Susan Howard – Kara the Klingon from Star Trek : Day of the Dove

Working from home during the pandemic I am unable to get out of the house very much.  Sometimes I have considered unplugging my computer and working on the patio but that does not seem conductive to focused digital labour.  Instead, one of the few times in the day where I get to see the sun is during my lunch break when I check the mail to see if any new Star Trek autograph requests have come back.

I got my first Return to Sender last week.  Four weeks before I had sent a request to Harry Basch who played a robot in the episode “What are Little Girls Made of”.  Sadly, it turns out Mr. Basch died five weeks ago.

Today I got one back from the actress Susan Howard. Susan played Mara, wife of Klingon Commander Kang in the episode “Day of the Dove”.  Susan is one of the few female Klingons portrayed on The Original Series, and the only one to perform any lines.

After Star Trek she continued to guest star until she replaced Diana Muldaur as one of the cast members of the lawyer show “Petrocelli” in 1974, continuing until it was cancelled two years later. During that time she was nominated for both a Golden Globe and a Primetime Emmy Award.

Her career defining role was as Donna Culver Krebbs on the primetime soap opera “Dallas” during the 1980s.

Since then she took a deep dive into republican politics.  She served in the leadership of the National Rifle Association and at one point was co-host of the televangelist “The 700 Club” and continues to speak at Republican events in favour of firearms and the Christian church.

Suffice to say my political leanings are very different from hers. I’m sure we would have a lot of fun arguing if we were ever to speak.  Never-the-less it was very kind of her to autograph these for me.

William Shatner and Susan Howard

Susan Howard and Michael Ansara

Susan Howard smiling

Susan Howard as Kara on the Enterprise

Barbara Baldavin – Angela Martine from Star Trek

As previously posted, lately I have been communicating with various cast members from Star Trek : The Original Series and asking for autographs.  Since I am not getting out much because of COVID there is not much to write about on this blog, and I thought I would occasionally provide an update as they come back to me.

This week I got a response from Barbara Baldavin.  Barbara may have had a foot in the door at the show as she was married to Joseph D’Agosta, the casting director at Desilu who therefore cast most of the actors on Star Trek, as well as the Lucy Show and Mission Impossible.  In occasions when the show needed a generic crew member D’Anosta turned to his circle of actors, and more than once asked his wife to play a part.

Baldavin first appeared in the season one episode “Balance of Terror” as Angela Martine, a female weapons officer whose wedding is interrupted by a Romulan attack.

That same season she was cast again in “Shore Leave” as a generic female crew member who beams down to a planet that can make your dreams come true.  Although scripted as a different character, when the production crew realized she had been in Balance of Terror they referred to the character as “Angela Martine”.

At the end of the first season she returned to play a character called “Baker” in “Space Seed” but her performance was removed in the final cut of the episode.

At the end of the series she returned for the series finale “Turnabout Intruder”.  Nichelle Nichols who played communications officer Uhura was unavailable due to a singing engagement and they needed a generic female crew member to say her lines.  She is called “Lt. Lisa” in this episode, but most fans have retconned her as playing Angela again.

After Star Trek she was a recurring cast member in the 1970s TV series “Medical Center”, and made guest appearances on popular television in the 70s such as “Charlie’s Angels”, “Baretta”, “Fantasy Island” and “The Bionic Woman” however by the 1980s she made a career shift into the casting department, working as casting director or casting assistant on shows like “Trapper John M.D.”, and “Dynasty”.

I sent her three photos, one from each episode she appeared, in and she was kind enough to sign them all. I should note she herself seems to have retconned her appearances to be all the same character.

If she ever sees this, thank you very much for signing these, and thank you for being a part of Star Trek.

Barbara Baldavin in Balance of Terror

Barbara Baldavin in Shore Leave

Barbara Baldavin in Turnabout Intruder