You’ve heard of the so-called Fifth Beatle, a designation that could be shared by any number of individuals (but hopefully not Yoko) who weren’t part of the crux of the Fab Four, but may have been right on the cusp. There are two so-called ‘Fifth Beatles’ in the Star Trek world. Obviously they have nothing to do with the Beatles, but ‘Eighth Trekkers’ just sounds stupid. The first would have been Majel Barrett, who portrayed Nurse Christine Chapel in 34 episodes of the series. The second would be Grace Lee Whitney, who portrayed Yeoman Janice Rand.
Poised to be a series regular, Whitney (as Rand) was written out of the series midway through the first season after appearing in only eight episodes. Fans eventually clamored for her and she returned for no less than four of the Star Trek films, twice as Janice Rand and, oddly, twice in other roles.
Having an impressive list of film and TV credits throughout the 60’s, Grace Lee Whitney was actually a guest at the Hollywood Show on October 8, 2011, as part of the Batman reunion because she had starred as Neila in two episodes of the series. I opted to go with the Star Trek connection by purchasing the photo seen at the top of the posting. However, my friend Bob who had to leave the show early asked me to pick him up a photo of her as Neila from Batman, in which she’s pictured with Victor Buono (as King Tut), whom Bob had long admired.
Her price was a reasonable $20, she posed for a picture for free, and she was quite nice. So Grace Lee Whitney, I cordially invite YOU to live long and prosper.
Celebrity encounters from the Fall 2011 Hollywood Show will continue…
Loved Grace. I went to several Hollywood Shows, but sadly, I never got to meet her. She was scheduled to do another one in April 2015 and I was going to try and make that one but couldn’t. She didn’t make it, either, and passed away a month later. I met her son through ebay and bought several items from her estate but nothing could ever make up for not actually meeting her in person. She was truly a wonderful woman.
Rebecca Rau
January 29th, 2018