Shared Universes Before the Marvel Cinematic Universe

If you are fan of comic books or superhero movies, chances are good you have heard of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The  Marvel Cinematic Universe is the fictional universe in which the films and TV shows based on various Marvel Comics characters, produced initially by Paramount and later by Disney, are set. The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a prime example of what is known as a "shared universe" A shared universe is a fictional reality that includes contributions from multiple creators. Examples of other shared universes are the Star Wars Expanded Universe (in which the Star Wars films, books, comic books, et. al. take place) and the Star Trek Universe (which consists of the original series, its sequel series, and the movies spun off from those series).

The media in general have made much of the success of the films set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Certainly such success is unusual. That having been said, the existence of a shared universe, even one in film and television, is not terribly unusual. Indeed, there were shared universes in film and television well before the Star Wars Expanded Universe and the Star Trek Universe. Indeed, it appears that at least one shared universe might pre-date the medium of comic books where it is sometimes assumed the concept of shared universes originated.

Indeed, one of the earliest shared universes is often referred to as the "Cthulhu Mythos" or the "Lovecraft Mythos". Arguably starting with his story "Dagon" (published in 1919), H. P. Lovecraft developed his own world with its own mythos in which his stories were largely set. Eventually many of the writers with whom Mr. Lovecraft corresponded (including Robert Bloch, Robert E. Howard, Clark Ashton Smith, and so on) would introduce elements of the Cthulhu Mythos into their own stories. During H. P. Lovecraft's lifetime the Cthulhu Mythos was never systematised or formalised, but following his death writer August Derleth would set about a systematisation of what he termed "the Cthulhu Mythos". Since then writers from J. Ramsey Campbell to Stephen King have written stories set in the shared universe that originated with H. P. Lovecraft.

Of course, in the early to mid-20th Century the concept of a shared universe would have its biggest impact on the medium of comic books. In  fact, the origins of the Marvel Universe go all the way back to Marvel Mystery Comics #9 (July 1940), in which the Human Torch met and battled The Sub-Mariner. It was the first major crossover in the history of comic books. Of course, while Marvel Mystery Comics #9 established that the Human Torch and The Sub-Mariner existed in the same world, it said nothing of the other characters published by what would become Marvel Comics.

This would be a stark contrast to All Star Comics #3 (Winter 1940-1941), which featured the first appearance of the very first superhero team in the history of comic books, the Justice Society of America. The characters who belonged to the Justice Society of America were all published by All-American Comics and National Comics, two of the companies that would lead to the DC Comics we now know. Quite simply, All Star Comics #3 marked the beginning of the DC Universe, in which Superman, Batman, The Flash, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, and all the other characters published by All-American Comics and National Comics (and later DC Comics) existed. Other comic book companies, from Fawcett (publisher of Captain Marvel and Spy Smasher) to Marvel would soon follow suit.

While shared universes would play a major role in comic books, that is not to say that they would not play a role in film prior to the Seventies. In fact, one of the earliest shared universes may have been that of Hal Roach Studios. Hal Roach Studios is perhaps most famous for its various comedy shorts, including the Laurel & Hardy shorts, the "Our Gang" shorts, the Thelma Todd and Zasu Pitts shorts (later Thelma Todd was teamed with Patsy Kelly), and so on. It was from a very early period that characters from one series of shorts might make a cameo or even a longer appearance in another series of shorts. Indeed, it was in the 1927 Charley Chase short ""Now I'll Tell One" that Laurel & Hardy appeared. Laurel & Hardy would also appear in the 1931 Thelma Todd and Zasu Pitts short "On the Loose". Of course, here it must be pointed out that the Hal Roach shorts did not have any sort of real continuity and such crossovers were rare, so some may argue against there even being a shared "Hal Roach Universe".

