Winrich Kolbe obit

Obituary: Winrich Kolbe (1940-2012)

October 23, 2012

 He was not on the list.

Winrich Kolbe, director of nearly fifty segments of the 1980s-1990s Star Trek series, including the two-part final episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation and the pilot for Star Trek: Voyager, has died at the age of 71.  Kolbe, who retired from directing in 2003, had left a teaching post at the Savannah College of Art and Design in 2007, apparently due to illness.  His death, noted in the memoriam column of the November DGA Monthly, was not reported by any major news source or Star Trek fan outlet.  Kolbe’s sister, reached by telephone on Tuesday, confirmed that Kolbe died in late September but could provide few other details.

Born in Germany in 1940, Kolbe (above, with Denise Crosby) began his career in Hollywood as a Universal staffer in the seventies.  At Universal he moved up from associate producer (on McCloud, Switch, and Quincy, M.E.) to director in 1977, with an episode of The Hardy Boys / Nancy Drew Mysteries.  His other early credits included single segments of Battlestar Galactica and The Rockford Files (the last episode, in fact, although the abrupt termination of the series due to James Garner’s rift with the studio meant it was not a true finale), but Kolbe his stride in the eighties as a regular director for several testosterone-rich action and crime series: Magnum, P.I., Knight Rider, Hunter, and Spenser: For Hire.

In 1988 Kolbe began long associations with two successful successful dramas, In the Heat of the Night and Star Trek: The Next Generation.  But it was the latter that would become his main late-career meal ticket, as “Rick” Kolbe became a franchise favorite who continued on to the Star Trek spinoffs Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and (briefly) Enterprise.  Kolbe directed several first-rate Next Generation episodes, including “Darmok” (with Paul Winfield) and the finale, “All Good Things…”, but his chief claim to fame within the Star Trek universe may be his three-year relationship with Kate Mulgrew during the early seasons of Voyager.  (Kolbe was married at the time, and the romance made the tabloids.)  This article offers a detailed look at the filming of one of the director’s Voyager segments, and provides a useful snapshot of how Kolbe worked.

Kolbe also directed episodes of T.J. Hooker, Scarecrow and Mrs. King, Tales of the Gold Monkey, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, Millenium, Angel, 24, and Fastlane, among others.

Director

Kelly Rutherford and James Denton in Threat Matrix (2003)

Threat Matrix

5.9

TV Series

Director (as Rick Kolbe)

2003

1 episode

 

Fred Dryer and Stepfanie Kramer in Hunter (2003)

Hunter

7.1

TV Series

Director

2003

1 episode

 

Alex Carter, Ryan Merriman, and Cobie Smulders in Veritas: The Quest (2003)

Veritas: The Quest

7.5

TV Series

Director (as Rick Kolbe)

2003

1 episode

 

Bill Bellamy, Peter Facinelli, Tiffani Thiessen, and Mo McRae in Fastlane (2002)

Fastlane

7.4

TV Series

Director

2002

1 episode

 

The Twilight Zone (2002)

The Twilight Zone

7.2

TV Series

Director

2002

1 episode

 

Mia Kirshner, Graham Greene, Lou Diamond Phillips, Paul Wesley, and Mary Elizabeth Winstead in Wolf Lake (2001)

Wolf Lake

7.4

TV Series

Director

2002

1 episode

 

Scott Bakula, John Billingsley, Jolene Blalock, Dominic Keating, Anthony Montgomery, Connor Trinneer, and Linda Park in Star Trek: Enterprise (2001)

Star Trek: Enterprise

7.5

TV Series

Director

2002

1 episode

 

Ice Planet (2001)

Ice Planet

3.9

Director

2001

 

Kiefer Sutherland, Reiko Aylesworth, Carlos Bernard, Jude Ciccolella, Glenn Morshower, and Mary Lynn Rajskub in 24 (2001)

24

8.4

TV Series

Director

2001

2 episodes

 

The Fugitive (2000)

The Fugitive

6.9

TV Series

Director

2001

2 episodes

 

Robert Beltran, Jennifer Lien, Robert Duncan McNeill, Kate Mulgrew, Robert Picardo, Jeri Ryan, Roxann Dawson, Ethan Phillips, Tim Russ, and Garrett Wang in Star Trek: Voyager (1995)

Star Trek: Voyager

7.8

TV Series

Director

1995–2000

18 episodes

 

Three (1998)

Three

7.8

TV Series

Director

2000

1 episode

 

David Boreanaz, Charisma Carpenter, and Glenn Quinn in Angel (1999)

Angel

7.9

TV Series

Director

2000

1 episode

 

Michael Dorn, Terry Farrell, Colm Meaney, Nana Visitor, Avery Brooks, Armin Shimerman, Rene Auberjonois, and Alexander Siddig in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993)

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

8.1

TV Series

Director

1993–1999

13 episodes

 

The Darwin Conspiracy (1999)

The Darwin Conspiracy

3.6

TV Movie

Director

1999

 

Linden Ashby and Allison Smith in Spy Game (1997)

Spy Game

7.7

TV Series

Director

1998

1 episode

 

Star Trek World Tour (1998)

Star Trek World Tour

7.1

Director

1998

 

Dennis Rodman, Tim Abell, Melinda Clarke, David Eigenberg, and Brad Johnson in Soldier of Fortune, Inc. (1997)

Soldier of Fortune, Inc.

