10 Star Trek Actors Who Died In 2020

6. Richard Herd

Ben Cross Star Trek
CBS

Admiral Owen Paris was the father of Tom Paris, and had been described as something of a stern, disapproving father figure. However, when the audience finally got to meet him, and see him speak to his son, in the episode Pathfinder - it was clear that this description did the man an injustice. Admiral Paris went very quickly from warm skepticism about Lt. Barclay's project to fiercely supporting it, speaking to the crew of Voyager in one of the most heartwarming scenes in all of Star Trek: Voyager.

Richard Herd was a veteran of acting before he took on the role of Admiral Paris. One of his first major roles had come in The China Syndrome, alongside Michael Douglas, Jane Fonda and Jack Lemmon. He would go on to star in what would, for a long time, be his most recognizable role - that of the Visitors' commander in the mini-series, V.

He appeared in several other science fiction properties, with Quantum Leap, alongside future Star Trek star Scott Bakula, among them. He appeared in SeaQuest DSV and, outside of scifi, as George Constanza's boss in Seinfeld.

On 26th May, 2020, he passed away from complications due to colon cancer. He was at home, with his wife of 30 years, Patricia Crowder Herd. He was 87 years old.

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Writer. Reader. Host. I'm Seán, I live in Ireland and I'm the poster child for dangerous obsessions with Star Trek. Check me out on Twitter @seanferrick