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New York-born actor Whit Bissell (25 October 19095 March 1996; age 86) is best known to Star Trek fans for playing Lurry on the Star Trek: The Original Series second season episode "The Trouble with Tribbles". Footage of his scenes were later incorporated into the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine fifth season episode "Trials and Tribble-ations". Bissell filmed his scenes on Thursday 24 August 1967 and Friday 25 August 1967 at Desilu Stage 10.

Bissell was certainly no stranger to the science fiction genre. One of Bissell's more memorable roles is that of Dr. Alfred Brandon in I Was a Teenage Werewolf in 1957. He later went on to play Walter Kemp in George Pal's version of The Time Machine in 1960. And while Original Series was in its first season, Bissell was a regular on The Time Tunnel, where coincidentally he played a lieutenant general named "Kirk". The series also starred Deep Space Nine actor James Darren and Original Series guest star Lee Meriwether.

Besides The Time Tunnel, Bissell was also a regular on the 1950s sitcom Bachelor Father. That series also featured Original Series guest star Jeanne Bal.

Bissell appeared in several motion pictures which also included other actors who were involved with Star Trek. Earlier in his career, he co-starred in Canon City (1948, with Original Series actor DeForest Kelley and guest actor Jeff Corey). Bissell later went on to appear with Kelley in Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957), Warlock (1959), and Where Love Has Gone (1964). Bissell and Jeff Corey had previously appeared together in It Shouldn't Happen to a Dog (1946), Somewhere in the Night (1946), and Brute Force (1947). The two later co-starred together in Red Mountain (1951).

In 1956, Bissell appeared in the original Invasion of the Body Snatchers in a minor uncredited role as a hospital psychiatrist who interviews the film's main star Kevin McCarthy. When the film was remade in 1978, Bissell's character was greatly expanded and played by Leonard Nimoy.

Bissel also appeared in Never So Few (1959, with George Takei) He was also in Frank Sinatra's The Manchurian Candidate (1962, with Reggie Nalder, Leslie Parrish, and James Gregory. In 1964, Bissell had a supporting role in Seven Days in May (1973, featuring Leonard Nimoy). Unlike Bissell, neither Takei nor Nimoy were credited for their appearances. In 1965, Bissell appeared in The Hallelujah Trail, which also featured Deep Space Nine guest actor Brian Keith.

He and Original Series star William Shatner later appeared in The Andersonville Trial (1970, with Ian Wolfe and Harry Townes). Bissell also had a role in Pete 'n' Tillie (1972, with Deep Space Nine actor René Auberjonois). Bissell also appeared in Soylent Green (1973, co-starring Deep Space Nine actor Brock Peters. He also appeared in The Incredible Hulk, which was directed by Joseph Pevney.

Bissell appeared in many other notable films, including The Caine Mutiny (1954, featuring Roy Jenson and Don Keefer), The Desperate Hours (1955), The Magnificent Seven (1960, featuring Joseph Ruskin and John A. Alonzo), Birdman of Alcatraz (1962, featuring Pete Kellett and Leo Penn), and Hud (1963). He also made guest appearances on numerous television series, from Perry Mason and Wagon Train to The Dukes of Hazzard and The Incredible Hulk. In 1994, he received a Life Career Award from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films for his work with those genres.

Bissell died of Parkinson's disease on 5 March 1996 in Woodland Hills, California. He was 86 years old. He left behind a legacy that included some three hundred film and television appearances.

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