Antoinette Bower, the actress whose memorable appearances in Star Trek and The Twilight Zone made her a cult favourite among generations of science fiction fans, has died aged 93.
Antoinette Bower, the actor whose memorable appearances in Star Trek and The Twilight Zone made her a cult favourite among generations of science fiction fans, has died aged 93
The German-born British star passed away on 30 April at a retirement home in Eagle Rock, Los Angeles, according to her friend Carlotta Glackin, who confirmed the news to The Hollywood Reporter.
Antoinette became best known for playing the mysterious alien Sylvia in the classic Star Trek episode Catspaw and Eve Norda in Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zoneepisode Probe 7, Over and Out.
Her death comes as the Star Trek franchise continues to expand through series including Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, while the original 1960s series remains one of television’s most influential science fiction dramas.
Beyond her work in science fiction, Antoinette also appeared in Prom Night alongside Jamie Lee Curtis, as well as numerous landmark television series including Mission: Impossible, Columbo, Kojak, Perry Mason and Murder, She Wrote.
Remembering Antoinette, Carlotta confirmed that the actor died peacefully at the Los Angeles care home.
She told The Hollywood Reporter Antoinette had died on 30 April.
Antoinette’s performance as Eve Norda in The Twilight Zone introduced audiences to the story of a woman stranded on a distant planet alongside astronaut Adam Cook in the Rod Serling-created anthology series.
Four years later she appeared as the shape-shifting alien Sylvia in Star Trek’s Halloween-themed episode Catspaw, one of the programme’s most enduring early adventures.
She later starred as Leslie Nielsen’s wife and Jamie Lee’s mother in the 1980 horror film Prom Night, before appearing in Superbeast and The Evil That Men Do, in which she shared the screen with Charles Bronson.
Television audiences also recognised Antoinette from her recurring role as Fox Devlin in the Canadian drama Neon Rider, where she appeared for three seasons between 1989 and 1992 before stepping away from acting.
Before beginning her screen career, Antoinette worked for the United Nations International Refugee Organization, assisting people displaced by the Second World War. After moving to Canada in 1953, she joined the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, where she wrote scripts, conducted live interviews and began acting professionally.
Her Hollywood career developed after an uncredited appearance alongside Marlon Brando in Mutiny on the Bounty before guest roles followed in a succession of major American television dramas, including Perry Mason, Mission: Impossible, Columbo, Kojak and Murder, She Wrote.
Following her retirement from acting after Neon Rider, Antoinette turned her attention to filmmaking, producing a documentary about Canadian chuckwagon racing, handling the shooting, directing, editing and narration herself. She also studied carpentry at Santa Monica College, built furniture and later worked for Home Depot.
Carlotta said Antoinette continued receiving fan mail from Star Trek admirers decades after her appearance in Catspaw.
She also said William Shatner had sent his condolences following the actor’s death.
Antoinette married pop artist James Gill in 1963, although the marriage later ended in divorce. She was predeceased by her half-brother Roger, and a celebration of her life is scheduled to take place on 26 September in Pasadena.
