter Koenig, Chekov of Star Trek, suffers a heart attack

Film & TV History

1994-04-13 Asteroid 7373 Takei discovered and named after Star Trek actor George Takei

  • 1994-05-23 "Star Trek: The Next Generation" finale airs this week in syndication
  • 1994-11-18 "Star Trek: Generations" film directed by David Carson and starring Patrick Stewart premieres
  • 1996-11-18 "Star Trek: First Contact" film directed by Jonathan Frakes and starring Patrick Stewart and Jonathan Frakes premieres
  • 1997-04-21 Ashes of Timothy Leary & "Star trek" creator Gene Roddenberry launched into space orbit
  • 1998-11-10 "Star Trek: Insurrection" film directed by Jonathan Frakes and starring Patrick Stewart and Jonathan Frakes premieres
  • 2002-12-09 "Star Trek: Nemesis" film directed by Stuart Baird, and starring Patrick Stewart and Jonathan Frakes premieres

Film Premiere

2009-04-06 "Star Trek" film reboot directed by J.J. Abrams, starring Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto premieres in Austin, Texas

  • 2013-04-23 "Star Trek Into Darkness" directed by J. J. Abrams starring Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto premieres in Sydney
  • 2063-04-05 Earth's 1st contact with the extraterrestrial Vulcan species in the Star Trek universe

Birthdays in Film & TV

  • 1897-02-21 Celia Lovsky, Austrian-American actress (Soylent Green, T'Pau-Star Trek), born in Vienna, Austria-Hungary (d. 1979)

Jane WyattJane Wyatt (1910-2006)

1910-08-12 American actress (Father Knows Best, Star Trek), born in Mahwah, New Jersey

  • 1912-05-06 William "Bill" Quinn, American actor (Star Trek, The Birds, Rifleman, All in the Family), born in NYC, New York (d. 1994)
  • 1915-04-07 Stanley Adams, American character actor (Star Trek - "Cyrano Jones"; Breakfast at Tiffany's; Lilies of the Field), born in NYC, New York (d. 1977)
  • 1917-03-07 Davis Roberts [Robert Davis], American character actor (Westworld; Star Trek; The Killers), born in Mobile, Alabama (d. 1993)
  • 1918-01-30 David Opatoshu [Opatovsky], American actor & writer (Star Trek, Bonino, Secret Empire, Masada), born in NYC, New York (d. 1996)
  • 1919-12-10 Alexander Courage, American composer of original Star Trek theme, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 2008)
  • 1920-01-20 DeForest Kelley, American actor (Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy-Star Trek), born in Atlanta, Georgia (d. 1999)
  • 1920-03-03 James Doohan, Canadian actor (Star Trek), born in Vancouver, British Columbia (d. 2005)
  • 1920-11-25 Ricardo Montalbán, Mexican actor (Fantasy Island, Star Trek II, Naked Gun), born in Mexico City, Mexico (d. 2009)
  • 1921-05-23 James [Benjamin] Blish, US/UK, sci-fi author (Hugo, Star Trek Reader)
  • 1921-08-19 Gene Roddenberry, American creator of Star Trek, born in El Paso, Texas (d. 1991)
  • 1921-09-03 Harry Landers [Sorokin], American actor (Star Trek, Ben Casey, Drive a Crooked Road), born in NYC, New York (d. 2017)
  • 1923-05-18 Liam Sullivan, American singer and actor (Star Trek, The Magic Sword, Monroes), born in Jacksonville, Illinois (d. 1998)
  • 1924-04-10 Lee Bergere, American actor (Star Trek, Soap, Dynasty), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 2007)
  • 1924-05-03 Mary Carver [Carvellas], American actress (Simon & Simon; Star Trek: Enterprise), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2013)
  • 1924-06-13 Percy Rodriguez [Rodrigues], Canadian actor (Star Trek, Planet of the Apes, Brainwaves), born in Montreal, Quebec (d. 2007)
  • 1924-09-07 Leonard Rosenman, American Academy and Emmy Award-winning film and television composer (Rebel Without A Cause; Star Trek IV; Bound for Glory; Sybill),, born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 2008)
  • 1924-10-15 Mark Lenard, American actor (Mr Spock's dad Sarek-Star Trek), born in Chicago, Illinois
  • 1926-02-06 Walker Edmiston, American actor (Star Trek, Gunsmoke, Mission: Impossible, The Dukes of Hazzard), born in St. Louis, Missouri (d. 2007)
  • 1926-08-15 Georgann Johnson, American actress (Marge-Mr Peepers, Star Trek, Midnight Cowboy), born in Decorah, Iowa (d. 2018)
  • 1926-11-25 Jeffrey Hunter, American actor (Star Trek Cage, The Searchers), born in New Orleans, Louisiana (d. 1969)
  • 1928-05-03 Jeanne Bal, American actress (Pat-Love & Marriage, Star Trek- The Man Trap), born in Santa Monica, California (d. 1996)
  • 1930-04-01 Grace Lee Whitney, American singer and actress (Star Trek - "Yeoman Rand"), born in Ann Arbor, Michigan (d. 2015)

