Yahoo Movies Joanne Linville, Who Played a Romulan Commander in ‘Star Trek,’ Dies at 93
Joanne Linville, who was best known for playing a Romulan commander in “Star Trek,” died Sunday in Los Angeles, her agent confirmed to Variety. She was 93.
Born in Bakersfield, Calif. as Beverly Joanne Linville, she was the first female actor to play a Romulan in the “Star Trek” franchise. Linville was a fixture on television from the 1950s to the ’80s, appearing in over 100 film and TV shows, including anthology series such as “Studio One,” “Kraft Theatre” and “Alfred Hitchcock Presents.”
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While she never held a regular recurring role on TV, Linville guest-starred on numerous shows, including Westerns, dramas and detective series. Linville starred in six episodes of “Studio One” and three episodes of “Gunsmoke.” Throughout her career, which spanned over six decades, she also appeared in “Hawaii Five-O,” “Barnaby Jones,” “Naked City,” “Adventures in Paradise” and “One Step Beyond.”
In 1961, Linville guest starred in an episode of “The Twilight Zone,” and in 1976, she played a supporting role in Barbra Streisand’s “A Star Is Born.”
Linville married director Mark Rydell in 1962 and had two children, Amy and Christopher Rydell, who are also actors. In the 1980s, Linville started an acting conservatory with her teacher Stella Adler and wrote a book titled “Seven Steps to an Acting Craft.”
According to the press release announcing her death, “Linville lived a full life. One whose spirit, passion for art and life was an inspiration to all who had the pleasure of knowing her.”
Along with ex-husband Rydell and children Amy and Christopher, Linville is also survived by her grandchildren, Austen, Ruby and Ginger, and great-grandson Kingston Fisher Lourd Rydell.
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