Movies - TV
How Star Trek Convinced Elinor Donahue To Come Out Of Acting Retirement
By WITNEY SEIBOLD
In the "Star Trek" episode "Metamorphosis" (November 10, 1967), guest character Commissioner Nancy Hedford is played by prolific actress Elinor Donahue.
Donahue semi-retired a few times in her career, and it seems she was trying to give up acting in 1967. This changed when Gene Roddenberry gave her a call.
Donahue recalled: "Gene Roddenberry called me and told me that he had a new show called 'Star Trek' and he asked me if I'd heard of it. I told him, 'No.'"
"He told me a little bit about it and he said, 'I'd love for you to play a role on it. Would you be interested?' I said, 'Of course.' So that was how it came about," Donahue said.
Donahue was surprised at the serious nature of the role Roddenberry asked her to play, as she had a very lax attitude toward acting, calling it a vacation from being a housewife.
She stated, "...[T]here wasn't anything about the character that made me say, 'Oh, this is nice and juicy, and I need to do it.' I just wanted to do it, period."