Mark Lenard was an American actor, primarily in television. His most famous role was as Sarek, father of the popular character Spock, in the science fictionStar Trek franchise, in both and, as well as three films and two episodes of '. He also played a Klingon in Star Trek The Motion Picture, and a Romulan in an episode of '.
Biography
Lenard was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of a Russian Jewish immigrant, Abraham, and his wife, Bessie, but was raised in the small town of South Haven, Michigan, where his family owned a tourist resort. He joined the United States Army in 1943 and trained to be a paratrooper during World War II but did not see combat and was discharged in 1946 as a technical sergeant. He got his start on stage while in the army. After earning a master's degree in theater and speech from the University of Michigan, he became known in New York City for serious drama, including Ibsen, Shaw, and Chekov. His first notable role was that of Conrad in John Gielgud's production of Much Ado About Nothing. In the mid-1960s, he moved his family to Los Angeles, where he played one of the Three Wise Men in the biblical epic The Greatest Story Ever Told. Lenard is best known for his appearances in the Star Trek franchise, particularly in the role of Sarek, the father of Spock. However, his first Star Trek appearance was in the first season of ', playing the first Romulan ever seen in the series, in the episode "Balance of Terror". He originated the character of Sarek in the second-season episode "Journey to Babel", and provided the voice of Sarek in the ' episode "Yesteryear |Yesteryear". He later played an ill-fated Klingon Captain in ', which gave him the distinction of being the first actor to play a Romulan, a Vulcan, and a Klingon in Star Trek. He reprised the role of Sarek in three of the Star Trek feature films: ', ', and ', and provided the voice of young Sarek in a brief flashback sequence in '. Additionally, he appeared as the elderly Sarek in the third-season ' episode "Sarek |Sarek" and the fifth-season episode "". Lenard's work outside the Star Trek franchise included playing the prosecutor in Fort Grant in the Clint Eastwood film Hang 'Em High. He also played the character Aaron Stempel in the television series Here Come the Brides, and the hostile gorilla Urko in the television series Planet of the Apes. He made a guest appearance on Little House on the Prairie in the episode "Journey in the Spring, Part I", playing Peter Ingalls, older brother of Charles Ingalls. He had roles in Gunsmoke several times, including in the episode "Nowhere to Run". Lenard guest-starred in several episodes of the original , including one with Leonard Nimoy, and in a two-part episode of Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. Lenard played a lead role in the film Noon Sunday, filmed on Guam with costars Keye Luke, TV series star John Russell from Lawman, and character actorStacy Harris. In The Radicals, which recounted the beginnings of the Swiss Anabaptist movement in the 1520s, he played a composite historical character, Eberhard Hoffman, a Catholic bishop who serves as prosecutor in the trial of his former abbot Michael Sattler. In 1993, Lenard and fellow Star Trek actor Walter Koenig toured in a production of The Boys in Autumn. Lenard played a late middle-aged Huck Finn who re-encounters his childhood friend Tom Sawyer after a lifetime apart. Koenig played Sawyer. Lenard died of multiple myeloma in New York City in 1996 at the age of 72.
