Majel Barrett
Encyclopedia
Majel Barrett-Roddenberry (born Majel Leigh Hudec; February 23, 1932 – December 18, 2008) was an American actress and producer
. She is perhaps best known for her role as Nurse Christine Chapel
in the original Star Trek series
, Lwaxana Troi on Star Trek: The Next Generation
, and for being the voice of most onboard computer interfaces throughout the series. She was also the wife of Star Trek
creator Gene Roddenberry
.
As the wife of Roddenberry and given her ongoing relationship with Star Trek – participating in some way in every series during her lifetime – she was sometimes referred to as "the First Lady
of Star Trek". She and Gene Roddenberry were married in Japan
on August 6, 1969, after the cancellation of the original Star Trek series. They had one son together, Eugene "Rod" Roddenberry, Jr.
, born in 1974.
in Coral Gables, Florida
, then had some stage roles and came to Hollywood. In the late 1950s and 1960s, she had bit parts in a few movies and small roles in TV series. She worked at the Desilu Studios
on several TV shows, including Bonanza
, The Untouchables
, The Lucy Show
, and The Lieutenant
(produced by Gene Roddenberry). She received training in comedy from Lucille Ball
. In 1960, she played Gwen Rutherford on Leave It to Beaver
. She was also briefly seen in the film Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?
in an ad parody at the beginning of the film. Barrett is the mother of Eugene Wesley "Rod" Roddenberry, Jr
.
Star Trek
franchise
produced during her lifetime, including live-action and animated versions, television and cinema, and all of the time periods in which the various series have been set.
She first appeared in Star Trek
's initial pilot, "The Cage" (1964), as the USS Enterprise
's unnamed first officer, "Number One
". Barrett was romantically involved with Roddenberry, whose marriage was on the verge of failing at the time, and the idea of having an otherwise unknown woman in a leading role because she was the producer's girlfriend is said to have infuriated NBC network executives who insisted that Roddenberry give the role to a man. William Shatner
corroborated this in Star Trek Memories, and added that female viewers at test screenings hated the character as well. Shatner noted that women viewers felt she was "pushy" and "annoying" and also thought that "Number One shouldn't be trying so hard to fit in with the men." Barrett often joked that Roddenberry, given the choice between keeping Mr. Spock
(whom the network also hated) or the woman character, "kept the Vulcan and married the woman, 'cause he didn't think Leonard [Nimoy] would have it the other way around."
Her role in subsequent episodes of Star Trek
was altered to that of Nurse Christine Chapel
, a frequently recurring character, known for her unrequited affection for the dispassionate Spock. Her first appearance as Chapel in film dailies prompted NBC executive Jerry Stanley to yodel "Well, well--look who's back!". In an early scene in Star Trek: The Motion Picture
, viewers are informed that she has now become Doctor Chapel, a role which she reprised briefly in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
. Barrett provided several voices for Star Trek: The Animated Series
, including those of Nurse Chapel and a communications officer named M'Ress
, an ailuroid
officer who served alongside Uhura
. She would return years later in Star Trek: The Next Generation
, cast as the outrageously self-assertive, iconoclastic Betazoid
ambassador Lwaxana Troi, who appeared as a recurring character in the series. Her character often vexed the captain of the Enterprise, Jean-Luc Picard
, who spurned her amorous advances. Barrett later appeared as Ambassador Troi in several episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
, where in stark contrast, she developed a strong relationship with Constable Odo.
She provided the regular voice of the onboard computers of Federation starships for Star Trek: The Original Series
, Star Trek: The Next Generation
, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
, Star Trek: Voyager
, and most of the Star Trek movies. She reprised her role as a shipboard computer's voice in two episodes of the prequel series Star Trek: Enterprise
. She also lent her voice to various computer games and software related to the franchise. Barrett had also made a point of attending a major Star Trek convention each year in an effort to inspire fans and keep the franchise alive.
Barrett is also one of six actors (the others being Jonathan Frakes, Kate Mulgrew, George Takei, Avery Brooks and Michael Dorn) to lend their voices to the CD-ROM Star Trek: Captain's Chair, reprising her role as the voice of the ships' computers.
