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Nilva

Henry Gibson as Nilva.

Henry Gibson (born 21 September 1935; age 88) is a prolific character actor who played Nilva in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Profit and Lace".

Outside of Star Trek, he is best remembered as a regular performer on the television variety series Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In from 1968 through 1971. He went on to appear in a large number of films, including several from Robert Altman and Joe Dante. His best known film role is country singer "Haven Hamilton" in Altman's acclaimed 1975 musical drama Nashville. Also starring in this film were fellow Trek performers Robert DoQui and Bert Remsen.

Gibson actually made his film debut in the classic 1963 Jerry Lewis comedy The Nutty Professor, in which he and TOS guest actresses Julie Parrish and Celeste Yarnall played college students. The following year, he appeared in the comedy Kiss Me, Stupid, also featuring Ray Walston and John Fiedler, and the year after, he appeared in the Three Stooges film The Outlaws Is Coming, with Nancy Kovack and Rex Holman.

Like his fellow DS9 co-star Rene Auberjonois, Gibson would work with director Robert Altman on several films, beginning with The Long Goodbye in 1973. Gibson and Altman would reteam on the aforementioned Nashville, 1979's A Perfect Couple (starring fellow DS9 guest star Paul Dooley), and 1980's HealtH (with Dooley, Alfre Woodard, and Robert Fortier). Gibson also appeared in several Joe Dante films, along with Star Trek: Voyager star Robert Picardo, including Innerspace (1987, with Wendy Schaal, William Schallert, Dick Miller, Kenneth Tobey, Andrea Martin) and Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990, with Zach Galligan, John Glover, Dick Miller, Keye Luke, Jerry Goldsmith, and Kenneth Tobey).

Other notable films in which he has appeared include The Blues Brothers (1980, with Charles Napier), Magnolia (1999, with Pat Healy), and Wedding Crashers (2005, with Ron Canada, Ellen Albertini Dow, Noel De Souza, Richard Riehle, and Tiffany Turner). He has also become prominent in voiceover roles in animated films and TV series, most notably as the voice of Wilbur the pig in the 1973 classic Charlotte's Web.

Gibson had a recurring role on Boston Legal, starring William Shatner, Rene Auberjonois, and John Larroquette. On this series, Gibson played a peculiar, elderly judge who frequently tried cases involving Shatner's Denny Crane, who took delight in calling Gibson's character a "namby pamby."

Other Trek connections

Additional projects in which Gibson appeared with other Star Trek performers include:

External Links

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