Throne Passes
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Malachi Throne, known to Star Trek fans for his five appearances on the original series and on Star Trek: The Next Generation, has died at the age of 84.
The actor died peacefully in his sleep after a long battle with cancer.
Throne appeared on the original series as Commodore Jose I Mendez in The Menagerie two-part episode, and as the voice of the Keeper in The Cage.
In The Next Generation, Throne portrayed Romulan Senator Pardek in Unification I and II.
The actor could have been cast as Dr. McCoy, but he turned it down, preferring the part of Spock. “[Roddenberry] already had Leonard Nimoy for that,” said Throne in a 2009 interview. “…he offered me the part of Dr. McCoy. I was tempted, but I turned it down. There’s an old saying among actors: ‘Never be the third man through the door,’ and I felt I would always be the third man in that role.”
In addition to his Star Trek appearances, Throne appeared in ninety different television shows dating back to 1959, including an appearance as “False Face” on Batman. “Everyone wanted to know who played False Face,” said Throne. “It was a two-part episode, so after the first week the papers were abuzz. Eventually, I cooled down [Throne had refused to let his name be put into the credits because a “young starlet” was being paid $25,000 to be in the same episode and he was not] and let them put my name at the end of the second episode. It was the best press I ever got in my life.”
Throne is survived by his wife Marjorie and two sons, Zachary and Joshua.
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Rest in peace Mr. Throne.
No offense, but this must be the third time in the past 10 years that I’ve read that he died!
Weird!
Dug him in “It Takes a Thief”. False Face the most intriguing of all the Batman villains.
Six Trek Appearances – Star Trek: New Voyages “In Harm’s Way” http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0910481/
Also, in an odd twist, on Melrose Place he played William Campbell, and of course we know William Campbell as Trelaine and Koloth.
Eddies in the space-time continuum.
Godspeed. I am glad his passage was peaceful. As glorious as a death in battle may be, it tends to be a mite horrifically painful, and leaves one rather less-than-presentable for an open-casket service.
RIP Mr. Throne, you will live in TREK forever!