Template:Short description Template:More citations needed Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox person

Mark Lenard (born Leonard Rosenson,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> October 15, 1924 – November 22, 1996) was an American actor, primarily in television. His most famous role was that of Sarek, father of Spock, in the science fiction Star Trek franchise, both in Star Trek: The Original Series and the animated series, in three films, and in two episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation. He also played a Klingon in Star Trek The Motion Picture, and a Romulan Commander in the episode Balance of Terror of the original series.<ref name="Mark Lenard |work=IMDb">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

BiographyEdit

Lenard was born in Chicago,<ref name="Spelling">Template:Cite news Template:Open access</ref> the son of a Russian Jewish immigrant, Abraham, and his wife, Bessie, and was raised in the small town of South Haven, Michigan, on Lake Michigan, where his family owned a tourist resort.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He joined the United States Army in 1943 and trained to be a paratrooper during World War II; he did not see combat, and was discharged in 1946 as a technical sergeant.<ref name=fardreaming>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

He got his start on stage while in the army. After earning a master's degree in theater and speech from the University of Michigan, he became known in New York City for serious drama, including the plays of Ibsen, Shaw, and Chekhov. His first noteworthy role was that of Conrad in John Gielgud's production of Much Ado About Nothing, followed by the Broadway show A Far Country.<ref name="Spelling"/><ref>Template:Cite news Template:Open access</ref> In the mid-1960s, he moved his family to Los Angeles, where he played the recurring role of Dr. Ernest Gregory in Another World, and one of the Three Wise Men in the biblical epic The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965).<ref name=fardreaming/>

Lenard is best known for his appearances in the Star Trek franchise, particularly in the role of Sarek, the father of Spock (Leonard Nimoy). His first Star Trek appearance was in the first season of Star Trek: The Original Series, however, playing the first Romulan ever seen in the series, in the episode "Balance of Terror" (1966). He originated the character of Sarek in the second-season episode "Journey to Babel" (1967), and provided the voice of Sarek in the Star Trek: The Animated Series episode "Yesteryear" (1973). He later played an ill-fated Klingon Captain in Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979), which gave him the distinction of being the first actor to play a Romulan, a Vulcan, and a Klingon in Star Trek. He reprised the role of Sarek in three of the Star Trek feature films—Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984), Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986), and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)—and provided the voice of young Sarek in a brief flashback sequence in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989). Additionally, he appeared as the elderly Sarek in the third-season Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Sarek" (1990) and the fifth-season episode "Unification: Part 1" (1991).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Lenard began acting in television series dramas and TV movies in 1955. He was the fifth actor to play Nathan Walsh in the soap opera Search for Tomorrow (1959–1960). He played Dr. Ernest Gregory in Another World (1964–1965). For two seasons Lenard played Aaron Stempel in the television series Here Come the Brides (1968–1970).<ref>Brooks, Tim and Marsh, Earle, The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows 1946 – Present, Ballantine Books, 1979, page 250.</ref>

Lenard guest-starred in several episodes of the original Mission: Impossible from 1966 to 1970, including one with Leonard Nimoy, and in a two-part episode of Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. He played the prosecutor in Fort Grant in the Clint Eastwood film Hang 'Em High (1968), and the hostile gorilla Urko in the television series Planet of the Apes. He made a guest appearance on Little House on the Prairie, in the episode "Journey in the Spring, Part I", playing Peter Ingalls, older brother of Charles Ingalls. He had roles in Gunsmoke several times, including the episode "Nowhere to Run" (1968).<ref name="Mark Lenard |work=IMDb"/>

Lenard played a lead role in the film Noon Sunday, filmed on Guam with his costars Keye Luke; John Russell of the series Lawman; and character actor Stacy Harris. In The Radicals (1990), which recounted the beginnings of the Swiss Anabaptist movement in the 1520s, he played a composite historical character, Eberhard Hoffman, a Catholic bishop who serves as prosecutor in the trial of his former abbot Michael Sattler.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 1993, Lenard and fellow Star Trek actor Walter Koenig toured in a production of The Boys in Autumn. Lenard played a late middle-aged Huck Finn who re-encounters his childhood friend Tom Sawyer after a lifetime apart. Koenig played Sawyer.

Lenard died of multiple myeloma in New York City, New York, at the age of 72.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

FilmographyEdit

FilmEdit

TelevisionEdit

ReferencesEdit

Template:Reflist

External linksEdit

Template:Sister project

 | name/{{#if:{{#invoke:ustring|match|1=0501697|2=^nm}}
   | Template:Trim/
   | nm0501697/
   }}
 | {{#if: {{#property:P345}}
   | name/Template:First word/
   | find?q=%7B%7B%23if%3A+%0A++++++%7C+%7B%7B%7Bname%7D%7D%7D%0A++++++%7C+%5B%5B%3ATemplate%3APAGENAMEBASE%5D%5D%0A++++++%7D%7D&s=nm
   }}
 }}{{#if: 0501697  {{#property:P345}} | {{#switch: 
 | award | awards = awards Awards for | biography | bio = bio Biography for
 }}}} {{#if: 
 | {{{name}}}
 | Template:PAGENAMEBASE
 }}] at IMDb{{#if: 0501697{{#property:P345}}
 | Template:EditAtWikidata
 | Template:Main other

}}{{#switch:{{#invoke:string2|matchAny|^nm.........|^nm.......|nm|.........|source=0501697|plain=false}}

 | 1 | 3 =  Template:Main otherTemplate:Preview warning
 | 4 = Template:Main otherTemplate:Preview warning

}}{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:IMDb name with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|showblankpositional=1| 1 | 2 | id | name | section }}

Template:Authority control