While some may might argue against the characters of the Hal Roach comedy shorts existing in the same universe, there can be no doubt that the Universal Monsters share the same reality. Universal made its first horror film in 1913 (when the company was still called Independent Moving Pictures Company), an adaptation of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde. Later in the Silent Era Universal would have success with adaptations of The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923) and  The Phantom of the Opera (1925). The studio would follow the success of those films with such movies as The Cat and the Canary (1927) and The Man Who Laughs (1928).

While Universal had a great deal of success with horror during the Silent Era, however, it was two films made at the advent of Sound Era that would cement the studio's association with the horror genre. Dracula (1931) and Frankenstein (1931) proved to be such phenomenal successes that they not only led Universal to make more horror films, but nearly every studio in Hollywood over the next several years. This cycle towards horror movies (which I refer to as "the first Golden Age of Horror Movies") wound down in 1936. It was in 1939 that Universal resumed making horror movies with the second sequel to Frankenstein (1931), Son of Frankenstein. Son of Frankenstein started a whole new cycle of horror movies, including The Mummy's Hand (1940), The Wolf Man (1941), and The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942).

During the Thirties and the first few years of the Forties there was little, if any, reason to believe that the various Universal Monsters necessarily existed in the same reality. For all anyone knew, in the reality of the "Dracula" movies Frankenstein's Creature might simply be a fictional character. All of this would change in 1943 when Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man was released. Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man established that both Frankenstein's Creature and the Wolf Man existed in the same universe. It would be followed by House of Frankenstein in 1944 in which it is established that Dracula also existed in the same universe as Frankenstein's Creature and the Wolf Man. House of Frankenstein would be followed by House of Dracula in 1945 and by Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein in 1948. The last of Universal's "monster rally" films, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, would establish that the Invisible Man (voiced by Vincent Price) also existed alongside Dracula, Frankenstein's Creature, and the Wolf Man in the same universe. Curiously, Universal has recently announced that it plans to reboot its classic monsters in a shared universe not unlike the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

While it is well known that the Universal Monsters shared the same universe, what is less well known is that there was a rather extensive shared universe in the early days of episodic television shows in the United States. Having scored a major success with one TV series produced by a major Hollywood studio (Disneyland, produced by Walt Disney), the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) approached Warner Bros. about producing television shows for the network. The first show Warner Bros. produced for ABC was an umbrella series called Warner Bros. Presents.  Warner Bros. Presents consisted of three rotating shows: Casablanca, King's Row, and television's first hour long Western Cheyenne. Of the three Cheyenne would be the only one to prove to be a success, perhaps because it was among the first shows (along with Gunsmoke and The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp) in a long and very prolific cycle towards Westerns in the late Fifties. As a result of its success, Cheyenne would be the first of many Westerns produced by Warner Bros. and the first set in a rather extensive shared universe.

Indeed, Cheyenne would be joined by three more Westerns in the 1957-1958 season alone: Sugarfoot, Maverick, and Colt .45. Warner Bros. would introduce two more Westerns in the 1958-1959 season: Bronco and Lawman. It was with the 1957-1958 seasons that characters from one Warner Bros. Western began appearing on other Warner Bros. Westerns. It was on the 10 December 1957 episode of Sugarfoot, "Misfire", that Bret Maverick of the TV show Maverick (played by James Garner) appeared on the show. It would not be the last appearance of one Western hero on a Warner Bros. show by any means. Bret's brother Bart would appear in the Sugarfoot episode "Price on His Head". Lawyer Tom "Sugarfoot" Brewster (played by Will Hutchins) made several guest appearances on other Warner Bros. Westerns, appearing on Cheyenne, Maverick, and Bronco. Undercover government agent Christopher Colt (played by Wayde Preston), the hero of Colt .45, appeared several times on Sugarfoot. Bronco Lane (played by Ty Hardin) appeared on both Cheyenne and Sugarfoot. Deputy Johnny McKay (played by Peter Brown) of the TV show Lawman also appeared on Sugarfoot.

