Star Trek fans have lost another giant far too soon with the passing of actor TONY TODD on Wednesday, November 6, at the age of 69. This follows the death in January of this year of Star Trek actor GARY GRAHAM (Vulcan Ambassador Soval) in January at the age of 73 and Star Trek: Voyager co-creator and showrunner JERI TAYLOR last month.
To most of the general public, Tony Tood was known for being the titular character in the Candyman franchise of horror films—although his IMDb page features literally hundreds of roles in film and television, including The Crow (1994), The Rock (1996), Final Destination (2000) and its sequels, Homicide: Life on the Street, Boston Public, The District, 24, Splatter, Chuck, Transformers Prime, The Young and the Restless, Scream: The TV Series, The Flash, and many others.
But to Star Trek fans, he will forever be remembered for playing the role of Worf’s Klingon brother Commander Kurn in Star Trek: The Next Generation‘s “Sins of The Father,” “Redemption,” “Redemption, Part II,” along with Star Trek: Deep Space Nine‘s “Sons of Mogh.” And perhaps even more impactful, in a single appearance in the fourth season DS9 episode “The Visitor,” Todd portrayed an adult Jake Sisko in a performance that, even having seen the episode dozens of times, still leaves me bawling my eyes out. That level of performance transcends mere acting and takes the craft to a totally higher plane of perfection.
Of course, this isn’t simply a Star Trek blog site; we focus on fan films. And Tony Todd was one of those few Star Trek actors who agreed to appear in a fan production—in his case, it was 2014’s PRELUDE TO AXANAR. Although he showed up for only a single day of green screen shooting, Tony provided fans with a tour de force performance as he brought to life the character of Admiral Marcus Ramirez, Starfleet Commander during the latter portion of the Four Years War with the Klingons.
Back when Star Trek actors were still appearing in fan-made productions, there was no requirement nor even expectation that they must throw themselves wholeheartedly into a small role in a 20-minute amateur film. After all, fans will love the actor for just showing up, so why work any harder than one has to, right? Well, wrong, actually. Trek actors graced fan films with impressively strong performances over years. But perhaps none will be remembered and cherished nearly as much as Tony Todd’s speech as Admiral Ramirez galvanizing a battle-weary Starfleet as the Federation was losing its war with the Klingon Empire. Take a look…
If you don’t get chills watching that speech, I don’t know what else I can say to you.
So on behalf of Star Trek fans everywhere, I would like to thank Todd Tony for his many outstanding performances and especially for bringing his talent, dedication, and professionalism to fan films, as well. You will be missed, Tony…and never, ever forgotten.