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Gary Lockwood (born 21 February 1937; age 87) is the actor who played Gary Mitchell in the Star Trek: The Original Series first season episode "Where No Man Has Gone Before". He filmed his scenes between Monday 19 July 1965 and Wednesday 28 July 1965 at Desilu Culver Stage 15, Stage 16, and Stage 17, participating in all eight days of production.

Lockwood is perhaps best known for his role as Dr. Frank Poole in the revered 1968 science fiction film 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Despite his one-time guest appearance in the Trek franchise, Lockwood participated in the 1997 documentary Trekkies, which chronicles the impact of Star Trek on the US culture.

Early years[]

Lockwood was born John Gary Yurosek in Van Nuys, California and attended the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) on a football scholarship. He broke into show business as a stuntman and as a stand-in for actor Anthony Perkins in 1957, but he quickly moved to acting.

His first movie as an actor was the 1959 western Warlock, which also featured fellow Star Trek alumni Whit Bissell, Paul Comi, Frank Gorshin, Roy Jenson, and DeForest Kelley. That same year, Lockwood made his major television acting debut on an episode of Bronco, alongside Yvonne Craig.

Lockwood made an uncredited appearance in the 1960 film Tall Story, which starred Ray Walston. Lockwood's first credited film role came a year later in Elvis Presley's Wild in the Country; he again worked with Presley (and Yvonne Craig) in 1963's It Happened at the World's Fair. Pete Kellett, Bill Quinn and Guy Raymond also appeared in the latter film. Lockwood's early feature film credits also included the Academy Award-winning 1961 drama Splendor in the Grass and 1962's The Magic Sword (which co-starred Liam Sullivan).

From 1963 through 1964, Lockwood was the star of the television series called The Lieutenant, a show which, like Star Trek, was created by Gene Roddenberry. Many other performers who later worked on Star Trek appeared in this series, including Original Series regulars Walter Koenig, Nichelle Nichols, and Leonard Nimoy, recurring Trek actress Majel Barrett, and such guest performers as Barbara Babcock, Joseph Campanella, James Gregory, Paul Lambert, Don Marshall, Oliver McGowan, Stephen Mines, Dallas Mitchell, Ricardo Montalban, William O'Connell, Leslie Parrish, Andrew Prine, Madlyn Rhue, Michael Strong, and Kenneth Tobey.

Many episodes of The Lieutenant were directed by Vincent McEveety. McEveety later directed Lockwood in a two-part episode of Gunsmoke which aired in early 1965 and in Firecreek (1968). The latter also featured Brooke Bundy, as well as fellow Original Series guest stars Barbara Luna and Morgan Woodward. Besides this, Robert Butler and David Alexander both directed two episodes of The Lieutenant.

Lockwood's early television credits also included a guest spot on the NBC drama Saints and Sinners, under the direction of veteran Original Series director Marc Daniels. Lockwood then appeared in an episode of Perry Mason with Anthony Caruso, followed by an episode of Combat! with Jim Goodwin. In 1964, Lockwood made a guest appearance on 12 O'Clock High, starring Original Series guest actors Robert Lansing and Frank Overton. He reprised his role from this episode the following year, then made a third appearance on the show in a different role. Nancy Kovack was also seen in Lockwood's first episode; Lee Meriwether appeared in the third.

In 1965, Lockwood acted alongside Sally Kellerman on an episode of the Canadian series Seaway and in a segment of Kraft Suspense Theatre entitled Connery's Hands (the latter also featured Francine Pyne). Lockwood and Kellerman later worked opposite each other on "Where No Man Has Gone Before" the same year.

Later career[]

Following his iconic role in 2001: A Space Odyssey, Lockwood has only acted in a handful of films. He acted alongside Graham Jarvis, Don Keefer, John McLiam, and Paul Winfield in R.P.M. (1970), which was followed by Stand Up and Be Counted (1972, co-starring Michael Ansara and Madlyn Rhue. He then starred in a number of low-budget independent films, including Project: Kill (1976), Survival Zone (1983), and Night of the Scarecrow (1995, with Stephen Root).

The majority of Lockwood's career since the 1970s has been comprised of television guest appearances, made-for-TV movies, and other television projects. In 1971, he starred in Earth II, an unsold pilot for a proposed science fiction television series. Mariette Hartley starred in this production, as well. Lockwood also worked on the pilot for the short-lived series The Manhunter, along with John Anderson, Lenore Kasdorf, and Tim O'Connor.

Among the television shows on which Lockwood guest-starred throughout the 1970s are Medical Center (with Barbara Baldavin and series regular James Daly), Mission: Impossible (with Jason Evers), Ironside (again working with Madlyn Rhue), The Six Million Dollar Man (two episodes: one with William Schallert, the other directed by Russ Mayberry), The Bionic Woman (with Jeff Corey), and Starsky & Hutch (which starred David Soul). Lockwood also made numerous appearances on Barnaby Jones, each time playing a different character. Aforementioned Original Series guest star Lee Meriwether was a regular on this series; others Lockwood worked with on the show include Ward Costello, Meg Foster, Ellen Geer, Vince Howard, William Lucking, Phillip Pine, Lawrence Pressman, the aforementioned Michael Strong, and director Corey Allen.

In the mid-1980s, Lockwood reunited with his Star Trek co-star William Shatner for two episodes of T. J. Hooker, with Shatner in the title role. James Darren was also a regular cast member at the time. Lockwood's first episode ("The Snow Game", 1984) was directed by Shatner himself, while the second episode ("To Kill a Cop", 1985) guest-starred Julie Cobb and Thalmus Rasulala.

Lockwood made four appearances each on Simon & Simon and Murder, She Wrote, portraying a different character in each episode. Veteran Star Trek director Vincent McEveety, whom Lockwood worked with many times during the 1960s, directed Lockwood in one episode from each series. On Simon & Simon, he also worked with fellow Trek performers Daphne Ashbrook, Michael Dante, and Kenneth Mars; on Murder, She Wrote, he acted with Theodore Bikel, Joanna Cassidy, Mary Crosby, Allan Miller, Robert O'Reilly, and William Windom.

Throughout the 1980s, Lockwood also made guest appearances on such programs as Charlie's Angels (directed by Kim Manners), Hart to Hart (with Andrew Robinson), and MacGyver (with Bruce McGill). He also continued appearing in TV movies, including the 1983 drama Emergency Room, in which he worked with Star Trek: The Next Generation regular LeVar Burton as well as Warren Munson, John Vargas, Gary Faga, Biff Yeager, Michael Spound, and Gary Frank. He also had a supporting role in 1987's The Return of the Six-Million-Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman along with William Campbell and Tom Schanley.

Lockwood's most recent television work was a guest spot as US Chief Justice Earl Warren on Dark Skies in 1997, with Jeri Ryan, Dennis Creaghan and Conor O'Farrell.

Additional credits[]

Other film and television projects not mentioned above in which Lockwood worked with other Star Trek alumni include:

Films[]

TV guest appearances[]

TV movies[]

External links[]

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