If there had been any doubt that the heroes of the Warner Bros. Westerns all existed in the same universe, that doubt would have been erased by the 1960 Maverick episode "Hadley's Hunters". In the episode Bart Maverick (played by Jack Kelly) finds himself framed by a crooked sheriff and as a result seeks help from every Warner Bros. Western hero who still had a show on the air. Bart visits Cheyenne Bodie (played by Clint Walker) of Cheyenne, Marshall Dan Troop (played by John Russell) and Deputy Johnny McKay of Lawman, Tom Brewster of Sugarfoot, and Bronco Lane of Bronco. "Hadley's Hunters" not only made it clear Warner Bros' various Western heroes existed in the same reality, but that their detective shows might well take place in the 20th Century of that reality as well. Among the people that Bart visits in an effort to clear his name is a stableboy played by Edd Byrnes, who played Kookie on Warner Bros' detective show 77 Sunset Strip. The address at which the stableboy works is "77 Cherokee Strip". While Edd Byrnes' appearance is most certainly an in-joke, it seems possible that the stableboy was an ancestor of Kookie on 77 Sunset Strip. In other words, 77 Sunset Strip is part of the shared universe of Warner Bros.' Westerns!

Of course, if 77 Sunset Strip exists in the same reality as Warner Bros' Westerns, that means that most of Warner Bros' detective shows also existed in the same reality. Quite simply, just as there were several crossovers between Warner Bros' Western shows, there were also crossovers between their detective shows as well. Stu Bailey (played by Efrem Zimbalist Jr.), Jeff Spencer (played by Roger Smith) and Kookie of 77 Sunset Strip all appeared on episodes of Hawaiian Eye. Jeff Spencer and Kookie appeared on Surfside 6 as well. Tracy Steele (Anthony Eisley) and Tom Lopaka (Robert Conrad) of Hawaiian Eye appeared on 77 Sunset Strip. Sandy Winfield (Troy Donahue) and Kenny Madison (Van Williams) of Surfside 6 both appeared on 77 Sunset Strip. Characters even moved from one show to another. The TV show Bourbon Street Beat lasted only one season, Kenny Madison then moved from that show's New Orleans setting to Miami Beach and Surfside 6. Rex Randolph (played by Richard Long) also moved from Bourbon Street Beat to another show, in his case 77 Sunset Strip.

Warner Bros' shared universe in which their Westerns and detective shows took place did not have a particularly tight continuity, nor were crossovers as common as the above summary might make it seem (we are taking about a period of many years here). Regardless, outside of comic books and the Cthulhu Mythos, the Warner Bros. shared universe of Westerns and detective shows was one of the most extensive shared universes up to that time. In fact, in television it would not be matched until the Star Trek shared universe began developing with the debut of the sequel series Star Trek: The Next Generation in 1987. Even today, in an era of such franchises as CSI and Law & Order, it remains an impressive achievement.

While the Marvel Cinematic Universe is certainly an impressive achievement, then, in many respects it is hardly an isolated event. Not only did shared universes exist in media other than comic books well before the development of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but some of them were quite extensive. In fact, it seems that not only could Universal dust off its shared universe of Universal Monsters, but so could Warner Bros dust off its shared universe of gamblers, lawmen, gunfighters, and detectives. Although shared universes might seems like a new concept to me, they have actually been around for awhile.

"This Boy" by The Beatles

I have had a splitting headache most of today, so I don't feel particularly up to a full fledged blog post. I will then leave you with some music. It is another Beatles song and it is also one of my favourites. Here is "This Boy" by The Beatles.

"Drive My Car" by The Beatles

After six straight eulogy posts I thought tonight I would leave you something happy. Here then is one of the most fun-filled songs The Beatles ever recorded. It is "Drive My Car", which appeared on the British version of their album Rubber Soul and later on the American compilation Yesterday and Today. "Drive My Car" was primarily written by Paul McCartney with some input from John Lennon.

