Star Trek & Twilight Zone Actor Joanne Linville Passes Away Aged 93

Joanne Linville died this past Sunday in Los Angeles, California; although her cause of death is yet to be announced according to the Daily Mail. Linville’s career spanned nearly 7 decades, nabbing roles mainly in TV shows through her long and illustrious career. Most notably as a Romulan commander in the 1968 Star Trek: The Original Series.

Joanne Linville’s Early Life, Professional Life, And Beyond

Linville was born in Bakersfield, California, on January 15, 1928. She grew up in Venice, California, and as a teenager attended El Camino High School. While in high school she worked as an oral surgeon’s assistant. After high school, she chose to study acting and paid for that by dancing professionally.

Linville got her first acting role in a 1950 television show by the name of Copper Canyon. It’s a typical western romance show about a sharpshooter who is tasked with helping a bunch of copper miners. Although she was an uncredited showgirl, this would be her first of many roles that would take her through the 60s, 70s, and beyond.

She would eventually get better television roles as the years went on until she got a consistent role on a show by the name of Studio One which is an anthology series that was chalked full of all kinds of drama. Think of it like The Twilight Zone (which Linville was in, in 1961 she played Laviana Gordon, a mansion owner who lives in the south), but with more drama as opposed to terror. Jump forwards to 1968 where she was in Star Trek: The Original Series and played a Romulan commander who Spock was tasked to seduce under the guise of Cpt. Kirk. This was done in order to steal a cloaking device so that Spock, Kirk, and the rest of the star fleet could escape. The episode in question is called The Enterprise Incident. Her very last acting credit came in 2016 on a show called Starship Excelsior where she played The Legate.

Joanne Linville leaves behind her two children Amy and Christopher and her grandchildren Ruby and Ginger.