R.I.P. Majel Barrett-Roddenberry

Majel Barrett-Roddenberry, the wife of the late Gene Roddenberry and “First Lady of Star Trek,” passed away yesterday of leukemia at age 76.

Though she appeared on numerous televisions shows in the 1950s such as Leave it to Beaver and Bonanza, she is best known for her numerous roles throughout the forty years of the Star Trek franchise. Originally intended to be Number One to Captain Pike, NBC claimed that no one would ever accept a female second-in-command (!) and the first pilot was rejected. Roddenberry re-did the pilot, and recast her in the recurring role of Nurse Chapel on TOS. Her other Star Trek roles included the voice of the Enterprise computer for all iterations of the Enterprise (including the most recent JJ Abrams film), and, of course, the larger-than-life Lwaxana Troi, mother of the long-suffering Counselor Troi in TNG. She is the only actor to have appeared on all six Star Trek television series.

We offer our deepest condolences to her son, Eugene “Rod” Roddenberry, and her entire family. Her impact on science fiction cannot be understated and she will be missed by millions.

[Images copyright Paramount and the Roddenberry family respectively.]