Godspeed Don Pardo

Don Pardo, the legendary announcer for NBC known for his work on  Jeopardy, Saturday Night Live, and the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, died yesterday at the age of 96.

Don Pardo was born Dominick George Pardo on 22 February 1918 in Westfield, Massachusetts. He grew up in Norwich, Connecticut. It was while he was attending the Norwich Free Academy (the primary high school there) that he became interested in both public speaking and drama. It was in 1938 that he received his first job in radio, working at radio station WJAR in Providence, Rhode Island. He graduated from Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts in 1942.

It was in 1944 that Don Pardo and his friend Hal Simms (who would later serve as announcer on What's My Line and The Edge of Night) took a tour of NBC's studios in New York City. Don Pardo ended the tour with a meeting to thank Patrick J. Kelly, then in charge of NBC's announcers, for arranging everything. Patrick J. Kelly then offered Mr. Pardo a job. He started working for NBC on 15 June 1944. He would serve as announcer on such radio shows at NBC as Barrie Craig, Confidential Investigator; Front Page Farrell; Pepper Young's Family; X Minus One; and Dimension X. It was in 1946 that Don Pardo did his first work in television when he and another announcer announced three baseball games televised by NBC. Don Pardo's work on the three games was not well received. Mr. Pardo would later relate how one reviewer said of his work on the baseball games, "He doesn’t know the game, and he wouldn’t shut his mouth.”

Regardless, Don Pardo's future was in television. In the late Forties Mr. Pardo served as announcer for NBC Presents and Remember This Date. The Fifties would see some of his best known work. Don Pardo served as the announcer on the original version of the game show The Price is Right, hosted by Bill Cullen. He also served as an announcer on such variety shows as The Colgate Comedy Hour and All Star Revue. Don Pardo worked  as an announcer on such shows as Winner Take All, Judge for Yourself, Three Steps to Heaven, Choose Up Sides, Doodles, and Charge Account as well.

The Sixties would see Don Pardo in one of his most famous jobs, that of the announcer on the original version of the game show Jeopardy. Mr. Pardo would serve as its announcer for the entirety of its run, from 1964 to 1975. So identified was Don Pardo with the game show that he reprised his role as announcer in Weird Al Yankovic's 1984 song "I Lost on Jeopardy" (a parody of "Jeopardy" by The Greg Kihn Band"). In the Sixties he also served as a substitute announcer on Match Game as well as an announcer on Eye Guess. Mr. Pardo did a wide variety of announcing at NBC in the Sixties beyond games shows. In fact, it was Don Pardo who broke into WNBC programming in 1964 to announce that President John F. Kennedy had been shot.

It was in the Seventies that Don Pardo began what might be his longest job ever, that as announcer for Saturday Night Live. He announced the very first episode and would continue to announce every episode of the show except for the 1981-1982 season when then producer Dick Ebersol inexplicably went with someone else. In the Seventies Don Pardo also served as the announcer for the game shows Winning Streak and Jackpot.

In the Eighties Don Pardo continued to serve as the announcer for SNL, as well as doing a variety of other work. He served as an announcer on NBC's annual coverage of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade until 1999. He also served as announcer for Wheel of Fortune for a week when it was at Radio City Music Hall, and as an announcer on the TV special Steve Martin's Best Show Ever. He provided his voice for the films The Sex O'Clock News (1985) and Radio Days (1987).

In the Nineties Don Pardo worked on the films Stay Tuned (1992), Honeymoon in Vegas (1992), and The Godson (1998), as well as episodes of the show Dream On. He also announced commercials for Frosted Cheerios and MCI in the Nineties. In the Naughts and Teens he appeared on the shows Oz, 30 Rock, and The Simpsons. His final work for Saturday Night Live was this very year.