On December 9, 2008, less than 10 days before her death, Roddenberry Productions announced that she would be providing the voice of the ship's computer once again, this time for the 2009 motion picture relaunch of Star Trek. Sean Rossall, a Roddenberry family spokesman, stated that she had already completed the voiceover work, approximately December 4, 2008. The film is dedicated to her as well as Gene.
Barrett and her husband, Gene Roddenberry, were honored in 2002 by the Space Foundation
with the Douglas S. Morrow Public Outreach Award for their work creating awareness of and enthusiasm for space.
Majel also appeared (credited as Majel Barrett) in Michael Crichton's 1973 sci-fi western, Westworld
as a prostitute.
After Roddenberry's death, Barrett took material from his archives to bring two of his ideas into production. She was executive producer of Earth: Final Conflict
(in which she also played the character Dr. Julianne Belman), and Andromeda
.
In a gesture of goodwill between the creators of the Star Trek franchise and of Babylon 5
(whose fans often engaged in a rivalry), she appeared in the Babylon 5 episode "Point of No Return
", as Lady Morella, the psychic widow of the Centauri
emperor, a role which foreshadowed major plot elements in the series.
Parodying her voice work as the computer for the Star Trek series, Barrett performed as a guest voice on Family Guy
as the voice of Stewie Griffin
's ship's computer in the episode "Emission Impossible".
The Union Pacific Railroad
used her voice talent for their track-side defect detector
devices, used in various locations west of the Mississippi River
. When a defect is identified, the system responds with her recorded voice announcing information to the train crew over the radio.
" credited her as Majel Barrett Roddenberry, playing the voice over role of Queen Robot.
, as a result of complications from leukemia
. She was 76 years old.
A public funeral was held on January 4, 2009, in Los Angeles
, California
, United States
. More than 250 people attended including Nichelle Nichols
, George Takei
, Walter Koenig
, her on-screen daughter Marina Sirtis
, Brent Spiner
, Wil Wheaton
and many Trekkies
.
After Gene Roddenberry died in 1991, his wife had commissioned Celestis
Inc., a company that specializes in "memorial spaceflights", to launch a part of his remains into space
in 1997. On January 26, 2009, Celestis said that it would ship the remains of Gene Roddenberry and Majel Barrett-Roddenberry into space the following year. The couple's cremated remains will be sealed into specially made capsules designed to withstand space travel. A rocket-launched spacecraft will carry the capsules, along with digitized tributes from fans. The Roddenberrys' remains will then travel ever deeper into space and will never return to Earth. The spacecraft is currently planned for launch in 2012.
Executive producer
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
. She is perhaps best known for her role as Nurse Christine Chapel
Christine Chapel
Christine Chapel is a fictional character in the original Star Trek series, and in some of the films based on it. She was played by the late Majel Barrett....
in the original Star Trek series
Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...
, Lwaxana Troi on Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...
, and for being the voice of most onboard computer interfaces throughout the series. She was also the wife of Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
creator Gene Roddenberry
Gene Roddenberry
Eugene Wesley "Gene" Roddenberry was an American television screenwriter, producer and futurist, best known for creating the American science fiction series Star Trek. Born in El Paso, Texas, Roddenberry grew up in Los Angeles, California where his father worked as a police officer...
.
As the wife of Roddenberry and given her ongoing relationship with Star Trek – participating in some way in every series during her lifetime – she was sometimes referred to as "the First Lady
First Lady
First Lady or First Gentlemanis the unofficial title used in some countries for the spouse of an elected head of state.It is not normally used to refer to the spouse or partner of a prime minister; the husband or wife of the British Prime Minister is usually informally referred to as prime...
of Star Trek". She and Gene Roddenberry were married in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
on August 6, 1969, after the cancellation of the original Star Trek series. They had one son together, Eugene "Rod" Roddenberry, Jr.
Rod Roddenberry
Eugene Wesley "Rod" Roddenberry Jr. is an American television producer and the only son of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry and actress Majel Barrett. He is known for his work in science fiction, astronomy and space exploration...
, born in 1974.
