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(written from a Production point of view)

Meg Wyllie (15 February 19171 January 2002; age 84) was the actress who played The Keeper in the first pilot of Star Trek: The Original Series, "The Cage". Footage of her appearance was later incorporated into the first season episodes "The Menagerie, Part I" and "The Menagerie, Part II", and the Star Trek: Discovery second season episode "If Memory Serves".

She filmed her scenes on Wednesday 9 December 1964 at Desilu Culver Stage 16, and on Thursday 10 December 1964, Friday 11 December 1964, Wednesday 16 December 1964 and Thursday 17 December 1964 at Desilu Culver Stage 15.

Wyllie had the honor of portraying the first villain to ever (chronologically) appear on Star Trek.

Career[]

Born in Hawaii, Wyllie grew up in the Philippines, where her father was working as an engineer on sugar plantations. She moved to New York City during the 1940s to pursue a career in acting and over the next five decades would make around a hundred TV guest appearances.

Her credits include series such as The Twilight Zone (with John Fiedler), Dr. Kildare (with William Schallert), The Untouchables (with Robert Ellenstein, K.L. Smith, Jason Wingreen, Benjie Bancroft, Al Cavens, and Tony Dante, directed by Robert Butler), The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (with James Doohan, Arthur Tovey, Kai J. Wong, and Sally Yarnell, directed by Marc Daniels), The Addams Family (with Ted Cassidy and Felix Silla), The Fugitive (with Liam Sullivan, Garry Walberg, and Hal Lynch, directed by Robert Butler), Batman (with Walker Edmiston, Len Felber, Monty O'Grady, and Robert Strong), Bewitched (with Ed McCready), Gunsmoke (with Ken Lynch and Bill Erwin), The Waltons (with John Crawford, directed by Ralph Senensky), Barnaby Jones (with Lee Meriwether, Paul Fix, and Bill Zuckert, directed by Gene Nelson), Kojak (with Mark Russell, directed by Russ Mayberry), Charlie's Angels (with Frank Gorshin, Lou Elias, David Armstrong, Robert Hitchcock, and Tony Dante), The Love Boat, Quincy, M.E. (with Garry Walberg and Robert Ito), Family Ties (with Brian Bonsall, Brian McNamara, and Richard McGonagle, Night Court (starring John Larroquette, with Nicholas Worth), Family Matters, and Mad About You (with Marva Hicks).

She can also be seen in a number of films, including Marnie (1964, with Mariette Hartley and Paul Power), Vanishing Point (1971, with Lou Elias), Lipstick (1976, starring Chris Sarandon, with Bill Zuckert, Monty O'Grady, and Gary Wright), The Last Starfighter (1984, with Norman Snow, Barbara Bosson, Marc Alaimo, and Wil Wheaton), and Dragnet (1987, with Christopher Plummer, Bruce Gray, Jimmie F. Skaggs, and Dave Armstrong).

She also appeared in a number of TV movies, like 1974's The Tribe (with Stewart Moss and Sam Gilman) and 1979's Elvis (with Ed Begley, Jr. and Dennis Christopher), and The Thorn Birds (1983, with Jean Simmons, Richard Kiley, Philip Anglim, Christopher Plummer, Brett Cullen, John de Lancie, Antoinette Bower, Vidal Peterson, and Nan Martin).

She died of heart failure in 2002.

Further reading[]

  • "Caged by a Classic", Frank Garcia, Starlog, issue 117, April 1987, pp. 52-53

External links[]

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