It should be little wonder that Don Pardo's career lasted nearly seventy years. His voice was entirely singular, a velvet baritone that could be loud and yet still remain pleasant. What is more, he had an elongated delivery that was entirely his own. The hosts and producers with whom he worked obviously appreciated him. On The Price is Right host Bill Cullen would occasionally mention him by name at a time when announcers were rarely if ever acknowledged. On Jeopardy host Art Fleming thanked him by name in each and every episode. While Don Pardo officially retired in 2004, he continued to announce SNL at producer Lorne Michaels's request. It is easy to understand why Mr. Michaels would not want Don Pardo to retire entirely. Mr. Pardo's voice was unlike any one else's. It was immediately recognisable. Quite simply, Don Pardo was one of a kind.

TV Writer Wilton Schiller R.I.P.

Wilton Schiller, who wrote episodes for television shows from Lassie to The Six Million Dollar Man and produced episodes of both The Fugitive and Mannix, died on 27 July 2014 at the age of 95.

Wilton Schiller was born in Chicago on 24 July 1919. Mr. Schiller attended the University of Chicago. Following his graduation he worked as a writer in the Chicago radio market and also performed stand up comedy. During World War II he served in the United States Army as a psychiatric assistant. Following the war he moved to Los Angeles where he worked as a literary agent for MCA.

Mr. Schiller began his television writing career in the Fifties, writing episodes of the show China Smith. During the decade he wrote episodes of such shows as The New Adventures of China Smith, Lassie, Adventures of Superman, Have Gun--Will Travel, Broken Arrow, The Millionaire, M Squad, Dragnet, The Adventures of Robin Hood, and Rawhide.

In the Sixties Wilton Schiller wrote episodes of such shows as Rawhide; I'm Dickens, He's Fenster; Leave It to Beaver; Ben Casey; The Fugitive; Mannix; and Adam-12. He served as a producer on the shows Ben Casey, The Fugitive, and Mannix. He wrote the screenplay for the film The New Interns (1964). He also taught screenwriting at UCLA.

In the Seventies Mr. Schiller wrote episodes of The Six Million Dollar Man, as well as the TV movie Captain America II: Death Too Soon (1979). He served as a producer on the Canadian series Police Surgeon and as a script consultant on The Six Million Dollar Man. In the Eighties he wrote and produced an Australian television adaptation of Marcus Clarke's novel For the Term of His Natural Life. In the Naughts he served as the executive producer of the film Our of Omaha (2007).

As a television writer Wilton Schiller's speciality seems to have been episodes featuring original twists to them. In the Adventures of Superman episode "The Town That Wasn't" criminals created a mobile town that they used to get money from travellers through a speed trap, as well as to hijack trucks. His Have Gun--Will Travel episode, "The High Graders", dealt with the phenomenon of high grading, in which miners steal ore from their employers. In his Ben Casey episode "Pack Up All My Cares and Woes", Dr. Casey is pressured by lawyers to testify in court that brain surgery will cure a convict of his murderous tendencies. Even those times with Wilton Schiller's episodes might not have been that good, they were always entertaining due to the amount of originality he put into them.

Of course, Wilton Schiller was also a producer as well as a writer, and he was an excellent producer. Indeed, he produced two of the greatest shows ever on television, Ben Casey and The Fugitive. What is more he produced the last seasons of The Fugitive, including the two part series finale. At the time it aired "The Judgement Part I" and "The Judgement Part II" set a record for having the largest ever audience of any prime time show, a record that would stand until the 1980 Dallas episode "Who Done It", in which hit was revealed who shot J. R. Ewing. Both as a writer and a producer Wilton Schiller had a gift for creating entertaining television.

Ed Nelson R.I.P.

Ed Nelson, known for appearing in many Roger Corman films as well as starring on the television show Peyton Place, died on 9 august 2014 at the age of 85. The cause was congestive heart failure.

Ed Nelson was born in New Orleans on 21 December 1928. He attended Tulane University for two years before going to the New York School of Radio and Television Technique. He served in the United States Navy as  a radioman aboard the light cruiser USS Dayton. For a time he was a director at  WDSU-TV in New Orleans before moving to Los Angeles, California to take up acting full time.

