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Larry Dobkin (16 September 191928 October 2002; age 83) was an Emmy-nominated actor, television director, and occasional writer and producer who directed the Star Trek: The Original Series first season episode "Charlie X", where he was credited as Lawrence Dobkin.

Twenty-five years later, he guest-starred as Kell in the Star Trek: The Next Generation fourth season episode "The Mind's Eye". Dobkin filmed his scenes for "The Mind's Eye" between Wednesday 20 March 1991 and Thursday 28 March 1991 on Paramount Stage 8, 9, and 16.

He is the only person to have both directed an episode of TOS and to later appear on a Star Trek spin-off. In addition, Dobkin, Richard Compton, Andrew Robinson, Rainn Wilson, Lea Thompson and Leslie Hope are the only six non-regular performers to have both appeared in and directed Star Trek.

Biography[]

Hailing from New York, New York, Dobkin voiced characters on numerous network radio plays from the 1940s through the 1960s. Perhaps most notable of these was The Saint, for which he played the title character's sidekick, cab driver Louie. He made his feature film debut in the 1949 drama Not Wanted, starring Leo Penn, who directed the TOS episode "The Enemy Within". He amassed over 150 film and television appearances.

Some of Dobkin's early film credits include Twelve O'Clock High (1949, co-starring Kenneth Tobey), D.O.A., and an uncredited role in The Day the Earth Stood Still, directed by Robert Wise (who later directed Star Trek: The Motion Picture). He made uncredited appearances in many other films throughout the 1950s, including Angels in the Outfield (1951), Red Skies of Montana (1952, starring Jeffrey Hunter), Them! (1954, featuring an uncredited Leonard Nimoy), Sweet Smell of Success (1957, with John Fiedler), and North by Northwest (1959, co-starring Stanley Adams, Bill Catching, Robert Ellenstein, and Ken Lynch). However, Dobkin did have a credited supporting role in films like Above and Beyond, Illegal (1955, starring DeForest Kelley), The Defiant Ones (1958, co-starring Theodore Bikel and Whit Bissell), and The Ten Commandments (1956).

Dobkin's later film work include major roles in Geronimo (1962, with John Anderson) and The Cabinet of Caligari (1962) and a supporting role in Patton (1970, co-starring Michael Strong). He later played Patton himself in War and Remembrance (1988, co-starring Ian Abercrombie, Steven Berkoff, Richard Lineback, Byron Morrow, Glenn Morshower, George Murdock, Charles Napier, John Rhys-Davies, and William Schallert). His last film was Beastmaster 2: Through the Portal of Time (1991, co-starring James Avery).

It was during the mid-1950s that Dobkin began shifting his attention more towards television. Throughout the 1950s and '60s he made multiple appearances on programs such as I Love Lucy, Space Patrol, Studio 57, Gunsmoke, Have Gun – Will Travel, and The Untouchables. In addition, he was the narrator on the ABC crime drama Naked City during the show's entire run (1958-1963). In 1968, he received an Emmy Award nomination for his performance in the CBS Playhouse production of Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night, which co-starred Original Series guest actor Warren Stevens.

Dobkin's later television acting credits include an episode of Mission: Impossible (with Leonard Nimoy, Robert DoQui, Rex Holman, and Jason Wingreen), the pilot for The Streets of San Francisco, and episodes of such shows as Hawaii Five-O, Knight Rider, MacGyver, Night Court, Profiler, The Practice, and NYPD Blue. He also had recurring roles on L.A. Law (starring Corbin Bernsen and Larry Drake) and Melrose Place, playing a judge on both.

Dobkin began directing television programs in 1958. Besides Star Trek, the numerous shows he worked on as a director include The Rifleman, 77 Sunset Strip, The Munsters, The Andy Griffith Show, Emergency!, Barnaby Jones, Cannon, The Waltons, Dallas, Charlie's Angels, and the Ricardo Montalban series Fantasy Island.

Dobkin retired from directing in 1985, but continued acting until his death from heart failure in 2002. Both of Dobkin's twin daughters followed their father into television. Kaela, among other projects, appeared on the short-lived Melrose Place spin-off Models, Inc. working routinely with Robert Beltran, and Kristin became a writer, writing a CSI: Crime Scene Investigation episode that guest-starred Megan Gallagher, Ellen Geer, and Ed Lauter.

External links[]

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