William ShatnerWilliam Shatner (92 years old)

1931-03-22 Canadian author, director and actor (Star Trek; T J Hooker), born in Montreal, Quebec

Leonard NimoyLeonard Nimoy (1931-2015)

1931-03-26 American actor (Star Trek - "Spock"'; Mission Impossible, 1969-71), and director (Star Trek III: The Search for Spock; Three Men and a Baby), born in Boston, Massachusetts

  • 1932-01-09 Jane Ross [Breslaw], American actress (Star Trek, Rocket Attack U.S.A., Wild Is My Love), born in NYC, New York (d. 1985)
  • 1932-02-13 Susan Oliver, American actress (Ann-Peyton Place, Star Trek-Cage), born in NYC, New York (d. 1990)
  • 1932-02-23 Majel Barrett, American actress and producer (Star Trek), and the widow of Gene Roddenberry, born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 2008)
  • 1932-09-27 Roger C. Carmel, American actor (Harry Mudd-Star Trek, In-Laws), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 1986)
  • 1932-12-28 [Grace] Nichelle Nichols, American actress (Star Trek - "Lt. Uhura") and singer (Down To Earth; "Fly Me To The Moon"), born in Robbins, Illinois (d. 2022)
  • 1934-03-05 James B Sikking, American actor (Hill Street Blues - "Lt. Howard Hunter"; Star Trek 3; Doogie Howser), born in Los Angeles, California
  • 1934-05-27 Harlan Ellison, American sci-fi author and screenwriter (Star Trek-"The City on the Edge of Forever"), born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 2018)

Louise FletcherLouise Fletcher (1934-2022)

1934-07-22 American Academy Award-winning actress (One Flew Over Cuckoo's Nest: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), born in Birmingham, Alabama [1]

  • 1936-09-14 Walter Koenig, American actor (Checkov-Star Trek), born in Chicago, Illinois

George TakeiGeorge Takei (85 years old)

1937-04-20 American actor (Sulu-Star Trek, Green Berets), born in Los Angeles, California

  • 1939-03-26 Phillip R. Allen, American stage and screen actor (Hardy Boys Mysteries - "Harry"; Star Trek III - "Captain Esteban"), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (d. 2012)
  • 1940-02-01 Bibi Besch, actress (Star Trek 2, Beast Within), born in Vienna, Austria
  • 1940-06-01 Rene Auberjonois, American actor and voice artist (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, God of War), born in NYC, New York (d. 2019)

Patrick StewartPatrick Stewart (82 years old)

1940-07-13 English actor (Star Trek: The Next Generation - "Captain Picard", X-Men - "Charles Xavier"), born in Mirfield, Yorkshire, England