Biography
Hudec began taking acting classes as a child. She attended the University of MiamiUniversity of Miami
The University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 with its main campus in Coral Gables, Florida, a medical campus in Miami city proper at Civic Center, and an oceanographic research facility on Virginia Key., the university currently enrolls 15,629 students in 12...
in Coral Gables, Florida
Coral Gables, Florida
Coral Gables is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, southwest of Downtown Miami, in the United States. The city is home to the University of Miami....
, then had some stage roles and came to Hollywood. In the late 1950s and 1960s, she had bit parts in a few movies and small roles in TV series. She worked at the Desilu Studios
Desilu Productions
Desilu Productions was a Los Angeles, California-based company jointly owned by actors Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball, who were married to each other from 1940 to 1960....
on several TV shows, including Bonanza
Bonanza
Bonanza is an American western television series that both ran on and was a production of NBC from September 12, 1959 to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 430 episodes, it ranks as the second longest running western series and still continues to air in syndication. It centers on the...
, The Untouchables
The Untouchables (1959 TV series)
The Untouchables is an American crime drama that ran from 1959 to 1963 on ABC. Based on the memoir of the same name by Eliot Ness and Oscar Fraley, it fictionalized the experiences of Eliot Ness, a real-life Prohibition agent, as he fought crime in Chicago during the 1930s with the help of a...
, The Lucy Show
The Lucy Show
The Lucy Show is an American situation comedy that aired on CBS from 1962 until 1968. It was Lucille Ball's follow-up to I Love Lucy. A significant change in cast and premise for the 1965-66 season divides the program into two distinct eras; aside from Ball, only Gale Gordon, who joined the program...
, and The Lieutenant
The Lieutenant
The Lieutenant is an American television series, the first created by Gene Roddenberry. It aired on NBC on Saturday evenings in the 1963-1964 television schedule. It was produced by Arena Productions, one of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's most successful in-house production companies of the 1960s. Situated...
(produced by Gene Roddenberry). She received training in comedy from Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball
Lucille Désirée Ball was an American comedian, film, television, stage and radio actress, model, film and television executive, and star of the sitcoms I Love Lucy, The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy and Life With Lucy...
. In 1960, she played Gwen Rutherford on Leave It to Beaver
Leave It to Beaver
Leave It to Beaver is an American television situation comedy about an inquisitive but often naïve boy named Theodore "The Beaver" Cleaver and his adventures at home, in school, and around his suburban neighborhood...
. She was also briefly seen in the film Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?
Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?
Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? is a 1957 American satiric comedy film starring Jayne Mansfield and Tony Randall, with Betsy Drake, Joan Blondell, John Williams, Henry Jones, Lili Gentle, Mickey Hargitay, and a cameo by Groucho Marx...
in an ad parody at the beginning of the film. Barrett is the mother of Eugene Wesley "Rod" Roddenberry, Jr
Rod Roddenberry
Eugene Wesley "Rod" Roddenberry Jr. is an American television producer and the only son of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry and actress Majel Barrett. He is known for his work in science fiction, astronomy and space exploration...
.
Star Trek
In various roles, Barrett participated in every incarnation of the popular science fictionScience fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
franchise
Media franchise
A media franchise is an intellectual property involving the characters, setting and trademarks of an original work of media , such as a film, a work of literature, a television program or a video game. Generally, a whole series is made in a particular medium, along with merchandising and endorsements...
produced during her lifetime, including live-action and animated versions, television and cinema, and all of the time periods in which the various series have been set.
She first appeared in Star Trek
Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...
's initial pilot, "The Cage" (1964), as the USS Enterprise
USS Enterprise (NCC-1701)
The USS Enterprise, NCC-1701, is a fictional starship in the Star Trek media franchise. The original Star Trek series depicts her crew's mission "to explore strange new worlds; to seek out new life and new civilizations; to boldly go where no man has gone before" under the command of Captain James...
's unnamed first officer, "Number One
Number One (Star Trek)
Number One, in "The Cage", the original pilot episode of the science fiction television series Star Trek, was the un-named intellectual, problem-solving second-in-command serving under Captain Christopher Pike. She performs the same role for Pike "as Spock later does for Kirk"...
