Star Trek's Gary Graham dies 'suddenly' as ex-wife shares touching tribute

23 January 2024 , 17:38

704     0

Star Trek star Gary Graham has died at the age of 73

Star Trek star Gary Graham, who worked on the Star Trek: Enterprise series, has died at the age of 73, it has been confirmed.

Gary's ex-wife Susan Lavelle shared the news on Tuesday, with her taking to Facebook to announce her ex-husband's death with a moving tribute. Writing a moving tribute, Susan penned: "It is with deep profound sadness to say that Gary Graham, my ex husband, amazing actor and father of our beautiful only child together, Haylee Graham, has passed away today."

She went on: "We are completely devastated especially our daughter Haley. His wife, Becky was by his side."

READ MORE: Oscars nominations LIVE: Oppenheimer cleans up as Cillian Murphy and Emily Blunt in first nods

Gary played the role of Vulcan Ambassador Soval in Star Trek: Enterprise

Touching on when she met her ex-husband, Susan wrote: "I met Gary when I was just 20 years old and he was one half of the star duo on the TV series, Alien Nation. But he had already been in movies like All The Right Moves with Tom Cruise. Of course, Gary has many more credits.

Collection of unopened video tapes to sell for £1M with Star Wars vid worth £80K

"Gary was funny, sarcastic sense of humour but kind, fought for what he believed in, a devout Christian and was so proud of his daughter, Haylee."

Gary Graham in Stark Trek (Paramount)

Susan then revealed how Gary's death was "sudden", writing: "This was sudden so please pray for our daughter as she navigates through this thing called grief.

She then concluded: "Fly high into the heavens Gar! Thank you for our journey and thank you for the gifts you left me in acting, my love of horses and most importantly, our daughter."

Gary had a career spanning five decades which began in the 1970s. He is best known for playing Detective Matthew Sikes in the television series Alien Nation from 1989 to 1990, as well as his work in the Star Trek franchise. In Star Trek he played the role of Soval, the Vulcan ambassador to Earth in Star Trek: Enterprise.

Gary Graham, Eric Pierpoint, Lauren Woodland, Terri Treas and Sean Six in Alien Nation (Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock)

Tributes have flooded social media, with Star Trek fans quick to share messages of condolence. One person took to X to write: "So sad to hear of the passing of Gary Graham. I was fortunate enough to spend some time with him in London, and I also sang with his band a few times. My condolences go out to his family."

Another person wrote: "Gary Graham perfectly portrayed Soval in the Nimoy way of clearly having his emotions just under the surface at all times. One of my favorite performances in Enterprise. RIP." While a third said: "So sad to learn the news that actor Gary Graham passed away last night. Best known to Star Trek fans as the Vulcan Ambassador Soval, Graham was an excellent actor who brought true gravitas to every character he played. He will be deeply missed."

Mollie Quirk