Michael Ansara, actor behind Klingon leader Kang, dies at 91
The man who played Kang in three iterations of "Star Trek," Michael Ansara, has died, according to his former agent.
Ansara was 91.
The veteran character actor was probably best known for playing the Klingon leader in the original "Star Trek" series, then again in the legendary sci-fi series "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" and "Star Trek: Voyager."
But he had an illustrious career beyond that, plus a personal life that included a marriage to Barbara Eden of "I Dream of Jeannie" fame and a 36-year marriage to his wife Beverly.
Ansara died Wednesday at his home in Calabasas, California, according to former agent Michael B. Druxman.
He was born in a small village in Syria, arriving in the United States with his American parents at the age of two, according to a biography provided by Druxman.
Having entered college in Los Angeles intending to be a doctor, he went into acting instead. His breakout role came as Cochise in the 1950s TV series "Broken Arrow."
Other small-screen roles included in parts in such shows as "The Untouchables," "Alfred Hitchcock Presents," "Perry Mason, "Lost in Space," "Hawaii 5-0," "Murder She Wrote," "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century" and his ex-wife's show, "I Dream of Jeannie." Ansara also voiced Mr. Freeze in Batman movies and the TV series.
Ansara's film credits include 1953's "Julius Caesar," "The Greatest Story Ever Told," John Wayne's "The Comancheros," "Guns of the Magnificent Seven," "The Bears and I," "The Message" and "The Guns and the Fury."
William Shatner, who played Capt. James T. Kirk on the original Star Trek, was among the many who offered condolences upon hearing of Ansara's death. So too did Eden, Ansara's former wife.
Tweeted Eden: "He was a good man, a good father and a fantastic actor who had a long and full life."
TV and filmography
Action in Arabia
(1944) as Hamid (uncredited)
Can't Help Singing
(1944) as California Caballero (uncredited)
Intrigue (1947) as
Ramon's Radio Man
Queen Esther
(1948) as Zubal
Outpost in Morocco
(1949) as Rifle Dispenser (uncredited)
The Desert Film (1950) as Guard (uncredited)
South Sea Sinner
(1950) as Native Policeman (uncredited)
Kim (1950) as
Harem Guard (uncredited)
Soldiers Three
(1951) as Manik Rao
Only the Valiant
(1951) as Tucsos
Smuggler's Island
(1951) as Sikh Policeman (uncredited)
Bannerline (1951)
as Floyd
Hill Number One
(1951, TV Series) as Decius
My Favorite Spy
(1951) as House Servant (uncredited)
Brave Warrior (1952)
as The Prophet
Diplomatic Courier
(1952) as Ivan (uncredited)
Yankee Buccaneer
(1952) as Lt. Romero
The Golden Hawk
(1952) as Bernardo Díaz
Road to Bali
(1952) as Guard (uncredited)
The Lawless Breed
(1953) as Gus Hanley (uncredited)
The Bandits of
Corsica (1953) as Blacksmith
Julius Caesar
(1953) as Pindarus
Serpent of the
Nile (1953) as Captain Florus
White Witch Doctor
(1953) as De Gama (uncredited)
The Robe (1953) as
Judas (uncredited)
Slaves of Babylon
(1953) as Prince Belshazzar
The Diamond Queen
(1953) as Mir Jumla, the Mogul's general
Three Young Texans
(1954) as Apache Joe
Drums of Tahiti
(1954) as Opening Narrator (uncredited)
The Saracen Blade
(1954) as Count Alesandro Siniscola
Princess of the
Nile (1954) as Captain Kral
The Egyptian
(1954) as Hittite Commander (uncredited)
Bengal Brigade
(1954) as Sgt. Major Puran Singh
Sign of the Pagan
(1954) as Edecon
Dragnet: The Big
Rod (1954, TV Series) as Carl Chapman
Jupiter's Darling
(1955) as Maharbal
New Orleans
Uncensored (1955) as Floyd 'Zero' Saxon
Abbott and
Costello Meet the Mummy (1955) as Charlie
Diane (1956) as
Count Ridolfi
The Lone Ranger
(1956) as Angry Horse
Gun Brothers
(1956) as Shawnee Jack
The Ten
Commandments (1956) as Taskmaster (uncredited)
Pillars of the Sky
(1956) as Kamiakin
Alfred Hitchcock
Presents: The Orderly World of Mr. Appleby (1956, TV Series) as Desar
Alfred Hitchcock
Presents: The Baby Sitter (1956, TV Series) as Mr. DeMario
Alfred Hitchcock
Presents: Shopping for Death (1956, TV Series) as Butcher
Broken Arrow
(1956–1958, TV Series) as Cochise
Last of the Badmen
(1957) as Kramer
Quantez (1957) as
Delgadito
The Tall Stranger
(1957) as Zarata
The Sad Sack
(1957) as Moki (uncredited)
The Rifleman: The
Indian (1959, TV Series)
The Rifleman: The
Raid (1959, TV Series)
Law of the
Plainsman (1959–1960, TV Series)
The Untouchables:
Nicky (1960, TV Series) as Charlie Steuben
The Rebel in the
episode "The Champ" (1960, TV Series) as Docker Mason
The Untouchables:
The Jamaica Ginger Story (1961, TV Series) as Rafael Torrez
Voyage to the
Bottom of the Sea (1961) as Miguel Alvarez
The Comancheros