". Barrett was romantically involved with Roddenberry, whose marriage was on the verge of failing at the time, and the idea of having an otherwise unknown woman in a leading role because she was the producer's girlfriend is said to have infuriated NBC network executives who insisted that Roddenberry give the role to a man. William Shatner
William Shatner
William Alan Shatner is a Canadian actor, musician, recording artist, and author. He gained worldwide fame and became a cultural icon for his portrayal of James T...
corroborated this in Star Trek Memories, and added that female viewers at test screenings hated the character as well. Shatner noted that women viewers felt she was "pushy" and "annoying" and also thought that "Number One shouldn't be trying so hard to fit in with the men." Barrett often joked that Roddenberry, given the choice between keeping Mr. Spock
Spock
Spock is a fictional character in the Star Trek media franchise. First portrayed by Leonard Nimoy in the original Star Trek series, Spock also appears in the animated Star Trek series, two episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, seven of the Star Trek feature films, and numerous Star Trek...
(whom the network also hated) or the woman character, "kept the Vulcan and married the woman, 'cause he didn't think Leonard [Nimoy] would have it the other way around."
Her role in subsequent episodes of Star Trek
Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...
was altered to that of Nurse Christine Chapel
Christine Chapel
Christine Chapel is a fictional character in the original Star Trek series, and in some of the films based on it. She was played by the late Majel Barrett....
, a frequently recurring character, known for her unrequited affection for the dispassionate Spock. Her first appearance as Chapel in film dailies prompted NBC executive Jerry Stanley to yodel "Well, well--look who's back!". In an early scene in Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Star Trek: The Motion Picture is a 1979 American science fiction film released by Paramount Pictures. It is the first film based on the Star Trek television series. The film is set in the twenty-third century, when a mysterious and immensely powerful alien cloud called V'Ger approaches the Earth,...
, viewers are informed that she has now become Doctor Chapel, a role which she reprised briefly in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home is a 1986 American science fiction film released by Paramount Pictures. It is the fourth feature film based on the Star Trek science fiction television series and completes the story arc begun in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and continued in Star Trek III: The...
. Barrett provided several voices for Star Trek: The Animated Series
Star Trek: The Animated Series
Star Trek: The Animated Series is an animated science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe following the events of Star Trek: The Original Series of the 1960s...
, including those of Nurse Chapel and a communications officer named M'Ress
M'Ress
Lieutenant M'Ress, voiced by Majel Barrett, was a recurring character on The Animated Adventures of Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek, which aired on NBC from 1973 to 1974...
, an ailuroid
Felidae
Felidae is the biological family of the cats; a member of this family is called a felid. Felids are the strictest carnivores of the thirteen terrestrial families in the order Carnivora, although the three families of marine mammals comprising the superfamily pinnipedia are as carnivorous as the...
officer who served alongside Uhura
Uhura
Nyota Uhura is a character in Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek: The Animated Series, the first six Star Trek films, and the 2009 film Star Trek...
. She would return years later in Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...
, cast as the outrageously self-assertive, iconoclastic Betazoid
Betazoid
In the fictional Star Trek universe, Betazoids are a sentient humanoid species from the planet Betazed, a member of the United Federation of Planets.-Overview:...
ambassador Lwaxana Troi, who appeared as a recurring character in the series. Her character often vexed the captain of the Enterprise, Jean-Luc Picard
Jean-Luc Picard
Captain Jean-Luc Picard is a Star Trek character portrayed by Patrick Stewart. He appears in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and the feature films Star Trek Generations, Star Trek: First Contact, Star Trek: Insurrection, and Star Trek Nemesis...
, who spurned her amorous advances. Barrett later appeared as Ambassador Troi in several episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe...
, where in stark contrast, she developed a strong relationship with Constable Odo.
She provided the regular voice of the onboard computers of Federation starships for Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...
, Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...
, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe...
, Star Trek: Voyager
Star Trek: Voyager
Star Trek: Voyager is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe. Set in the 24th century from the year 2371 through 2378, the series follows the adventures of the Starfleet vessel USS Voyager, which becomes stranded in the Delta Quadrant 70,000 light-years from Earth while...
