Leonard Nimoy and Laurel Goodwin shared a unique honor in Star Trek history

Star Trek’s original pilot was called “The Cage”.

Star Trek famously had two pilot episodes. The first was “The Cage” and the second was “Where No Man Has Gone Before”. Not only did that second episode launch the series, but the title of that episode was oft-repeated during the series run in some form or another. It introduced the world to William Shatner as James T. Kirk and made Spock a household name. It became an iconic series because of that first episode, which ironically was the third one to air.

It, however, did not contain the original cast. That would belong to “The Cage”, who was going to be the first ones to introduce the world to Leonard Nimoy as Spock, the lone holdover of actor and character from the first episode. Eventually, every member of that first episode would be worked into the canon, as the episode was re-worked into the two-part episode The Menagerie.

The episode’s legacy certified the work the original cast put into the show and made names like Number One and Captain Christopher Pike into legends of their own right; both of whom are set to appear in Strange New Worlds as leads.

Yet, the last surviving member of that original pilot, Laurel Goodwin, has passed away. Goodwin played Yeoman J.M. Colt

Goodwin was in more series than just Star Trek, appearing in The Beverly Hillbillies and Get Smart, while also starring opposite Elvis Pressley in Girls! Girls! Girls!, She would end up retiring from acting in 1971 to become a home healthcare nurse.

Laurel Goodwin nearly joined Leonardy Nimoy as a holdover from the first pilot

In 2016, Goodwin spoke to Star Trek.com and talked about how she enjoyed doing the convention circuit, save for the actual traveling at the conventions.

"It really is a kick to see the fans, and to see that there are still people that are that delighted and tickled to see you. And they tell you so. How could you not have a good time? It’s really quite lovely. And everybody’s been very sweet and helpful and nice. So I’m enjoying myself. But oh, I wish they had moving sidewalks or something."

In the same interview, Goodwin also reveals that she was one of the only two talents to be held over from the original pilot, but her character’s storyline was done away with, making it so she was no longer needed for the re-shoots.

"Then, they didn’t take that first pilot, but said there would be a second pilot. I thought, “We’ll make the second pilot. They still want me. Yep, yep, yep.”So then all the negotiations go on, and the whole thing collapses. When they collapsed, they said, “Well, we don’t really need Laurel, because it was for this reason. We’re changing the storyline.”"

Her character, Colt was going to be involved with Pike to some extent, played by the original lead actor Jeffrey Hunter. When the crew decided not to bring Hunter back, in part due to his wife’s behavior according to Goodwin (and many others), the crew decided not to bring back Goodwin. Without Hunter playing Pike, there wasn’t a need for the love-interest apparently.

Goodwin was upset about it at first but later moved on from her disappointment.

"I was very proud and pleased that Star Trek had grown and done everything that it had, but personally, it didn’t affect me that much because I led a very busy life and went on my way."

Replacing her in hindsight may have been a mistake as she was a very enjoyable talent, but that doesn’t mean her brief time on the show didn’t make an impact at all on the fans.

To see someone, who had mere minutes of screentime in an episode nearly lost to time, be so celebrated by a community when she went to conventions, really goes to show you how Star Trek truly embraces all of the actors and actresses who take on various roles in the series.