(1961) as Amelung
Wagon Train: The
Patience Miller Story (1961, TV Series) as Northstar
Voyage to the
Bottom of the Sea: Hot Line (1964, TV Series) as Malinoff
Perry Mason: The
Case of the Antic Angel (1964, TV Series) as Vince Kabat
The Outer Limits:
Soldier (1964) as Quarlo Clobregnny
Quick, Let's Get
Married (1964) as Mayor Pablo
The Greatest Story
Ever Told (1965) as Herod's Commander
The Virginian: The
Showdown (1965, TV Series) as Marshall Merle Frome
Branded: The
Bounty (1965, TV Series) as Thomas Frye
Harum Scarum
(1965) as Prince Dragna
Lost in Space: The
Challenge (1966, TV Series) as The Ruler
I Dream of Jeannie:
Happy Anniversary (1966, TV Series) as Blue Djinn
Bewitched: A Most
Unusual Wood Nymph (1966, TV Series) as Rufus the Red
Gunsmoke: Honor
Before Justice (1966) as Grey Horse
...And Now Miguel
(1966) as Blas Chavez
Texas Across the
River (1966) as Iron Jacket
Gunsmoke: The
Returning (1967, TV Series) as Luke Todd
The Fugitive: The
Savage Street (1967, TV Series) as Officer Miguel 'Mike' Anza
The Time Tunnel:
The Kidnappers (1967, TV Series) as Curator
The Destructors
(1968) as Count Mario Romano
Sol Madrid (1968)
as Capt. Ortega
I Dream of
Jeannie: The Battle of Waikīkī (1968, TV Series) as King Kamehameha
Daring Game (1968)
as President Eduardo Delgado
The Pink Jungle
(1968) as Raul Ortega
The High Chaparral
(1969, TV Series) as Alberto Ruiz
Guns of the
Magnificent Seven (1969) as Col. Diego
Target: Harry
(1969) as Maj. Milos Segora
I Dream of
Jeannie: My Sister, the Homewreker (1969, TV Series) as Major Biff Jellico
The Phynx (1970)
as Col. Rostinov
I Dream of
Jeannie: One Jeannie Beats Four of a Kind (1970, director)
The Mod Squad: A
Double for Danger, Season 3 (1971, TV Series) as Ray Abruzzi
Bearcats! Pilot
Movie, "Powderkeg" (1971, TV Series) as Paco Morales
Dear Dead Delilah
(1972) as Morgan Charles
Stand Up and Be
Counted (1972) as Playboy Speaker
The Streets of San
Francisco: The Year of the Locusts (1972, TV Series) as Albert 'Al' Ferguson
Hawaii Five-O:
Death is a Company Policy (1972, TV Series) as Piro Manoa
Call To Danger
(1973, TV Movie) as Frank Mulvey
Mission:
Impossible: The Western (1973, TV Movie) as Ed Stoner
The Doll Squad
(1973) as Eamon O'Reilly
Ordeal (1973, TV
Movie) as Sheriff Peter Geeson
It's Alive (1974)
as The Captain
The Bears and I
(1974) as Oliver Red Fern
Nakia, episode
"The Dream" (1974, TV Series) as Howard Gray Hawk
The Barbary Coast
(1975, TV Series) as Diamond Jack Bassiter
The Rockford Files: Joey Blue Eyes (1976, TV
Series) as Joseph DiMinna
Kojak: Justice
Deferred (1976, TV Series) as Keith McCallum
The Message (1976)
as Abu Sofyan
Day of the Animals
(1977) as Daniel Santee
Mission to Glory:
A True Story (1977)
The Manitou (1977)
as John Singing Rock
Centennial
(1978-1979, TV Mini-Series) as Lame Beaver
The Story of
Esther (1979) as Haman
Buck Rogers in the
25th Century (1979-1980, TV Series) as Kane
CHiPs: The Poacher
(1980, TV Series) as Nathan
The Guns and the
Fury (1981) as Prince Sohrab
Bayou Romance
(1982, TV Series) as Zanko
Reading Rainbow:
Gift of the Sacred Dog (1983) as Himself (voice)
The Fantastic
World of D.C. Collins (1984, TV Movie) as Turk
Access Code (1984)
as Senator Dales
KGB: The Secret
War (1985) as Lyman Taylor
Hunter: Rape and
Revenge, Part 2 (1985, TV Series) as General Mariano
Knights of the
City (1986) as Mr. Delamo
Assassination
(1987) as Sen. Bunsen
Murder, She Wrote:
The Last Flight of the Dixie Damsel (1988, TV Series) as Nicholas Rossi
Border Shootout
(1990) as Chuluha
Reading Rainbow:
And Still the Turtle Watched (1993)
Johnny Mysto Boy
Wizard (1996) as Malfeasor
The Long Road Home
(1999) as Murdock Haynes (final film role)
Year Title Role Notes
1978 Dr. Strange Ancient One (voice) TV Movie
Uncredited
1998 Batman &
Mr. Freeze: SubZero Dr. Victor Fries / Mr.
Freeze (voice) Direct-to-video
Year Title Role Notes
1968 Star Trek:
The Original Series Kang Episode: "Day of the Dove"
1981 Thundarr the
Barbarian Vashtar (voice) Episode: "Prophecy of Peril"
1981 Spider-Man
and His Amazing Friends Hiawatha
Smith (voice) Episode: "Quest of the
Red Skull"
1986 Rambo: The
Force of Freedom General Warhawk (voice)
63 Episodes
1994 Babylon 5 Elric Episode: "The Geometry of Shadows"
1992-1994 Batman:
The Animated Series Mr. Freeze / Dr.
Victor Fries (voice) Episodes:
"Heart of Ice" and "Deep Freeze"
1994-1996 Star
Trek: Deep Space Nine Jeyal /
Kang Episodes: "Blood
Oath" and "The Muse"
1996 Star Trek:
Voyager Kang Episode: "Flashback"
1997 The New
Batman Adventures Victor Fries / Mr.
Freeze (voice) Episode: "Cold
Comfort"
1999 Batman Beyond
Episode:
"Meltdown"
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