6.9

TV Series

Director

1998

1 episode

 

Debra Messing, Adam Storke, and Vincent Ventresca in Prey (1998)

Prey

7.6

TV Series

Director

1998

1 episode

 

Catherine Bell and David James Elliott in JAG (1995)

JAG

6.7

TV Series

Director

1998

1 episode

 

Lance Henriksen and Klea Scott in Millennium (1996)

Millennium

8.0

TV Series

Director

1996–1997

4 episodes

 

J.T. Walsh, Eric Close, and Megan Ward in Dark Skies (1996)

Dark Skies

7.5

TV Series

Director

1996

1 episode

 

L.A. Firefighters (1996)

L.A. Firefighters

5.7

TV Series

Director

1996

 

Kristen Cloke, Rodney Rowland, and Morgan Weisser in Space: Above and Beyond (1995)

Space: Above and Beyond

7.8

TV Series

Director

1996

2 episodes

 

Teri Hatcher and Dean Cain in Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (1993)

Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman

6.7

TV Series

Director

1995–1996

2 episodes

 

Carroll O'Connor and Howard E. Rollins Jr. in In the Heat of the Night (1988)

In the Heat of the Night

7.6

TV Series

Director

1988–1995

13 episodes

 

Jack Scalia in Pointman (1995)

Pointman

7.1

TV Series

Director

1995

1 episode

 

Michael Dorn, Jonathan Frakes, Gates McFadden, Marina Sirtis, Brent Spiner, LeVar Burton, and Patrick Stewart in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987)

Star Trek: The Next Generation

8.7

TV Series

Director

1988–1994

16 episodes

 

FBI: The Untold Stories (1991)

FBI: The Untold Stories

6.9

TV Series

Director

1992

2 episodes

 

Fred Dryer and Stepfanie Kramer in Hunter (1984)

Hunter

6.9

TV Series

Director

1989–1991

9 episodes

 

A Man Called Hawk (1989)

A Man Called Hawk

7.4

TV Series

Director

1989

2 episodes

 

Alex Cord in War of the Worlds (1988)

War of the Worlds

6.5

TV Series

Director

1988

1 episode

 

Avery Brooks and Robert Urich in Spenser: For Hire (1985)

Spenser: For Hire

7.3

TV Series

Director

1987–1988

13 episodes

 

David Hasselhoff in Knight Rider (1982)

Knight Rider

6.9

TV Series

Director

1983–1986

12 episodes

 

Scarecrow and Mrs. King (1983)

Scarecrow and Mrs. King

7.0

TV Series

Director

1983–1985

6 episodes

 

T.J. Hooker (1982)

T.J. Hooker

6.0

TV Series

Director

1984–1985

3 episodes

 

Desi Arnaz Jr. and Chuck Wagner in Automan (1983)

Automan

6.8

TV Series

Director

1983–1984

3 episodes

 

Voyagers! (1982)

Voyagers!

8.0

TV Series

Director

1983

1 episode

 

Tales of the Gold Monkey (1982)

Tales of the Gold Monkey

8.0

TV Series

Director

1982–1983

2 episodes

 

Voyager from the Unknown (1982)

Voyager from the Unknown

6.8

Director

1982

 

Erik Estrada and Larry Wilcox in CHiPs (1977)

CHiPs

6.4

TV Series

Director

1982

2 episodes

 

Robert Urich in Gavilan (1982)

Gavilan

6.2

TV Series

Director

1982

1 episode

 

The Fall Guy (1981)

The Fall Guy

7.1

TV Series

Director

1982

1 episode

 

Tom Selleck in Magnum, P.I. (1980)

Magnum, P.I.

7.5

TV Series

Director

1981

5 episodes

 

The Yeagers

TV Series

Director

1980

1 episode

 

Stone (1979)

Stone

6.6

TV Series

Director

1980

2 episodes

 

The Rockford Files (1974)

The Rockford Files

8.2

TV Series

Director

1980

1 episode

 

Buddy Ebsen in Barnaby Jones (1973)

Barnaby Jones

6.9

TV Series

Director

1979

1 episode

 

A Man Called Sloane (1979)

A Man Called Sloane

6.6

TV Series

Director

1979

1 episode

 

Noah Hathaway, Lorne Greene, Dirk Benedict, Richard Hatch, and Laurette Spang in Battlestar Galactica (1978)

Battlestar Galactica

7.2

TV Series

Director

1979

1 episode

 

Sword of Justice (1978)

Sword of Justice

7.5

TV Series

Director

1978

1 episode

 

Shaun Cassidy, Pamela Sue Martin, and Parker Stevenson in The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries (1977)

The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries

7.3

TV Series

Director

1977–1978

2 episodes

 

Producer

Kimberly Elise, Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde, and Ama K. Abebrese in Ties That Bind (2011)

Ties That Bind

7.6

supervising producer

2011

 

Sinking Sands (2010)

Sinking Sands

6.7

executive producer

2010

 

I Sing of a Well (2009)

I Sing of a Well

6.6

consulting producer

2009

 

Noah Hathaway, Lorne Greene, Dirk Benedict, Richard Hatch, and Laurette Spang in Battlestar Galactica (1978)

Battlestar Galactica

7.2

TV Series

associate producer

1978

1 episode

 

Battlestar Galactica (1978)

Battlestar Galactica

6.7

associate producer

1978

 

Shaun Cassidy, Pamela Sue Martin, and Parker Stevenson in The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries (1977)

The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries

7.3

TV Series

associate producer

1977

9 episodes

 

Jack Klugman in Quincy M.E. (1976)

Quincy M.E.

7.3

TV Series

associate producer

1976–1977

7 episodes

 

Dennis Weaver in McCloud (1970)

McCloud

6.9

TV Series

associate producer

1974–1976

15 episodes

 

Switch (1975)

Switch

7.2

TV Series

associate producer

1975

1 episode