Ed Nelson made his film debut in an uncredited bit part in The Steel Trap in 1952. He appeared in William Castle's New Orleans Uncensored (1955) before appearing in his first Roger Corman film, Swamp Women in 1956. Mr. Nelson would go onto appear in several more of Roger Corman's films, including Carnival Rock (1957),  Attack of the Crab Monsters (1957), Rock All Night (1957), Teenage Cave Man (1958), Night of the Blood Beast (1958), She Gods of Shark Reef (1958), The Cry Baby Killer (1958),  I Mobster (1958), and A Bucket of Blood (1959), as well as others. In the Fifties he also appeared in such films as Bayou (1957), Invasion of the Saucer Men (1957), Hell on Devil's Island (1957), The Brain Eaters (1958), Street of Darkness (1958), The Young Captives (1959), and Elmer Gantry (1960). He made his television debut in an episode of Men of Annapolis during the 1957-1958 season. He guest starred on such shows as Harbour Command, The Silent Service, Flight, Highway Patrol, Tightrope, Johnny Ringo, The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, and The Rebel.

In 1964 Ed Nelson was cast as Michael Rossi on the TV show Peyton Place. He remained with the show for its entire run, appearing in 436 of its 514 episodes. Following the cancellation of Peyton Place in 1969 he played Ward Fuller on the short lived show The Silent Force. In the Sixties he guest starred on such shows as Have Gun--Will Travel, Bat Masterson, The Rifleman, Thriller, Maverick, Bonanza, Death Valley Days, Rawhide, The Virginian, The Twilight Zone, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, The Untouchables, The Outer Limits, Wagon Train, Combat, The Fugitive, Gunsmoke, and Perry Mason. He appeared in the films Judgement at Nuremberg (1961), Soldier in the Rain (1963), and The Man from Galveston (1963).

In the Seventies Mr. Nelson guest starred on such shows as Marcus Welby M.D., Night Gallery, The Sixth Sense, Alias Smith and Jones, Mission Impossible, The Streets of San Francisco, Kung Fu, The F.B.I., Adam-12, Medical Centre, McMillan and Wife, Dallas, The Rockford Files, and Barnaby Jones. Mr. Nelson appeared as Michael Rossi in the television movie Murder in Peyton Place. He appeared in the films Airport 1975 (1974), That's the Way of the World (1975), Midway (1976), For the Love of Benji (1977), and Acapulco Gold (1978).

In the Eighties Ed Nelson appeared on such shows as Trapper John M.D., Vega$, Quincy M.E., Bret Maverick, Capitol, Hotel, Cagney & Lacey, and MacGyver. He appeared as Michael Rossi in the TV movie Peyton Place: The Next Generation. He appeared in the films Police Academy 3: Back in Training (1986), Deadly Weapon (1989), and Brenda Starr (1989). From the Nineties into the Naughts Ed Nelson appeared in the films Cries of Silence (1996), Who Am I? (1998), Tony Bravo in Scenes from a Forgotten Cinema (2000), and Runaway Jury (2000).

Ed Nelson was an extremely prolific actor who appeared in a large number of films and TV shows throughout his career. The reason that he was so much in demand may have been because there was always a sincerity about his performances. Whether it was in one of Roger Corman's B movies, one his many guest appearances on TV Westerns, episodes of Peyton Place, or big budget motion pictures, there was always an honesty about Mr. Nelson's performances that made him convincing in any role. It was a quality that allowed him to play everything from medical doctors to generals to villains. Even when the films or TV shows might not be particularly good, one could always be guaranteed Ed Nelson would give a good performance.

