[Deathwatch] Majel Barrett Roddenberry, actress, 76

[Deathwatch Central]

Star Trek Universe Loses Majel Barrett Roddenberry

Thu., Dec. 18, 2008 

In a more enlightened age, Majel Barrett Roddenberry might have rated a
Federation command. As it was, she helped rule the Star Trek universe.

Roddenberry, the actress whose best-known role was the wife and, later,
widow of Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, died today at her Bel Air,
Calif., home, Roddenberry.com said. The reported cause of death was
leukemia.

Billed through much of her acting career as Majel Barrett, the
dark-haired Roddenberry played Dr. McCoy's blonde, beehived assistant,
Nurse Chapel, on the original 1966-69 Trek series. She also supplied
the voice of the USS Enterprise's computer—a service she continued to
provide through the franchise's various offshoots, including J.J.
Abrams' upcoming big-screen reboot, Star Trek. 

As prominent as those roles were, Roddenberry very nearly played a much
larger one.

In the original Trek pilot, shot in 1964, Roddenberry was Number One,
the Enterprise's No. 1-ranking officer after its then-captain,
Christopher Pike (played by Jeffrey Hunter). Number One was smart,
competent, and just so happened to be a woman, not to mention a
brunette. The network executives at NBC balked—truth be told, they
weren't big fans of the weird-looking guy with the pointy ears, either.


To get his show on the air, Gene Roddenberry consented to lose Number
One. But he kept the actress on as Nurse Chapel, albeit a much
lower-profile role, and married her portrayer in December 1969. In a
final twist to the suits, he gave Number One's old job to the
weird-looking guy with the pointy ears, Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy). 

Majel Barrett Roddenberry reprised Nurse Chapel for brief appearances
in 1979's Star Trek: The Motion Picture and 1986's Star Trek IV: The
Voyage Home. She played the recurring role of Counselor Deanna Troi's
mother on Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Gene Roddenberry died in 1991 at the age of 70.

After his passing, Majel Barrett Roddenberry helped bring alive one of
his pet projects in the form of the 1997-2002 series Earth: Final
Conflict but said she had nothing to do with running the
at-times-flailing Trek ship.

"Gene sold out all of his rights to Star Trek way back 15, almost 20
years ago," she told SciFiDimensions.com in 2000. "So, they ask
nothing. I volunteer nothing. They invite me to a few of their
shindigs. I'll bet you I haven't been on that lot in two years."

Still, Roddenberry welcomed the recent digital remastering of the
original series and Abrams' theatrical take, seeing them as validations
of her husband's legacy.

"What's nice is you know a Star Trek movie is still one that everybody
wants," she told The Hollywood Reporter in 2006.

In a statement today on Roddenberry.com, her son, Eugene Roddenberry
Jr., said his mother appreciated the role fans played in keeping the
Trek franchise running for 40-plus years. 

"It was her love for the fans, and their love in return," he said,
"that kept her going for so long after my father passed away."
by Joal Ryan 




Sci-fi icon Majel Barrett Roddenberry dies at 76
Thu Dec 18

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Actress Majel Barrett Roddenberry, the widow of
"Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry and a member of the show's cast,
has died. She was 76.

Barrett Roddenberry died of leukemia on Thursday at her home in the Los
Angeles neighborhood of Bel Air, her family said in a statement.

Her relationship with Gene Roddenberry, who died in 1991 after the two
had been married for 22 years, earned Barrett Roddenberry the nickname
"The First Lady of Star Trek."

She had roles in nearly every "Star Trek" television show and movie,
playing Nurse Chapel in the original series and lending her voice to
the starship's computer in nearly every incarnation of the saga.

She recently finished her role as the voice of the USS Enterprise
computer in director J.J. Abrams' movie "Star Trek," which is due out
in May, 2009, her family said.

Barrett Roddenberry is survived by her only son, Eugene "Rod"
Roddenberry Jr. A public memorial is expected to be scheduled for
sometime after Christmas.


Many thanks to Deathwatch Central for posting this obituary