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... as punk on bus
Kirk R. Thatcher (born 14 February 1962; age 62) was an associate producer of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, and also played the part of the music-blasting punk on the bus in that film. He was also the voice of the Vulcan computer and the assistant to Leonard Nimoy.
Thatcher actually composed the song "I Hate You" which plays on his boombox in the movie.
Beyond the realm of Star Trek, Thatcher has worked as a puppeteer, writer and director in many projects for Jim Henson's "Muppets". In one such project, the 4 January 1998 episode of Muppets Tonight, a plot element revolved around the Muppet Beaker going on a Star Trek fan cruise, with George Takei as featured guest. Thatcher, who co-wrote the episode, appeared on-camera as a fan dressed as a Klingon, urging "Sulu" to take the bridge when the ship runs into trouble. Other episodes of Muppets Tonight involved cameos by William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy from TOS, as well as guest stars from other series incarnations, including Whoopi Goldberg and Jason Alexander.
Thatcher began his career as a sculptor and model maker at Industrial Light & Magic in 1981, at the age of 19. He worked on such films as The Return of the Jedi, E.T. and Poltergeist. He also worked on Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and Star Trek III: The Search for Spock.
External links
- Template:IMDb-link
- Kirk Thatcher at Muppet Wiki
- IGN Interview with Kirk Thatcher
- Kirk Thatcher at LinkedIn.com