Tag Archives: actor

Happy Centenary David Frankham! A Retrospective.

Today, February 16, 2026, one of our favorite Star Trek guest stars turned 100!

Happy 100th Birthday David Frankham! You remember him best as Dr. Larry Marvin in Is There in Truth No Beauty?, the doomed, brilliant lover of Dr. Miranda Jones. I always felt sorry for his character!

I had the honor of meeting Mr. Frankham at the Star Trek Original Series Tour in 2016! (I dressed as Dr. Miranda Jones) I can’t believe it’s been 10 years! But what a delight, and he told us many stories of his very varied life as an actor, and of course in Star Trek! You can see my original post about meeting him here.

And indeed, David has had an amazing career. After serving with the British Army in India just after World War II, he landed a job from1948 through 1955 as a BBC Radio interviewer. This job would eventually lead him to acting, where he did everything from television to movies to voice overs! He also starred with his friend Vincent Price in several pictures. (Vincent even gave David furniture for his first apartment in California!) He was also in The Great Santini (1979) with Robert Duvall; who coincidentally just passed away the day before David’s Centennial at age 95 😦

Here’s some images from his amazing life! We love you, David! Carry on!

David in 1946 serving with the British Army in India
With BBC Radio in 1946.
Return of the Fly 1959 (It seems he often got cast as an unfortunate character!)

In Disney’s Ten Who Dared 1960
As the loyal and brave Sgt Tibbs in 101 Dalmations (1961)
In Master of the World (1961)
Promo pic for Master of the World
Great candid shot on the set of Master of the World
In Tales of Welles Fargo 1961

In Tales of Terror (sigh!) 1962

Tales of Terror with Basil Rathbone and Vincent Price

In The Outer Limits (1963)

Larry Marvick in Star Trek 1968

This kiss wasn’t originally scripted, but it worked so well!
Poor Larry!
As the Storyteller in the clay-mation short The House of Seven Gables (2018)
David and I at The Star Trek Original Set Tour, 2016 I love him!

Some Rare Nimoy Finds! Two mysteries solved!

Hi Everybody,

Sorry I haven’t posted in a while – this week I was knocked out with a stomach bug. Much better now, and here’s a nice little surprise of my recent winnings on eBay! And though these winnings I have figured out a couple of mysteries I had wondered about their origins!

First, do you recall that stunning portrait of Leonard from the 1950’s that popped up a couple of years ago? Yeah, that one. Well, I found out through an auction that this was one of Leonard’s official portraits for his agent’s company (The Barskin Agency, phone # included) You can see here how it was used in a directory of potential actors with stars in their eyes. Even more so, there’s the photo on the right of the ad which I’ve never seen before; would like to see the original of this too! If anyone has a better copy, let me know!

Leonard’s promotional ad from a actor directory in the 1950’s.

Second Mystery: There’s a photo I’ve seen off and on of Leonard in full Spock makeup sitting behind a desk with a microphone. Many puzzled, Is it…

  1. A game show.
  2. A panel discussion.
  3. Just an interview off the Trek set.

Give yourself fist pump if you thought #3. Indeed, it is an interview from a local Los Angeles TV station KHJ- 9 (now known as KCAL), and the program was an afternoon talk show called Tempo that aired for 3 hours every afternoon. In late 1966, Leonard was a guest on one of the third hours which often featured celebrity interviews. Here, Leonard is being interviewed by hostess Maria Cole, who was the widow of the great Nat King Cole (Jazz vocalist, and mother of Natalie).

Finding this picture was a treasure, especially since we could finally see the entire set and hostess! The props define the era so well too; the wired microphones, the red telephone and of course the ash tray because almost everybody smoked! Now if only there’s a video available somewhere; I would have loved to seen what episode he was in the middle of shooting!

1966: Leonard in full Spock costume being interviewed by hostess Maria Cole on Tempo, a local interview program on the former KHJ 9 station.

Anton Yelchin 1989-2016

AntonIt is with great sadness and  heartbreak that I have to report this latest passing.  Anton Yelchin, the talented young actor who played Chekov in the rebooted Star Trek movies, died as a result of a freak accident at his home on Sunday, June 19th.  He was only 27.

Mr. Yelchin was rolled over by his own car and pinned between it, a brick mailbox pillar and a security fence.  This is so tragic and must be devastating for his his parents, as he was their only child.  We were just getting to know this fine young actor who gave such bubbly energy to the Chekov character. (He was one of my favorite characters in the reboot).  I know he was just beginning his path to assured stardom in his acting career.  Gone too soon, and so terribly tragic.   My heart and prayers to out to his family, friends, fellow actors and all of his admirers.

Seeing him in the upcoming Star Trek Beyond movie will be bittersweet, but I’m thankful we had him there.  For a relatively young actor, he has a long career in movies and television and had made several other critically acclaimed movies, including Charlie Bartlett, (2008) Like Crazy (2011),  The Beaver (2011) , and Green Room (2015)

Rest in Peace dear Anton. You will be missed.

 

Happy 75th Patrick Stewart!

Today was the 75th birthday of beloved Trek TNG actor Patrick Stewart!   I love this guy!  Not only a great asset to Star Trek, but a marvelous Shakespearean actor and just a wonderful human being!  It’s so easy to think of him as serious characters as Captain Picard and Professor Charles Xavier, but in reality he’s proven many times just how un-serious he is! Bless you on your Birthday Sir Patrick, and may you Live Long and Prosper!

picardPatrick_Stewart_by_Gage_Skidmore

US-POLITICS-ENTERTAINMENT-WHCA-DINNERSir Pat ballsgiphy

(And check out this song and dance tribute from Patrick to Gene Roddenberry! )