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Remembering Aron Eisenberg, 1969-2019

The Nog actor passed away today at age 50.

BY STARTREK.COM STAFF / SEPTEMBER 22, 2019 12:45 AM EDT  

STARTREK.COM

StarTrek.com is saddened to report the passing of Aron Eisenberg, the beloved actor who portrayed Nog in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. 

Eisenberg’s wife, Malíssa Longo —  confirmed on Facebook that he passed away today, on September 21, at the age of 50.

Eisenberg, described himself as “actor, filmmaker and proud father” and was a professional photographer who shot landscapes, concerts, corporate photography, portraits and more. Eisenberg’s earliest credits included an episode of the series Straight Up, the TV movie Amityville: The Evil Escapes and the features The Horror Show, Playroom and Beverly Hills Brats, all in the late 1980s.

When he was cast as Nog, the producers told him nothing about the character, nor was he aware of how many episodes he’d be called upon to do. As he told StarTrek.com in a 2012 interview, “I thought every episode I was doing might be my last episode.” Eisenberg ultimately played Nog in more than 40 episodes of DS9. He also portrayed Kar, the young Kazon-Ogla, in the Star Trek: Voyager episode “Initiations.”

Condolences to his family and friends.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/20/us/star-trek-picard-comic-con-trailer-trnd/index.html

History’s ‘The UnXplained’: William Shatner Charts The Unknown With Latest TV Enterprise

We are saddened by the passing of our friend and long-time STAT club member, Loretta Shaneybrook. Loretta was a constant presence at Shore Leave, working behind the scenes for decades, and also at STAT club meetings as chair of the social committee, organizing holiday parties and the club’s annual picnic. If you ever volunteered at the convention, you likely remember Loretta as the lady on the scooter, bringing snacks and water to the people working at the event. She will be missed. She is survived by her husband, Randy Bruner. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers as he goes through this difficult time.

Loretta Shaneybrook passed away on Wednesday, June 12.

We are saddened by the passing of artist Keith Birdsong. Birdsong made a name for himself with his photo-realistic paintings, many of which graced the covers of Star Trek novels. In 1992, he was a guest at Shore Leave 14 and again in 1996 at Shore Leave 18.

Keith Birdsong passed away on June 4, 2019 at the age of 59.

Peter William Mayhew was an English-American actor, best known for portraying Chewbacca in the Star Wars film series. He played the character in all of his live action appearances from the 1977 original to 2015’s The Force Awakens before his retirement from the role.

Mayhew died of a heart attack on 30 April 2019 at his home in Boyd, Texas, at the age of 74. He is survived by his wife, Angie Mayhew, and their three children. The family will hold a funeral on 29 June and in early December 2019, there will be a memorial for fans of Chewbecca in Los Angeles at EmpireConLA

.Height: 7′ 2″     His height was not a product of gigantism; “I don’t have the big head”, Mayhew said when asked about the cause of his height.

It came out of the sky, and now it has a premiere date. History has set Tuesday, January 8, for the debut of Project Blue Book, its period UFO drama from EP Robert Zemeckis.

Starring Aidan Gillen and Michael Malarkey, the 10-episode series is based on the true, top-secret investigations into unidentified flying objects and related phenomena conducted by the U.S. Air Force from 1952-69. Neal McDonough, Michael Harney, Laura Mennell and Ksenia Solo co-star.

Project Blue Book is inspired by the personal experiences of Dr. J. Allen Hynek (Gillen), a brilliant college professor recruited by the Air Force to spearhead the titular clandestine operation that researched thousands of cases — more than 700 of which remain unsolved to this day. Each episode draws from the actual case files blending UFO theories with authentic historical events from one of the most mysterious eras in U.S. history. Delving into such themes as trust, instinct, real news vs. fake news and government cover-up, the series straddles the world of science and the exploration of the unknown, History said.

https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-ab&q=tnt+program+blue+book

Speculation about how Patrick Stewart will reprise his role of Captain Jean-Luc Picard for CBS All Access’ upcoming Star Trek series has been nearly as mysterious as space itself. But thanks to one of the new show’s executives, we’re beginning to learn that it definitely won’t resemble anything we’ve seen before on Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Alex Kurtzman, a longtime Star Trek writer and executive producer of both Star Trek: Discovery and the new series, says Picard will be living a very different life than the one he knew on the bridge of the Enterprise, thanks to a traumatic and life-changing calamity dating all the way back to J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek movie — a film Kurtzman co-wrote.

The destruction of the Romulan homeworld in 2009’s Star Trek, Kurtzman told The Hollywood Reporter, was a defining event in Picard’s career, one that sets up the role Stewart will play on the still-untitled new show. “Picard’s life was radically altered by the dissolution of the Romulan Empire,” Kurtzman explained, adding that Stewart himself loved the show’s new premise, once he’d seen how different his reprised role would be.

“He [Stewart] threw down an amazing gauntlet and said, ‘If we do this, I want it to be so different, I want it to be both what people remember but also not what they’re expecting at all, otherwise why do it?’” Kurtzman said. After reading the creative team’s 34-page pitch for the new show, Stewart “walked into the room and he had a huge smile on his face and said, ‘This is wonderful.’ … He knew if he was going to go back to Picard, it needed to be for the greatest reason ever.”

Details about the new series are still light, but it already appears as if Picard won’t be saddled with the workaday business of coordinating his old crew’s adventures from one episode to the next, in the comfortable — if somewhat predictable — fashion of The Next Generation. But Kurtzman did add that “anything could happen,” when asked whether some of the old TNG cast might show up on the new show for a cameo or two.

CBS All Access’ new Star Trek series still hasn’t been given a firm release date, but it’s expected to boldly go live on the streaming service before the end of 2019.

https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/picard-has-radically-altered-life-in-upcoming-star-trek-series-report?__source=Blastr_Vayner_syfy_Facebook&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=picard&utm_term=organic&utm_content=link_ad

n Memory: W. Morgan Sheppard

We are saddened by the passing of actor W. Morgan Sheppard. Sheppard was known to his fans for his numerous credits including Max Headroom‘s Blank Reg, Seaquest‘s Professor, and numerous appearances in Star Trek. In 2008 he was a guest at Shore Leave 30.

W. Morgan Sheppard passed away on January 6, 2019 at the age of 86.

http://www.startrek.com/article/remembering-trek-guest-w-morgan-sheppard-1932-2019

Hubble Space Telescope has literally discovered the age, size, and fate of our Universe.

The Hubble Space Telescope was put into safe mode yesterday.  The article below tells us of its current material condition and how NASA intends to operate it in such a way to maximize its remaining life.  

https://arstechnica.com/science/2018/10/hubble-space-telescope-taken-offline-after-gyroscope-failure