Star Trek’s Lt. Leslie, Eddie Paskey, dead at 81

Eddie Paskey, Lt. Leslie, passed away on August 17th

Appearing in fifty-eight of Star Trek: The Original Series’ seventy-nine episodes, Eddie Paskey was the Jack-of-all trades type of character. Though he portrayed Lt. Leslie, he also appeared as a dreaded red shirt, occupied various bridge positions, and was shown in different uniforms all throughout the ship. He even stood in for William Shatner, and his hands were used in close-up shots of Scotty’s due to James Doohan’s missing finger.

On August 17th, Eddie Paskey passed away, just three days before his 82nd birthday. New York Times Bestselling Author Dayton Ward, who has written a plethora of Star Trek novels, shared the information on his blog on August 21st.

Eddie Paskey had a unique way of keeping Lt. Leslie alive

Paskey was able to remain one of the longest-running characters on The Original Series, even appearing more times than Lt. Sulu or Ensign Chekov. And one of the ways he made sure he didn’t get killed off permanently was by making himself scarce when it was time for someone to die on an episode.

In 1988, Paskey told Starlog Magazine that the set lighting on the series made his cluster headaches from an old injury worse. Those combined with a bad back had him leaving the show in the third season. Once he had the pain under control, he attempted to return to acting but wasn’t able to connect with any of his former Hollywood contacts so he retired from acting. That didn’t stop him from remaining a fan of The Original Series and even appearing at a convention now and again.

Star Trek fans have taken to social media to send their condolences to Eddie Paskey’s family, and we add ours as well.