, and most of the Star Trek movies. She reprised her role as a shipboard computer's voice in two episodes of the prequel series Star Trek: Enterprise
Star Trek: Enterprise
Star Trek: Enterprise is a science fiction television series. It follows the adventures of humanity's first warp 5 starship, the Enterprise, ten years before the United Federation of Planets shown in previous Star Trek series was formed.Enterprise premiered on September 26, 2001...
. She also lent her voice to various computer games and software related to the franchise. Barrett had also made a point of attending a major Star Trek convention each year in an effort to inspire fans and keep the franchise alive.
Barrett is also one of six actors (the others being Jonathan Frakes, Kate Mulgrew, George Takei, Avery Brooks and Michael Dorn) to lend their voices to the CD-ROM Star Trek: Captain's Chair, reprising her role as the voice of the ships' computers.
On December 9, 2008, less than 10 days before her death, Roddenberry Productions announced that she would be providing the voice of the ship's computer once again, this time for the 2009 motion picture relaunch of Star Trek. Sean Rossall, a Roddenberry family spokesman, stated that she had already completed the voiceover work, approximately December 4, 2008. The film is dedicated to her as well as Gene.
Barrett and her husband, Gene Roddenberry, were honored in 2002 by the Space Foundation
Space Foundation
The Space Foundation is a nonprofit organization that supports the global space industry through information and education programs. It is a resource for the entire space community - industry, national security organizations, civil space agencies, private space companies and the military around the...
with the Douglas S. Morrow Public Outreach Award for their work creating awareness of and enthusiasm for space.
After Star Trek
She appeared as Primus Dominic in Roddenberry's 1973 post-apocalyptic TV drama pilot, Genesis II.Majel also appeared (credited as Majel Barrett) in Michael Crichton's 1973 sci-fi western, Westworld
Westworld
Westworld is a 1973 science fiction-thriller film written and directed by novelist Michael Crichton and produced by Paul Lazarus III. It stars Yul Brynner as a lifelike robot in a futuristic Western-themed amusement park, and Richard Benjamin and James Brolin as guests of the park.Westworld was the...
as a prostitute.
After Roddenberry's death, Barrett took material from his archives to bring two of his ideas into production. She was executive producer of Earth: Final Conflict
Earth: Final Conflict
Earth: Final Conflict is a Canadian science fiction television series based on story ideas created by Gene Roddenberry, and produced under the guidance of his widow, Majel Barrett-Roddenberry. It was not produced, filmed or broadcast until after his death...
(in which she also played the character Dr. Julianne Belman), and Andromeda
Andromeda (TV series)
Andromeda is a Canadian-American science fiction television series, based on unused material by the late Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, developed by Robert Hewitt Wolfe, and produced by Roddenberry's widow, Majel Barrett Roddenberry. It starred Kevin Sorbo as High Guard Captain Dylan Hunt...
.
In a gesture of goodwill between the creators of the Star Trek franchise and of Babylon 5
Babylon 5
Babylon 5 is an American science fiction television series created, produced and largely written by J. Michael Straczynski. The show centers on a space station named Babylon 5: a focal point for politics, diplomacy, and conflict during the years 2257–2262...
(whose fans often engaged in a rivalry), she appeared in the Babylon 5 episode "Point of No Return
Point of No Return (Babylon 5)
Point of No Return is an episode from the third season of the science-fiction television series Babylon 5.-Synopsis:The B5 command staff deal with orders to allow the Nightwatch to take over station security...
", as Lady Morella, the psychic widow of the Centauri
Centauri (Babylon 5)
The Centauri are a humanoid species in the fictional universe of the Babylon 5 television series. They were the first alien species to make open contact with the human race. Their homeworld is Centauri Prime, a small Earth-like planet consisting of two large continents and several smaller islands...
emperor, a role which foreshadowed major plot elements in the series.
Parodying her voice work as the computer for the Star Trek series, Barrett performed as a guest voice on Family Guy
Family Guy
Family Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
as the voice of Stewie Griffin
Stewie Griffin
Stewie Griffin is a fictional character from the animated television series Family Guy. Once obsessed with world domination and matricide, Stewie is the youngest child of Peter and Lois Griffin, and the brother of Chris and Meg....
's ship's computer in the episode "Emission Impossible".
