Actor Michael Ansara 1922-2013

[Zoneboy]

He played the great Klingon warrior Kang on three versions of "Star Trek" and a Native American on ABC's "Broken Arrow."

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Michael Ansara, the rugged character actor who played Klingon commander Kang on three different Star Trek TV series, has died. He was 91.
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Ansara, who was married to actress Barbara Eden of I Dream of Jeannie fame, died July 31 at his home in Calabasas, Calif., after a prolonged illness, his former publicist, Michael B. Druxman, said.

Born in a small village in Syria to American parents, Ansara starred as Native Americans on two 1950s primetime series: the ABC Western Broken Arrow as Cochise and as Deputy U.S. Marshal Sam Buckhart, an Apache, on NBC's Law of the Plainsman.

Ansara is beloved by Star Trek fans as one of only seven actors to play the same character on three versions of the sci-fi series: on the original (in the 1968 episode "Day of the Dove"), on Deep Space Nine (1994's "Blood Oath") and on Voyager (1996's "Flashback"). Kang was a legendary warrior.


He also had major roles in such films as 1953's Julius Caesar and The Robe (as Judas); Jupiter’s Darling (1955); 1961's Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (he also appeared in the subsequent ABC series); The Comancheros (1961) with John Wayne; The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965); Guns of the Magnificent Seven (1969); The Bears and I (1974); The Message (1977); and It’s Alive (1974).

Ansara came to the U.S. with his American parents at the age of 2. As a teen, he and his family relocated to California, and he entered Los Angeles City College with the intention of becoming a doctor.

A stint at the Pasadena Playhouse (where fellow students included Charles Bronson, Carolyn Jones and Aaron Spelling) led to roles on stage and in films.

He was married to Eden from 1958-74. Their son, Matthew Michael Ansara, died in 2001. An actor, he died of an accidental heroin overdose at age 35.

The senior Ansara's many TV appearances also included The Untouchables, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Perry Mason, The Outer Limits, Lost in Space, I Dream of Jeannie with his wife, Hawaii 5-0, Murder, She Wrote and James Michener's Centennial miniseries. He also voiced the role of Mr. Freeze on the animated Batman series.

The deep-voiced Ansara, who has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, also was married for a brief time in the 1950s to the late Jean Byron, who played the mom on The Patty Duke Show.

His Sam Buckhart character was introduced in two episodes of another ABC Western, The Rifleman.

"After that series I went two years without working at all," Ansara recalled in a 1979 interview. "If you play one thing (in his case, a Native American), and you play it well, they would type you, and it would be difficult to get other roles."

Survivors include Beverly, his wife of 36 years, his sister Rose, his niece Michelle and nephew Michael John.
A private service is pending. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to St. Michael’s Antiochian

[catlover79]

I remember his appearances on IDOJ with his then-wife, Barbara Eden. May he .

[biffbronson]

His appearance in the Hawaiian storyline of I Dream of Jeannie just aired on MeTV.

This comes as somewhat of a shock, as I've just been reading about him in Eden's book Jeannie Out of the Bottle. They had a great relationship for many years. I was also aware of his marriage to the late Jean Byron.

[Retro4Life]

He was wonderful as Kang in Star Trek.