  • 1941-05-22 Paul Winfield, American actor (Star Trek II, Huckleberry Finn, Mars Attack), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2004)
  • 1941-07-29 David Warner, British Emmy Award-winning stage, screen, radio, and voice actor (Masada; Star Trek VI; Time Bandits), born in Manchester, England (d. 2022)
  • 1942-03-25 Jacqueline Lichtenberg, American sci-fi author (Star Trek Lives!, Dreamspy)
  • 1942-05-05 Marc Alaimo, American actor (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
  • 1943-03-10 Angelique Pettyjohn, [Dorothy Lee Perrins], American actress (Clambake; Repo Man), and burlesque queen, born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1992)
  • 1943-05-07 Peter Horak, Czech stuntman (Star Trek: Voyager: Throw Momma from the Train), born in Prague, Czechoslovakia (d. 2017)
  • 1944-01-24 David Gerrold [Jerrold David Friedman], American science fiction screenwriter (Star Trek) & author (The Martian Child), born in Chicago, Illinois
  • 1945-12-24 Nicholas Meyer, American writer & director (Star Trek II Wrath of Khan), born in New York City
  • 1945-12-25 Rick Berman [Richard], American television producer (Star Trek Generations), born in New York
  • 1947-10-01 Stephen Collins, actor (Star Trek I, Tattingers), born in Des Moines, Iowa
  • 1947-11-24 Dwight Schultz, American actor (A-Team - "Murdock"; Star Trek: The Next Generation - "Barclay"), born in Baltimore, Maryland
  • 1947-12-16 Ben Cross, English actor (Chariots of Fire, Star Trek), born in London, England (d. 2020)
  • 1948-08-28 Vonda N. McIntyre, American sci-fi author (Star Trek II, III, IV), born in Louisville, Kentucky
  • 1948-10-02 Persis Khambatta, Indian actress (Star Trek, Megaforce), born in Mumbai, India (d. 1998)
  • 1949-02-02 Brent Spiner, American actor (Data-Star Trek the Next Generation), born in Houston, Texas
  • 1949-04-05 John Berg, American actor (Star Trek: Nemesis), born in Wichita Falls, Texas (d. 2007)
  • 1950-03-25 Robert O'Reilly, American stage and screen actor (Star Trek - "Klingon Chancellor Gowron"), born in New York City
  • 1950-06-07 Gary Graham, American actor (Alien Nation, Star Trek: Enterprise), born in Long Beach, California
  • 1951-01-12 Kirstie Alley, American Emmy Award-winning actress (Cheers - "Rebecca"; Look Who's Talking; Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan), born in Wichita, Kansas (d. 2022) [1]
  • 1951-08-06 Catherine Hicks, American actress (Star Trek IV, Child's Play), born in NYC, New York
  • 1953-05-30 Colm Meaney, actor (Star Trek Deep Space 9)
  • 1953-11-19 Robert Beltran, American actor (Star Trek Voyager)
  • 1955-02-08 Ethan Phillips, American actor (Neelix-Star Trek Voyager), born in Garden City, New York

Marina SirtisMarina Sirtis (68 years old)

1955-03-29 English actress (Troi-Star Trek: The Next Generation), born in London, England

  • 1955-04-29 Kate Mulgrew, American actress (Capt Janeway-Star Trek Voyager), born in Dubuque, Iowa
  • 1955-07-25 Iman [Abdulmajid], Somali-American model and actress (Star Trek 6), born in Mogadishu, Somalia
  • 1956-06-22 Tim Russ, American actor (Tuvoc-Star Trek Voyager), born in Washington, D.C.
  • 1957-02-16 LeVar Burton, American actor, (Roots - "Kunta Kinte"; Star Trek: The Next Generation - "Lt. Cmdr. Geordi La Forge"), born in Landstuhl, Germany
  • 1957-07-26 Nana Visitor, American actress (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), born in NYC, New York
  • 1957-11-24 Denise Crosby, actress (Tasha-Star Trek: Next Gen), born in Hollywood, California
  • 1958-09-11 Roxann Dawson, American actress (B'Elanna Torres-Star Trek: Voyager), born in Los Angeles, California
  • 1961-02-21 Martha Hackett, American actress (Star Trek:Voyager), born in Boston, Massachusetts
  • 1965-01-08 Michelle Forbes [Guajardo], American actress (True Blood, Guiding Light, Star Trek: The Next Generation), born in Austin, Texas
  • 1968-02-22 Jeri Ryan, American actress (7 of 9-Star Trek Voyager), born in Munich, Germany
  • 1968-12-15 Garrett Wang, American actor (Star Trek Voyager), born in Riverside, California
  • 1969-04-18 Keith DeCandido, American sci-fi author (Star Trek), born in NYC, New York
  • 1972-06-16 John Cho, Korean-American actor (Star Trek), born in Seoul, South Korea
  • 1977-06-02 Zachary Quinto, American actor (Star Trek), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  • 1980-08-26 Chris Pine, American actor (Star Trek), born in Los Angeles, California

Alice EveAlice Eve (41 years old)

1982-02-06 English actress (She's Out of My League; Star Trek Into Darkness), born in London