The Union Pacific Railroad
Union Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....
used her voice talent for their track-side defect detector
Defect detector
A defect detector is a device used on railroads to detect axle and signal problems in passing trains. The detectors are normally integrated into the tracks and often include sensors to detect several different kinds of problems that could occur...
devices, used in various locations west of the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
. When a defect is identified, the system responds with her recorded voice announcing information to the train crew over the radio.
Final voiceover work
Some of Barrett's final voice over work was still in post-production, to be released in 2009 after her death, as mentioned in the credits of the 2009 movie (released on DVD) Star Trek, again as the computer's voice. An animated production called "Hamlet A.D.D.Hamlet A.D.D.
Hamlet A.D.D., directed by Bobby Ciraldo & Andrew Swant and produced by Special Entertainment, is an upcoming independent feature film and web series which re-imagines Shakespeare’s play as a bizarre and comical tour through the ages....
" credited her as Majel Barrett Roddenberry, playing the voice over role of Queen Robot.
Death
Barrett-Roddenberry died on December 18, 2008, at her home in Bel Air, Los Angeles, CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, as a result of complications from leukemia
Leukemia
Leukemia or leukaemia is a type of cancer of the blood or bone marrow characterized by an abnormal increase of immature white blood cells called "blasts". Leukemia is a broad term covering a spectrum of diseases...
. She was 76 years old.
A public funeral was held on January 4, 2009, in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. More than 250 people attended including Nichelle Nichols
Nichelle Nichols
Nichelle Nichols is an American actress, singer and voice artist. She sang with Duke Ellington and Lionel Hampton before turning to acting...
, George Takei
George Takei
George Hosato Takei Altman is an American actor, author, social activist and former civil politician. He is best known for his role in the television series Star Trek and its film spinoffs, in which he played Hikaru Sulu, helmsman of the...
, Walter Koenig
Walter Koenig
Walter Marvin Koenig is an American actor, writer, teacher and director, known for his roles as Pavel Chekov in Star Trek and Alfred Bester in Babylon 5. He wrote the script for the 2008 science fiction legal thriller InAlienable.-Early life:...
, her on-screen daughter Marina Sirtis
Marina Sirtis
Marina Sirtis is a British-American actress of Greek descent. She played the role of the human/Betazoid Commander Deanna Troi, ship's counselor, on the television and film series Star Trek: The Next Generation.-Life:...
, Brent Spiner
Brent Spiner
Brent Jay Spiner is an American actor, best known for his portrayal of the android Lieutenant Commander Data in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and four subsequent films. His portrayal of Data in Star Trek: First Contact and of Dr...
, Wil Wheaton
Wil Wheaton
Richard William "Wil" Wheaton III is an American actor and writer. As an actor, he is best known for his portrayals of Wesley Crusher on the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, Gordie Lachance in the film Stand by Me and Joey Trotta in Toy Soldiers...
and many Trekkies
Trekkies
Trekkies is a 1997 documentary film directed by Roger Nygard about the devoted fans of Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek franchise. Starring Denise Crosby , the movie contains interviews with Star Trek devotees, more commonly known as Trekkies...
.
After Gene Roddenberry died in 1991, his wife had commissioned Celestis
Celestis
Celestis is a company that launches cremated human remains into space, a procedure known as a space burial. It is an affiliate company of Space Services Inc. The company purchases launches as a secondary payload on various rockets, and launches samples of many peoples' cremated remains on one launch...
Inc., a company that specializes in "memorial spaceflights", to launch a part of his remains into space
Space burial
Space burial is a burial procedure in which a small sample of the cremated ashes of the deceased are placed in a capsule the size of a tube of lipstick and are launched into space using a rocket...
in 1997. On January 26, 2009, Celestis said that it would ship the remains of Gene Roddenberry and Majel Barrett-Roddenberry into space the following year. The couple's cremated remains will be sealed into specially made capsules designed to withstand space travel. A rocket-launched spacecraft will carry the capsules, along with digitized tributes from fans. The Roddenberrys' remains will then travel ever deeper into space and will never return to Earth. The spacecraft is currently planned for launch in 2012.
External links
- AP Obituary in the Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles TimesThe Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....