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[Deathwatch] Joseph Pevney, 'Star Trek' TV director, 96

'Star Trek' TV director dies
http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/TV/05/29/obit.pevney.ap/index.html

 PALM DESERT, California (AP)  -- Joseph Pevney, who directed some of
the best-loved episodes of the original "Star Trek" television series,
has died. He was 96.

Pevney died May 18 at his home in Palm Desert, said his wife, Margo.

Pevney directed 14 episodes of the 1960s series, including "The City on
the Edge of Forever," in which Capt. Kirk and Spock travel back in time
to the Depression, and "The Trouble With Tribbles," in which the
starship Enterprise is infested with cute, furry creatures.

Pevney loved the series, said his son, Jay.

"He was surprised at the longevity of it because it was not a popular
series at the time; it hit its real popularity (in syndication) after
it was over," he said.

Pevney directed with precision and was highly organized "but he was
very relaxed -- in fact, jovial -- in the way he directed," said George
Takei, who played Sulu. "I enjoyed working with him."

Pevney had made his movie debut playing a killer in 1946's "Nocturne."
As an actor, he made several other film noir appearances but then
turned to directing with 1950's "Shakedown."

Pevney went on to direct more than 35 films, including two memorable
movies from 1957: "Man of a Thousand Faces," which starred James Cagney
as silent star Lon Chaney, and "Tammy and the Bachelor," a romantic
comedy starring Debbie Reynolds that spawned her No. 1 hit record,
"Tammy."

In the 1960s and '70s Pevney turned to television, directing dozens of
episodes of series such as "Wagon Train," "Fantasy Island," "The
Incredible Hulk" and "Trapper John, M.D."

He retired in 1985.

Born in 1911 in New York, Pevney began his entertainment career as a
boy soprano in vaudeville. For several years in the 1930s and '40s, he
acted in or directed Broadway productions. He came to Los Angeles after
serving in the Army in World War II.

Many thanks to TheLenGuy for posting this obituary