  • 1989-03-11 Anton Yelchin, Russian-born American actor (Star Trek), born in Leningrad, Soviet Union (d. 2016)
  • 2160-06-14 Montgomery Edward Scott, Fictional engineer from Star Trek, born in Aberdeen, Scotland
  • 2173-04-05 Harcourt Fenton "Harry" Mudd, New Amsterdam, Arcturus (Star Trek)
  • 2179-01-22 Hikaru Walter Sulu, Fictional Star Trek character, born in San Francisco, California
  • 2179-09-04 Nyota Uhura, Fictional Star Trek communications officer, born in Nairobi, Kenya
  • 2184-03-25 Pavel Andreivich Chekov, Leningrad, USSR (Star Trek-character)
  • 2184-08-05 Christine Lauren Chapel, (Star Trek), born in Davenport Heights, Vermont
  • 2186-08-05 Kevin Thomas Riley, Tasvennir, Tarsus IV (Star Trek)
  • 2233-03-22 James T Kirk, science fiction captain of USS Enterprise (Star Trek)
  • 2324-10-13 Beverly Crusher, fictional doctor on "Star Trek: The Next Generation", born in Copernicus City, Luna

Weddings in Film & TV

  • 1945-09-07 "Star Trek" actor DeForest Kelley (25) weds Carolyn Dowling (25)

William Shatner

1956-08-12 Canadian "Star Trek" actor William Shatner (25) weds Gloria Rand; divorce in 1969

  • 1973-10-20 Canadian "Star Trek" actor William Shatner (42) weds Marcy Lafferty; divorce in 1996
  • 1988-05-28 American "General Hospital" actress Genie Francis (26) weds American "Star Trek: The Next Generation" actor Jonathan Frakes in the chapel of St. Nicholas Church in Encino, California

Marina Sirtis

1992-06-21 "Star Trek: The Next Generation" actress Marina Sirtis (37) weds American rock guitarist Michael Lamper (34)

Patrick Stewart

2000-08-25 "Star Trek: The Next Generation" actor Patrick Stewart (60) weds film producer Wendy Neuss (39) in Los Angeles

  • 2002-09-01 "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" actress Terry Farrell (38) weds actor Brian Baker (35) at Paris Las Vegas in Paradise, Nevada
  • 2003-04-22 "Star Trek: Enterprise" actress Jolene Blalock (28) weds "Live Nation" CEO Michael Rapino in Negril, Jamaica
  • 2013-09-07 British "Star Trek" actor Patrick Stewart (72) weds American country singer Sunny Ozell (35) at Lake Tahoe, Nevada; British actor Ian McKellen officiates
  • 2014-07-04 Star Trek actor Tom Hardy (36) weds actress Charlotte Riley (32) in a secret ceremony

Deaths in Film & TV

  • 1969-05-27 Jeffrey Hunter, American actor (Star Trek Cage, The Searchers), dies of an intracranial hemorrhage at 43
  • 1975-07-29 James [Benjamin] Blish, sci-fi author (Star Trek Reader), dies at 54
  • 1977-04-27 Stanley Adams, American character actor (Star Trek - "Cyrano Jones"; Breakfast at Tiffany's; Lilies of the Field), commits suicide at 62
  • 1985-06-27 Jane Ross [Breslaw], American actress (Star Trek, Rocket Attack U.S.A., Wild Is My Love), dies at 53
  • 1986-11-11 Roger C. Carmel, American actor (Star Trek - "Harry Mudd"; The Mothers-in-Law - "Roger"), dies at 54
  • 1990-05-10 Susan Oliver, American actress (Ann-Peyton Place, Star Trek-Cage), dies of cancer at 61
  • 1991-10-24 Gene Roddenberry, American creator of Star Trek, dies of cardiac arrest at 70
  • 1992-01-03 Judith Anderson, actress (Star Trek 3), dies of pneumonia at 93
  • 1993-07-18 Davis Roberts [Robert Davis], American character actor (Westworld; Star Trek; The Killers), dies of emphysema at 76
  • 1994-04-29 William "Bill" Quinn, American actor (Star Trek, The Birds, Rifleman, All in the Family), dies of natural causes at 81
  • 1994-11-03 Dennis C Ott, American actor (Star Trek 3/4), dies of AIDs
  • 1995-12-20 Madge Sinclair (née Walters), Jamaican-American actress (Conrack; Roots - "Bell"; Trapper John, M.D. - "Ernestine"; The Lion King), dies of leukemia at 55
  • 1996-04-30 David Opatoshu [Opatovsky], American actor and writer (Star Trek, Bonino, Secret Empire, Masada), dies at 78
  • 1996-04-30 Jeanne Bal, American actress (Pat-Love & Marriage, Star Trek- The Man Trap), dies at 67
  • 1996-11-22 Mark Lenard, American actor (Sarek-Star Trek), dies of cancer at 72
  • 1998-04-19 Liam Sullivan, American singer and actor (Star Trek; The Magic Sword; Monroes), dies of a heart attack at 74
  • 1998-08-18 Persis Khambatta, Indian actress (Star Trek, Megaforce), dies of a heart attack at 49
  • 1999-06-11 DeForest Kelley, American actor (Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy-Star Trek), dies of stomach cancer at 79
  • 2004-03-07 Paul Winfield, American actor (Star Trek II, Huckleberry Finn, Mars Attack), dies at 64
  • 2005-07-20 James Doohan, Canadian actor (Star Trek), dies from Pulmonary fibrosis at 85

