Joanne Linville, a prolific actress best known for playing a Romulan commander in an episode of “Star Trek,” died Sunday. She was 93.
Her passing was confirmed by Variety.
Linville, a California native, appeared in dozens of popular television shows in her decades-long career, including “The Twilight Zone,” “Columbo,” “Kojak,” “Dynasty,” “Charlie’s Angels,” “L.A. Law,” “Gunsmoke,” “The Streets of San Francisco,” “Hawaii Five-0,” “Route 66,” “Barnaby Jones” and “Alfred Hitchcock Presents.” She also worked in films including the 1976 version of “A Star Is Born,” starring Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson, and the 1973 spy movie “Scorpio” with Burt Lancaster.
But she is often remembered for playing a powerful Romulan commander in the Sept. 27, 1968, “Star Trek” episode “The Enterprise Incident,” in which her character faces off with Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and romances with usually unfeeling Vulcan officer Spock (Leonard Nimoy).
Television and film producer Mark A. Altman (“Pandora,” “The Librarians”), who worked on the 2016 documentary “50 Years of ‘Star Trek,'” saluted her portrayal on social media, calling it “perhaps the best thing about #StarTrek’s third season.”
She is also remembered for playing a Southern Civil War widow in a 1961 episode of Rod Serling’s classic sci-fi series “The Twilight Zone.”
One of her more recent parts was portraying legendary gossip columnist Hedda Hopper in the 2001 TV movie “James Dean,” starring James Franco in the lead role and directed by her ex-husband, Mark Rydell.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, she and acclaimed teacher Stella Adler started an acting conservatory under Adler’s name in the 1980s.
Linville is survived by her ex-husband, Oscar-nominated director Mark Rydell (“On Golden Pond”), and their children, Christopher and Amy, as well as several grandchildren and a great-grandchild.
