Joseph Pevney, a film and television director who directed some of the most popular episodes of the original "Star Trek" TV series in the late 1960s, has died. He was 96.
Pevney, a former Broadway actor who played supporting roles in several notable films noir in the late 1940s before directing movies such as "Man of a Thousand Faces" and "Tammy and the Bachelor," died May 18 of age-related causes at his home in Palm Desert, said his wife, Margo.
Focusing on television from the early 1960s to the mid-1980s, when he retired, Pevney directed episodes of numerous series such as "Wagon Train," "The Munsters," "The Fugitive," "Bonanza," "12 O'Clock High," "The Virginian," "Adam-12," "Marcus Welby, M.D.," "Emergency," "The Incredible Hulk," "Fantasy Island," "Medical Center" and "Trapper John, M.D."
But "Star Trek," the classic science-fiction series that ran on NBC from 1966 to 1969, was Pevney's most enduring television credit as a director and made him a familiar name to Trekkers.
As has been noted on "Star Trek" fan sites since his death, Pevney directed 14 episodes of the original series, tying with the late Marc Daniels as the credited director of the most episodes.
Pevney directed some of the top fan-favorite episodes, including "The City on the Edge of Forever," "Amok Time," "The Trouble With Tribbles" and "Journey to Babel."
"The first half of the second year of the show, when he was alternating with Marc Daniels, is regarded as the best part of the series," said Jeff Bond, author of "The Music of Star Trek" and editor of the magazine Geek Monthly. "That's when it hit its stride. There was more humor, it was more adventurous, and the tone, I think, was lighter."
Bond said Pevney directed "the first real comedy episode of the series, 'The Trouble With Tribbles,' which was a complete, all-out comedy about the ship sort of getting infested with a bunch of furry creatures. And he certainly worked on some of the strongest dramatic episodes."
"The City on the Edge of Forever," from a script by Harlan Ellison and guest-starring Joan Collins, "is considered to be the best episode of the original series," Bond said.
George Takei, who played Sulu on the series, recalled Pevney as being "very organized and authoritarian" as a director.
"He was very precise in what he wanted," Takei told The Times, "but he was very relaxed -- in fact, jovial -- in the way he directed. I enjoyed working with him."
