He played the great Klingon warrior Kang on three versions of "Star Trek" and a Native American on ABC's "Broken Arrow."Michael Ansara, the rugged character actor who played Klingon commander Kang on three different Star Trek TV series, has died. He was 91.
Ansara, who was married for a brief time in the 1950s to the late Jean Byron, who played the mom on The Patty Duke Show.
Born in a small village in Syria to American parents, Ansara starred as Native Americans on two 1950s primetime series: the ABC Western Broken Arrow as Cochise and as Deputy U.S. Marshal Sam Buckhart, an Apache, on NBC's Law of the Plainsman.
Ansara is beloved by Star Trek fans as one of only seven actors to play the same character on three versions of the sci-fi series: on the original (in the 1968 episode "Day of the Dove"), on Deep Space Nine (1994's "Blood Oath") and on Voyager (1996's "Flashback"). Kang was a legendary warrior.
He also had major roles in such films as 1953's Julius Caesar and The Robe (as Judas); Jupiter’s Darling (1955); 1961's Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (he also appeared in the subsequent ABC series); The Comancheros (1961) with John Wayne; The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965); Guns of the Magnificent Seven (1969); The Bears and I (1974); The Message (1977); and It’s Alive (1974).
Ansara came to the U.S. with his American parents at the age of 2. As a teen, he and his family relocated to California, and he entered Los Angeles City College with the intention of becoming a doctor.
A stint at the Pasadena Playhouse (where fellow students included Charles Bronson, Carolyn Jones and Aaron Spelling) led to roles on stage and in films.
He was married to Eden from 1958-74. Their son, Matthew Michael Ansara, died in 2001. An actor, he died of an accidental heroin overdose at age 35.
The senior Ansara's many TV appearances also included The Untouchables, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Perry Mason, The Outer Limits, Lost in Space, I Dream of Jeannie with his wife, Hawaii 5-0, Murder, She Wrote and the Centennial miniseries. He also voiced the role of Mr. Freeze on the animated Batman series.
Ansara, who has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, also was married for a brief time in the 1950s to the late Jean Byron, who played the mom on The Patty Duke Show.
Survivors include Beverly, his wife of 36 years, his sister Rose, his niece Michelle and nephew Michael John.
A private service is pending. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to St. Michael’s Antiochian Orthodox Church.
ANSARA, Michael (Michael George Ansara)
Born: 4/15/1922, Syria
Died: 7/31/2013, Calabasas, California, U.S.A.
Michael Ansara’s westerns – actor:
Only the Valiant – 1951 (Tucsos)
The Lone Ranger (TV) – 1951, 1952 (Walker, Hawk Mason)
Brave Warrior – 1952 (The Prophet)
The Lawless Breed – 1953 (Gus Hanley)
Three Young Texans – 1954 (Apache Joe)
The Lone Ranger – 1956 (Angry Horse)
Broken Arrow (TV) – 1956-1958 (Cochise)
Gun Brothers – 1956 (Shawnee Jack)
Pillars of the Sky – 1956 (Kamiakin)
The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin (TV) – 1956 (Tioka)
Last of the Badmen – 1957 (Kramer)
Hawkeye and the Last of the Mohicans (TV) – 1957 (Ogama)
Quantez – 1957 (Delgadito)
The Tall Stranger – 1957 (Zarata)
Frontier Doctor (TV) – 1958 (Will Carver)
Zane Grey Theater (TV) – 1959 (Henry Sidell / Fitzgerald)
The Rifleman (TV) – 1959 (Deputy U.S. Marshal Sam Buckhart)
Law of the Palinsman (TV) – 1959-1960 (Deputy U.S. Marshal Sam Buckhart)
The Rebel (TV) – 1960 (Docker Mason)
The Westerner (TV) – 1960 (Oresquote)
The Comancheros – 1961 (Amelung)
Tales of Wells Fargo (TV) – 1962 (Colonel Peralta)
Wide Country (TV) – 1962 (Jay Brenner)
Wagon Train (TV) – 1962 (Chief North Star, Adam MacKenzie)
Rawhide (TV) – 1963 (Alfredo Maldenado, Joseph)
Branded (TV) – 1965 (Thomas Frye)
The Virginian (TV) – 1965, 1966 (Marshall Merle Frome, Paul Dallman)
A Man Called Shenandoah (TV) – 1966 (Adam Lloyd)
Texas Across the River – 1966 (Iron Jacket)
Daniel Boone (TV) – 1966 (Sebastian Drake)
Iron Horse (TV) – 1966 (Gillingham Conner)
Gunsmoke (TV) – 1966, 1967 (Grey Horse, Luke Todd)
The Road West (TV) – 1967 (Serafin)
Here Come the Brides (TV) – 1969 (Wakando)
The High Chaparral (TV) – 1969 (Alberto Ruiz)
Guns of the Magnificent Seven – 1969 (Colonel Diego)
Lancer (TV) – 1970 (Curley)
Shootout in a One-Dog Town (TV) – 1974 (Reynolds)
Barbary Coast (TV) – 1975 (Diamond Jack Bassiter)
Mission to Glory: A True Story (TV) – 1977 (
Centennial (TV) – 1978, 1979 (Lame Beaver)
When the West Was Fun: A Western Reunion (TV) – 1979 [Himself]
Border Shootout – 1990 (Chuluha)