How Jonathan Frakes Successfully Stole His Star Trek: The Next Generation Uniform

This may crush some Trekkies to read, but the "Star Trek: The Next Generation" cast did not get to take home their Starfleet uniform costumes when the show was over. Denise Crosby, who played Tasha Yar on the first season of "Next Generation," apparently even had her lapel communicator prop taken away from her directly. Speaking to Trekcore in 2013, Crosby stated that "Next Generation" executive producer Rick Berman "came down to the set" on her last day of filming as Tasha "and the very first thing he did was pull off my communicator from my uniform and said, 'Well, won't be needing that anymore!'" Berman seemingly confirmed as much when he posted a halcyon message on Twitter/X in 2019, revealing that he had kept Tasha's combadge on his desk in the 31 years since.

One might understand if a "Star Trek" actor gets a little wistful about their costume. Because the "Star Trek" franchise is mainly about Starfleet officers, most of its actors end up wearing the same outfit every day for years (save for the occasional update). One can also see why Paramount wouldn't want its "Star Trek" attire in the hands of the public. These costumes can become coveted rarities on the collector's circuit, and one can find auctions to this day where "Next Generation" uniforms are being sold for upwards of $8,000. They're too valuable to just give away.

Jonathan Frakes, however, still has his uniform costume from his days playing Commander Riker on "Next Generation." How? He simply walked off the show's set while wearing it one day, and nobody stopped him. Brent Spiner, who played the android Data on the series, stole his outfit too, as he and Frakes once revealed to their "Next Generation" co-star LeVar Burton on the pair's "Dropping Names" podcast. 

Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner, and LeVar Burton (who played the engineer Geordi La Forge on "Star Trek: The Next Generation") were all frustrated by Paramount's decree that they were not allowed to keep their uniforms. "The Next Generation" ended after seven seasons in 1994, and its actors all had to give their costumes back. Indeed, Burton revealed that a Paramount representative actually came to his house to get the uniform back. It seems that they would have been allowed to pay the studio $500 — a hefty sum in 1994 — to keep the costumes, but Burton claimed that no one made him that offer. "I would have paid for it in a heartbeat," he noted. 

Spiner then pointed out that Frakes, perhaps cleverly, had found a way to steal his Riker uniform. It seems that when the series finished production, there was a giant wrap party at a local restaurant where the cast went for a fancy dinner. (It was Morton's Steakhouse in Burbank.) Frakes and Gates McFadden (who played Dr. Crusher) didn't ask for permission. They just wore their costumes home. As Spiner recalled: 

"The night we finished, we were all going to meet at the restaurant [...] I asked [producer] Merri Howard, who I adore, 'Can I have one of my uniforms?' They had 17 uniforms for each of us. And I said 'Can I have one of my uniforms?' and she said 'No.' And I said 'Why?' 'Because they belong to Paramount.' Rightly so, she said 'No, I can't give that to you.' I walked into Morton's, and Jonathan and Gates [McFadden] are both their in their uniforms. They walked out of the place in their uniforms!"

Frakes still has his uniform to this day.