The Late Great Arlene Martel

To many Star Trek fans she will always be T'Pring, Spock's betrothed in the episode "Amok Time", but anyone who has watched a number of American TV shows from the Fifties to the Seventies would recognise the face of actress Arlene Martel. While T'Pring may be her best known role, she guest starred on many TV shows throughout the Sixties, playing everything from Montenegrin princesses to Russian spies. She appeared on some of the best known shows of the era, including Have Gun--Will Travel, The Twilight Zone, Route 66, The Outer Limits, and The Monkees. Sadly, Arlene Martel died 12 August 2014 at the age of 78 from a heart attack.

Arlene Martel was born Arline Sax in The Bronx, New York on 14 April 1936. Her parents were Austrian Jews. She spent her earliest years in extreme poverty, living in one of the poorest slums in The Bronx. When she was around eight years old her mother's boss noticed the extreme poverty in which the family lived. He then paid for young Arline's education at Cherry Lawn School, an upper class boarding school in Datien, Connecticut. It was there that her talent for acting was discovered. When Miss Martel was twelve years old she auditioned for the New York High School of Performing Arts. Among her classmates was another dark haired beauty, Suzanne Pleshette. In the summers she performed at the Berkshire Playhouse, lying about her age to do so (one had to be at least 18 to act there). While still in school she had an affair with James Dean, which led to her appearance in Robert Altman's documentary The James Dean Story in 1957. 

For the first several years of her acting career she would be credited under her given name of "Arline Sax", and it was with that name she  made her debut on Broadway in the play Uncle Willie in 1957. She made her television debut in 1958 in an episode of Behind Closed Doors. In the late Fifties she guest starred on the shows The Restless Gun, This Man Dawson, G.E. Theatre, Death Valley Days, and The Rebel (in which she played opposite Leonard Nimoy for the first time).

The Sixties would see Arlene Martel at the peak of her career. Able to do a number of accents and dialects, she was very much in demand throughout the decade. In fact, she would appear in some of the best known episodes of a number of classic shows. On Have Gun--Will Travel she played Princess Alisna Serafina of Montenegro, one of the women to actually win Paladin's heart. On one of two episodes she did of The Twilight Zone, "Twenty Two", she played both a nurse in a morgue and a stewardess at the door of plane, uttering the sinister line, "Room for one more, honey." Billed for the first time as "Arline Martel", she played Consuelo Biros in the classic Outer Limits episode "Demon with a Glass Hand", written by Harlan Ellison. She played the Russian spy Madame Olinsky in the Monkees episode "The Spy Who Came in from the Cool" (the first of her two appearances on the show).

Of course, her best known appearance would ultimately be as T'Pring on Star Trek. She was one of the actresses considered for the role of Dr. Elizabeth Dehner  in the show's second pilot, "Where No Man Has Gone Before", but lost the role because her sensitive eyes could not handle the silver contact lenses she would have been required to wear. She auditioned for the role of  Sylvia in the episode "Catspaw", but failed to win that role. Arlene Martel was disappointed that she did not get the role, but what she did not know at the time was that she was being considered for a bigger and more important role, that of T'Pring in the upcoming episode "Amok Time" Airing as the first episode of the second season of Star Trek, "Amok Time" would become one of the show's most popular episodes and provided Arlene Martel with her most famous part.

While best known as T'Pring on Star Trek, Arlene Martel played many more roles on other TV shows of the Sixties. In fact, she had a recurring role on Hogan's Heroes as French resistance leader Tiger. She also guest starred on such shows as Hong Kong, The Detectives, Route 66, The Untouchables, Ben Casey, Bus Stop, Cheyenne, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., My Favourite Martian, I Dream of Jeannie, Perry Mason, The Fugitive, The Wild Wild West, and Mission: Impossible. Although primarily a television actress, Miss Martel also appeared in movies during the Sixties. She made her film debut in 1964 in The Glass Cage, playing the female lead opposite John Hoyt. Miss Martel also appeared in the biker film Angels from Hell (1968).

