Grace Lee Whitney was an experienced actress before she came to Star Trek. She had roles in several movies including Some Like It Hot with Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon and Marilyn Monroe. She also guest starred on many TV shows in the lat 1950s and early 60s. She was hired to do Star Trek in 1966 as a lead character, not a featured character. In fact, she was one of the first actors signed after Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner. Early publicity photos feature Whitney Shatner and Nimoy together. She was signed to act in 13 episodes and had considered…
Author: Trekadmin
Star Trek had a large regular cast for its time with seven regular roles. It also had a group of characters that made more than one appearance and in some cases, then just disappeared. Some of the faces you see again and again, but we never get to know who they really are. These include characters like Lt. Kevin Riley, Mr. Kyle and Mr. Leslie. One character we did get to know pretty well was Yeoman Janice Rand. But she disappeared suddenly in the first half of the first season. On this episode of 70s Trek, co-hosts Bob Turner…
For many, Fred Frieberger is known as “The Serial Killer.” He worked on the last seasons of several beloved TV shows right before they were cancelled. As a result, fans blame him for their ultimate demise. Star Trek is included in that list of cancelled series. But to lay the blame for Star Trek’s fall at Frieberger’s feet is unfair. Prior to the start of production for Season 3, there was a big mess behind the scenes at Star Trek. William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy were feuding over screen time, the production budget was cut by $9,000 per episode which…
Once Star Trek reruns began to be seen across the country in syndication, the show attracted a whole new audience of viewers. It was on everyday at the same time, and it was easy for viewers to catch episodes. This all helped to contribute to Star Trek’s popularity in the 1970s. Clubs sprang up, conventions were held and fanzines were printed. In this unique environment, Bjo and a friend came up with the idea of the book, The Star Trek Concordance. Bjo and John tell us the story of the Concordance, as well as the letter writing campaign that…
Bjo and John Trimble tell a story about being on the Star Trek set in early 1968 and learning, unofficially, that the show was to be cancelled. During their drive home, John innocently commented, “There ought to be something we could do about that.” Upon hearing those words, Bjo’s mind began to come up with ideas and and by the time they arrived home, the two had the basics of a plan to save Star Trek. Co-hosts Bob Turner and Kelly Casto talk with Bjo and John on this episode of 70s Trek. The plan they came up with was a…