Jane WyattJane Wyatt (1910-2006)

2006-10-20 American actress (Father Knows Best, Star Trek), dies at 96

  • 2007-01-31 Lee Bergere, American actor (Star Trek, Soap, Dynasty), dies at 82
  • 2007-02-15 Walker Edmiston, American actor (Star Trek, Gunsmoke, Mission: Impossible, The Dukes of Hazzard), dies at 81
  • 2007-09-06 Percy Rodriguez [Rodrigues], Canadian actor (Star Trek, Planet of the Apes, Brainwaves), dies of kidney failure at 89
  • 2007-12-15 John Berg, American actor (Star Trek: Nemesis), takes his own life at 58
  • 2008-03-04 Leonard Rosenman, American Academy and Emmy Award-winning film and television composer (Rebel Without A Cause; Star Trek IV; Bound for Glory; Sybill), dies of a heart attack at 83
  • 2008-05-15 Alexander Courage, American composer of original Star Trek theme, dies at 88
  • 2008-12-18 Majel Barrett, American actress and producer (Star Trek), and the widow of Gene Roddenberry, dies at 76
  • 2009-01-14 Ricardo Montalbán, Mexican actor (Fantasy Island, Star Trek II, Naked Gun), dies of congestive heart failure at 88
  • 2012-03-01 Phillip R. Allen, American stage and screen actor (Hardy Boys Mysteries - "Harry"; Star Trek III - "Captain Esteban"), dies at 72
  • 2013-10-18 Mary Carver [Carvellas], American actress (Simon & Simon, Star Trek: Enterprise), dies at 89

Leonard NimoyLeonard Nimoy (1931-2015)

2015-02-27 American actor (Star Trek - "Spock"'; Mission Impossible, 1969-71), and director (Star Trek III: The Search for Spock; Three Men and a Baby), dies of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at 83

  • 2015-05-01 Grace Lee Whitney, American singer and actress (Yeoman Rand-Star Trek), dies at 85
  • 2016-06-19 Anton Yelchin, Russian-born American actor (Star Trek), dies in an accident at 27
  • 2017-09-10 Harry Landers [Sorokin], American actor (Star Trek, Ben Casey, Drive a Crooked Road), dies at 96
  • 2017-10-01 Peter Horak, Czech stuntman (Star Trek: Voyager: Throw Momma from the Train), dies at 74
  • 2018-06-04 Georgann Johnson, American actress (Marge-Mr Peepers, Star Trek, Midnight Cowboy), dies at 91
  • 2018-06-28 Harlan Ellison, American sci-fi author and screenwriter (Star Trek-"The City on the Edge of Forever"), dies at 84
  • 2019-12-08 Rene Auberjonois, American actor and voice artist (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, God of War), dies of lung cancer at 79
  • 2020-08-18 Ben Cross, English actor (Chariots of Fire, Star Trek), dies at 72
  • 2022-07-24 David Warner, British Emmy Award-winning stage, screen, radio, and voice actor (Masada; Star Trek VI; Time Bandits), dies of lung cancer at 80
  • 2022-07-30 [Grace] Nichelle Nichols, American actress (Star Trek - "Lt. Uhura") and singer (Down To Earth; "Fly Me To The Moon"), dies at 89

Louise FletcherLouise Fletcher (1934-2022)

2022-09-23 American Academy Award-winning actress (One Flew Over Cuckoo's Nest: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), dies at 88 [1]

  • 2022-12-05 Kirstie Alley, American Emmy Award-winning actress (Cheers - "Rebecca"; Look Who's Talking; Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan), dies of colon cancer at 71 [1]