Arlene Martel remained busy in the Seventies. On television  She appeared as the evil witch Malvina in a two part episode of Bewitched, as well as as the lover of a murder victim (played by Bradford Dillman) in the Columbo episode "The Greenhouse Jungle" (one of three appearances on the show). Miss Martel also guest starred on such shows throughout the decade as The Doris Day Show, McCloud, Mannix, The Delphi Bueau, The Six Million Dollar Man, The Rookies, Gunsmoke, The Rockford Files, and Battlestar Galactica. She also appeared in the television movies Indict and Convict and Conspiracy of Terror. It was in the late Seventies that Arlene Martel began being credited as "Tasha Martel". She would continue to be billed as such until about the mid-Eighties

Arlene Martel also appeared in movies in the Seventies, most notably in the cult film Dracula's Dog (AKA Zoltan, Hound of Dracula) in 1978. Despite appearing in the film for only a few minutes, Miss Martel received top billing above the actual leads of the film, and her name was actually in bigger letters. She also appeared in a small part in the low budget comedy Chatterbox (1977).

Arlene Martel's career slowed in the Eighties, and she continued to billed as "Tasha Martel" for the first part of the decade. She appeared in several episodes of the soap opera The Young and The Restless in 1986, and guest starred on the shows Knot's Landing and Berrenger's. She also appeared in the TV movies The Day the Loving Stopped and Eleanor: First Lady of the World.

For much of the Nineties she was absent from television and movie screens, making her first appearance on screen in years in the movie What Do Women Want in 1996. In the Naughts she returned to acting on a more regular basis, appearing in the feature film A Walk to Remember (2002), as well as as the film shorts "The Beat That Her Heart Skipped" (2013), "The Extra Mile" (2013), and "Matter of Family" (2012). She guest starred on the show "Brothers & Sisters" and appeared in the unofficial, web-based three part mini-series Star Trek: Of Gods and Men as a Vulcan priestess. In 2012 her book Mixed Messages, written with Jeff Minniti, was published.

There can be no doubt that Arlene Martel was beautiful. In fact, it was probably due in part to her striking, exotic looks that she was cast as T'Pring on Star Trek and as femmes fatales on so many other shows. While Miss Martel was incredibly beautiful, however, she was also an extremely talented actress. In fact, executives at Universal Studios nicknamed her "the Chameleon" due to her ability to transform herself into any different role she chose. Miss Martel was expert in an number of different dialects, and over the years played Native Americans, gypsies, Russians, Frenchwomen, and so on. She also was not adverse to wearing wigs or make up for parts. In fact, her skill at changing herself was so great that it was possible to see Miss Martel in two different roles on two different shows in the same week and not realise it was the same actress (for the longest time I did not realise that T'Pring on Star Trek and Madame Olinsky on The Monkees were both played by Arlene Martel).

Not only did Arlene Martel have a real talent for transforming herself, but she did as well playing comedy as she did drama. She was hilarious on My Favourite Martian as scatter brained silent movie star Viola Normandy. She also excelled as Dracula's niece Lorelei in The Monkees episode "Monstrous Monkee Mash". Of course, it may be her dramatic roles for which she may be best remembered, of which there were many more besides T'Pring. She played Princess Alisna Serafina in the Have Gun--Will Travel episode "The Gunfighter and the Princess", delivering a poignant performance. She was also touching a pregnant Pueblo woman on Route 66. While many actresses of the Sixties and Seventies tended to play the same sorts of roles consistently, Arlene Martel played a wide variety of roles in her many guest appearances, very few of them the same.

While Arlene Martel was often recognised for her beauty and her talent, many outside of Star Trek fandom might not realise that she was also a very nice woman. When fans talk of the honour of meeting Miss Martel, it is not her beauty (which she kept until the very end) that they talk about the most, it is how sweet and how thoughtful she was. She always had a kind word for her fans and would often have long chats with them as if they had known each other their whole lives. Arlene Martel had a gift for making other people feel that they were important, perhaps because she believed that they were. Quite simply, Arlene Martel was not simply an incredible beauty and a talented actress, but a great lady as well.