18. Rukk's Padded Outfit From What Are Little Girls Made Of? (1966)
Ted Cassidy was a ridiculously tall and quite imposing actor, which was a contributing factor to his casting as Lurch in the original Addams Family series. That menacing height and demeanor was no doubt why the producers of Star Trek cast him in the role of Rukk, the last surviving android from an alien civilization in the episode What Are Little Girls Made Of? Then they went and spoiled it by giving him a giant padded housecoat and a pink undershirt that makes him look like Bea Arthur. Honestly, it's hard to take Rukk seriously, even as he's throwing red shirts to their doom left and right, in that ridiculous get-up. Cassidy himself is wonderfully menacing in the part, and it's a tribute to his acting skills that viewers don't immediately crack up every time he comes on-screen. Even then, the sight of Rukk rushing into a room to punish Kirk makes one think he's been interrupted watching his soap operas and that's why he's so pissed off. And speaking of pissed-off androids...
Tony Whitt has previously written TV, DVD, and comic reviews for CINESCAPE, NOW PLAYING, and iF MAGAZINE. His weekly COMICSCAPE columns from the early 2000s can still be found archived on Mania.com. He has also written a book of gay-themed short stories titled CRESCENT CITY CONNECTIONS, available on Amazon.com in both paperback and Kindle format. Whitt currently lives and works in Chicago, Illinois.
