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HomeArts/LeisureThe voice of 'The Enterprise' is stilled

The voice of ‘The Enterprise’ is stilled

The familiar voice of the ‘USS Starship Enterprise’ has been stilled.

Majel B. Roddenberry with husband, "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry
Majel B. Roddenberry with husband, "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry

On Thursday, Majel B. Roddenberry, widow of “Star Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry, died at her home in Bel Air, after battling leukemia. She was 76.

Leonard Nimoy, who played Mr. Spock on “Star Trek,” said, “She was a valiant lady. She worked hard, was straightforward and was dedicated to ‘Star Trek’ and Gene and a lot of people thought very highly of her.”

Dubbed “The First Lady of Trek” by the Chicago Tribune, Majel Barrett Roddenberry was associated with “Star Trek” from the very beginning. In the original TV pilot, she played a leading role as Number One, the first officer who was second in command.

For the second TV pilot, she played the minor role of Nurse Chapel when the series aired on NBC in September 1966. She also holds the unique distinction of, from the beginning of the original series, supplying the coolly detached voice of the USS Enterprise’s computer. This was a performance she repeated on the various “Star Trek” series and for six of the ten “Star Trek” movies that have been released. Additionally she provided also the computer’s voice for the 11th “Star Trek” movie which is due out in 2009.

Roddenberry also played the recurring role of the flamboyant Lwaxana Troi on “Star Trek: The Next Generation” and “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.”

Several years after her husband’s death, she discovered a pilot script and notes he had written for a series in the seventies. In 1997, with Majel Barrett Roddenberry as an executive producer and playing a recurring role, “Gene Roddenberry’s Earth Final Conflict” began airing in syndication. She was also an executive producer of the syndicated “Gene Roddenberry’s Andromeda.”

She is survived by her son, Eugene “Rod” Roddenberry Jr. Ms Roddenberry was fond of animals and was dedicated to animal rescue activities. In lieu of flowers, the family has suggested donations in her name be made to Precious Paws, <www.preciouspaws.org> or CARE (Cat and Canine Assistance, Referral and Education), <www.care4pets.org.>

Final services and memorial details are pending.

For more details, go to LA TImes website and see Obituaries. [www.latimes.com]

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