SPARKS: Actor Michael Forest, who played Apollo in “Star Trek” and later reprised the role in a fan-produced series, died on Wednesday at a senior living home in Nevada. He was 97.
His close friend James A. Brown announced the death on Facebook on Friday. “I knew him as an actor and loved him as a friend,” Brown wrote. No cause of death has been disclosed.
Forest played Apollo in the original series’ 1967 episode “Who Mourns for Adonais?” His character demanded worship from the Enterprise crew and claimed to be the Greek god.
Decades later, he returned as Apollo in the 2013 fan production “Star Trek Continues”. His wife, actor Diana Hale, appeared alongside him as Athena.
Beyond that science-fiction role, Forest worked across television, film, theatre and voice acting. His screen credits included “The Twilight Zone” and “Mission: Impossible”, while his voice work extended to animated productions and video games.
Born in North Dakota in 1929, Forest initially considered boxing. However, watching a friend perform on stage persuaded him to pursue acting instead.
After moving to Los Angeles, he met filmmaker Roger Corman in an acting class. Their association led to work in low-budget films, including “The Saga of the Viking Women and Their Voyage to the Waters of the Great Sea Serpent”.
He subsequently appeared in “Beast From Haunted Cave”, “Ski Troop Attack” and “Atlas”. Those film roles ran alongside guest appearances in television programmes.
Meanwhile, Forest maintained a stage career. He played Othello three times and portrayed Petruchio in “The Taming of the Shrew” at San Diego’s Old Globe.
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A recommendation from his theatre work helped him land the Apollo role, according to The Hollywood Reporter’s obituary.
Forest’s later film appearances included a pilot role in “Cast Away”. He also built an extensive dubbing career while living in Rome, drawing on his fluency in Italian. Outside his professional life, Forest and Hale were married for 52 years before her death in 2022.
(With additional input from Page Six)
