‘Star Trek’ director Joseph Pevney dies at 96

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This article was published 30/05/2008 (6633 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

PALM DESERT, Calif. – Joseph Pevney, who directed some of the best-loved episodes of the original “Star Trek” television series, has died.

He was 96.

Pevney’s wife Margo says he died May’ at his home in Palm Desert, Calif.

Pevney directed– episodes of the’60s series.

They included “The City on the Edge of Forever,” in which Capt. Kirk and Spock travel back in time to the Depression, and “The Trouble With Tribbles,” in which the starship Enterprise is infested with cute, furry creatures.

Pevney’s son Jay says his father loved the series, but was surprised at the popularity it eventually achieved.

“He was surprised at the longevity of it because it was not a popular series at the time; it hit its real popularity (in syndication) after it was over,” he said.

Pevney directed with precision and was highly organized “but he was very relaxed – in fact, jovial – in the way he directed,” said George Takei, who played Sulu. “I enjoyed working with him.”

Pevney had made his movie debut playing a killer in’46’s “Nocturne.” As an actor, he made several other film noir appearances but then turned to directing with’50’s “Shakedown.”

Pevney went on to direct more than 35 films, including two memorable movies from’57: “Man of a Thousand Faces,” which starred James Cagney as silent star Lon Chaney, and “Tammy and the Bachelor,” a romantic comedy starring Debbie Reynolds that spawned her No. 1 hit record, “Tammy.”

In the’60s and ’70s Pevney turned to television, directing dozens of episodes of series such as “Wagon Train,” “Fantasy Island,” “The Incredible Hulk” and “Trapper John, M.D.”

He retired in’85.

Born in’11 in New York, Pevney began his entertainment career as a boy soprano in vaudeville. For several years in the’30s and ’40s, he acted in or directed Broadway productions. He came to Los Angeles after serving in the Army in World War II.