Star Trek TOS’ T’Pring, Arlene Martel, Passes Away


The Star Trek universe lost a member of the family.

Arlene Martel, the actress who played Spock’s betrothed wife to be on Star Trek, has passed away due to complications from a heart attack at 78, reports the Daily Mail. Her son, Jod Kaftan, announced her passing in an article to the Hollywood Reporter.

Though she has many productive years in Hollywood, perhaps her most memorable role is that of the Vulcan priestess T’Pring. The episode, titled “Amok Time,” was the first episode of the second season of Star Trek, involves Spock having to return to his home planet of Vulcan to marry T’Pring, his promised wife-to-be. During the episode, which was the only episode of the original Star Trek series to be based on Vulcan, T’Pring decides to choose a new champion, Captain James T. Kirk. Near the end, Spock and Kirk must duel for T’Pring’s hand in marriage.

Star Trek regular Leonard Nimoy posted a remembrance on his Twitter account. “Saying goodbye to T’Pring, Arlene Martel. A lovely talent,” he wrote.

Martel’s television career began in 1959 and she soon landed guest roles on Perry Mason, Death Valley Days, and Have Gun – Will Travel. She also had appearances on Hogan’s Heroes as a French underground contact and as scary witch Malvina on Bewitched. Her big screen credits included the 1961 film Hong Kong with Rod Taylor and the lead in the 1964 film The Glass Cage. Martel’s acting career started earlier on Broadway when she was a teenager and she appeared in the 1956 production of Uncle Willie.

A native of the Bronx who was frequently billed as Arline Sax, her birth name, Martel also appeared on two episodes of The Twilight Zone as well, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Since she was able to effectively portray women of different nationalities and ethnicities, her career spans many shows, including The Detectives, Route 66, The Untouchables, Cheyenne, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., My Favorite Martian, The Monkees, The Outer Limits, The Young and the Restless, Columbo, Battlestar Galactica, and Brothers and Sisters.

As a teenager, Martel was accepted into the High School for the Performing Arts in New York City (where her classmates included future Bob Newhart Show actress Suzanne Pleshette) and appeared on Broadway in the 1956-57 comedy Uncle Willie opposite Norman Fell.

In addition to Jod, survivors include daughter Avra Douglas, a former assistant of Marlon Brando’s and an executor of the actor’s estate; son Adam Palmer; and grandchildren Molly Rose and Dashiell.

Memorial services are pending. The family asks that donations be made to the organization Autism Speaks.

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