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Vic Perrin (26 April 19164 July 1989; age 73) was an actor who played Tharn and his mirror counterpart in the Star Trek: The Original Series second season episode "Mirror, Mirror". He also performed voice roles for the same series.

He filmed his scenes for "Mirror, Mirror" on Wednesday 26 July 1967 at Desilu Stage 10.

Hailing from Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, United States, Perrin began acting on radio in the 1940s, with his earliest known network role coming in 1946 as announcer on The Hollywood Music Hall. He became a frequent heavy on the radio version of the Western series Gunsmoke (along with Lawrence Dobkin), in addition to regular roles on One Man's Family and Fort Laramie. Over the next forty years, he appeared in almost forty movies and television series, about a hundred television guest appearances, and innumerable radio broadcasts. He appeared with Susan Oliver, Byron Morrow and Paul Comi in the "People Are Alike All Over" episode of The Twilight Zone, and with Robert Lansing in the "Spotlight on a Corpse" episode of Michael Shayne.

Perrin appeared in multiple episodes of the television series Dragnet, both the original series (1952-1959) and the revival (1967-1970). He played a different role in each episode. He also played a Deputy District Attorney in the 1954 feature film Dragnet, and a serial killer in the TV-movie Dragnet (also known as Dragnet 1966), which served as a pilot for the revival of the series. This pilot film was shot in 1966, the year Star Trek made its debut on NBC, but the network did not broadcast it until 1969, the same year that NBC canceled Star Trek.

Perrin's facility with voices, the result of his radio background, earned him a number of voice-only roles, including multiple appearances on Star Trek: The Original Series. Fans of the 1960s cartoon Jonny Quest may remember him as the voice of the evil Dr. Zin.

Arguably his most famous voice-only role was as the Control Voice on both seasons of The Outer Limits (1963 – 1965), for which he provided the opening and closing commentary on each episode. Harlan Ellison wrote two episodes of The Outer Limits, and future Star Trek actors starred in both of them: Michael Ansara and Tim O'Connor in "Soldier"; Arlene Martel (billed as Arline Martel) and Abraham Sofaer in "Demon With a Glass Hand." Other future Star Trek actors who appeared in The Outer Limits include William Shatner and Malachi Throne in "Cold Hands, Warm Heart", Leonard Nimoy (two episodes), James Doohan, Grace Lee Whitney, John Hoyt (three episodes), Sally Kellerman (two episodes), Peter Mark Richman (two episodes), Warren Stevens, Steve Ihnat, Marianna Hill, Salome Jens, Barry Atwater, Alfred Ryder, Whit Bissell, Jeff Corey, Harry Townes, Janos Prohaska, Barbara Luna, Skip Homeier, and Keith Andes. Robert Johnson performed voice-only roles in many episodes of The Outer Limits. Martin Landau also appeared in two episodes of The Outer Limits, including "The Bellero Shield" with Sally Kellerman and John Hoyt. The series was produced by Joseph Stefano in the first season, who also contributed many scripts. Robert H. Justman served as assistant director, while Fred Phillips provided the makeup.

Star Trek appearances[]

References[]

  • Marill, Alvin H. Movies Made for Television. New York Zoetrope, New York, 1987. Page 116.
  • Schow, David J. and Frentzen, Jeffrey. The Outer Limits: The Official Companion. Ace Science Fiction Books, New York, 1986.

External links[]

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