The Best Star Trek Actor From Each State
By Jeremy Dick
Ray Walston and Kate Mulgrew on Voyager – Courtesy of CBS/UPN
Mississippi – Ray Walston
After having been born in Mississippi before later relocating to Texas, Ray Walston got into acting at an early age. He worked for various theaters and gained some small roles in the process. He moved onto Broadway and earned a great acting reputation for himself with all of his theater work. Into the 1950s, he would start steadily getting feature film and TV work for his resume.
Walston’s biggest claim to fame was starring on the classic 60s sitcom My Favorite Martian. Walston plays the titular alien character, Uncle Martin. He had a great run on the show and it became even more popular in syndication. However, Walston had to struggle for a while after to get away from the typecasting. But he was able to recover and continue acting for many more years.
In the 80s, Walston permanently entered Star Trek lore with an appearance on The Next Generation. Walston plays Boothby, the head groundskeeper at Starfleet Academy in San Francisco. Although it’s a small role, it is so entertaining that Walston would get the chance to reprise it twice. He shows up as Boothby in two separate episodes of Star Trek: Voyager. Although, his character is only a holographic simulation the first time you see him, and part of a dream sequence the next.