The actress and singer, famous for the “Mudd’s Women” episode of “Star Trek”, was 76 years old

Maggie Thrett, the actress and singer who played Ruth in the original series episode “Mudd’s Women,” is particularly memorable. Star Trekdied on December 18, her family said. She was 76 years old.

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“Mudd’s Women” is one of the most memorable episodes of the 1960s Star Trekand this is not least because it features three breathtakingly beautiful women (Thrett, Karen Steele and Susan Denberg) who seem to have a strange power over the male crew members of the Enterprise – with the exception of Spock, of course.

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The women are on their way to a mining colony where they are to become the wives of the rich but lonely men who mine valuable dilithium crystals. Their secret is that by taking a so-called “Venus” drug, administered to them by one of the series’ most memorable crooks, Harry Mudd (Roger Carmel), they will become both beautiful and irresistible.

Ironically, Thrett had to audition for the role even though Carmel was her neighbor. She had no idea what the show actually was.

“I’m shocked that years later, I’m known primarily for that episode,” she told writer Tom Lisanti in 2017. “I’m in television history forever. At least it wasn’t bad, so I’m not embarrassed. A company contacted me to sell my autograph on these Star Trek cards. They pay me to do it and resell them at these Star Trek conventions. I was invited once, but it didn’t work out.”

Speaking of pay, Thrett told Lisanti she had to fight for her pay from the show.

“I remember we hit golden overtime that day of shooting. We were there from about 4 a.m. to about 9 or 10 at night. You get regular overtime and you have to do triple overtime. They wouldn’t pay,” Thrett said. “I had to fight the Screen Actors Guild for it. They don’t like it when you do that and it hurts your chances of being back on the show. I got my money and, as luck would have it, was never invited back. Years later, I got a letter from Gene Roddenberry asking me to give up my royalties and donate them to his charity. I refused.”

Thrett, who was born Diane Pine in 1946, appeared in a number of well-known series of the time, including The Wild, Wild West, I dream of jeannie And McCloud. She also starred alongside Christopher Jones, Yvette Mimieux and Judy Pace in the 1968 comedy Three in the atticwhich became American International Pictures’ highest-grossing film of the year. The film and Thrett had a brief appearance in Quentin Tarantino’s Once upon a time in Hollywoodbecause during one scene a commercial for the film is running in the background.

As a singer, she had a minor hit with her single “Soupy,” which was produced by Bob Crewe, who also convinced her to change her name. The song is a groovy and energetic arrangement, appropriate for 1965, with plenty of horns. You can listen to it below.

In May 1970, Thrett was involved in a traffic accident while riding as a passenger on Gram Parsons’ motorcycle. Although she apparently escaped unhurt (Parsons suffered significant injuries), Thrett soon left the entertainment business.

Her nephew, ironically named Chris Pine, wrote earlier this week: “She left Hollywood and initially I was told she didn’t make it, but I later learned she was disillusioned with the industry and the way it treated women. She kept a lot of it to herself and didn’t speak out about her own experiences until she was much older and could finally enjoy some of the perks that came with being in the industry. Star Trek.”

According to congressional agent Scott Ray, she has even changed her mind about conventions.

“In the last five years of her life, Maggie appeared at two conventions,” Ray wrote. “She was amazed at how long her career lasted…and gained new fans who weren’t even alive when she did it (Star Trek).”

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