William Shatner will turn 94 years young on March 22, while George Takei will hit 88 on April 20, Walter Koenig will reach the 89-year mark in September, and Patrick Stewart will celebrate his 85th birthday on July 13. Those imminent birthdays got us wondering: Who is the oldest living Star Trek actor? This can be any performer from any series or movie.
We scoured the internet, cross-referencing Star Trek, actors and actresses, and birth years. Laurence Luckinbill, who played Sybok in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, is 90. James Cromwell, who guest-starred in several episodes of several shows across the franchise and co-starred in Star Trek: First Contact, will turn 86 next January. Marsha Hunt, who guest starred as Anne Jameson in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “Too Short a Season,” was 104 when she died in 2022. Norman Lloyd, who portrayed Galen in the Next Generation episode “The Chase,” was 106 when he passed away in 2021. Olaf Pooley, the Cleric in the Star Trek: Voyager episode “Blink of an Eye” died in 2015 at 101.
So, as far as we can tell, Star Trek’s current oldest living actor is David Frankham, who turned 99 on February 16. The Brit guest starred as the doomed Larry Marvick in the Star Trek: The Original Series episode “Is There in Truth No Beauty?" A third-season episode, it premiered on October 18, 1968. Among his other film and television credits are Death Valley Days, Return of the Fly, two episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, four episodes of Thriller, King Rat, The Beverly Hillbillies, The Six Million Dollar Man, The Great Santini, and The Substitute. Arguably, his single best-known credit is Walt Disney’s 1961 animated classic One Hundred and One Dalmatians, for which he voiced Sergeant Tibbs.
Redshirts Always Die contacted Frankham this week to ask him about the distinction of being Star Trek’s oldest living actor. He replied, “I’m very proud to have been a part of Star Trek, and to now be its old living actor. What’s it like to reach 99? I never thought I would! I loved doing the show and, of course, it meant working with one of my favorite directors, Ralph Senensky. I wish we could have done more episodes together.
“For all the millions of Star Trek fans who say they like me, I can only say it’s a great honor,” continued Frankham, who still also pops up at the occasional Star Trek convention. “Being a part of the show is like wearing a badge of honor as an actor, it is so beloved. I am always touched to talk to and get letters from Star Trek fans because they are some of the nicest fans out there. That in itself is an honor.”