Star Trek fans seemed excited to learn that David Frankham, who turned 99 years old on February 16, is now the oldest living actor to have appeared in any iteration of Star Trek. He played Larry Marvick in the Star Trek: The Original Series episode, “Is There in Truth No Beauty?,” which first aired in 1968, during the show’s third and final season. It got us wondering who Star Trek’s oldest living director might be.
For obvious reasons, many people who guessed that 94-year-old William Shatner is Star Trek’s oldest living actor also likely assume that Shatner -- who helmed Star Trek V: The Final Frontier -- is the franchise’s oldest living director. But he’s not.
The answer is Ralph Senensky, who will turn 102 on May 1. Senensky called the shots on what he refers to as six and a half episodes of The Original Series. We’ll explain that half episode scenario in a moment. He is officially credited as having directed “This Side of Paradise,” “Metamorphosis,” “Bread and Circuses,” “Obsession,” “Return to Tomorrow,” and the episode that featured Frankham, “Is There in Truth No Beauty?” He also helmed about half of “The Tholian Web,” but was replaced during production by Herb Wallenstein. The two men did not share billing for the episode; only Wallenstein received an on-screen credit.
That was apparently Senensky’s decision. As he told StarTrek.com in a 2012 interview, “I did go to the Director’s Guild. They wanted to hear my side of the of story. I gave it to them. The only thing I said was to insist that I wanted my share of the residuals, but I did not want my name on the show. My name is not on the show, and not until the Internet came along did my name start getting connected to the show.”
Senensky directed about 150 episodes of various television shows between 1962 and 1986. During that interview with StarTrek.com he cited Naked City, Route 66, The Waltons, Dr. Kildare, Twilight Zone, The Courtship of Eddie’s Father, The Paper Chase, Dynasty (including the pilot), The Fugitive, and 12 O’clock High as some of his personal favorite shows to have worked on.
Anyone interested in learning more about Senensky’s long career should check out his official site, senensky.com. There, he recounts almost everything he ever directed, including a stage production of The Glass Menagerie that he was asked to direct in 1949, when he was just 25.