Series: TOS

Character(s): Carolyn Palamas

Leslie Parrish is the actress who played Lieutenant Carolyn Palamas in the Star Trek: The Original Series second season episode “Who Mourns for Adonais?”.

According to author Stephen Whitfield, Parrish, when she had to adorn the titillating dress gifted to her by Apollo (designed by William Ware Theiss), was herself completely comfortable and had no qualms about wearing and moving in it, though it were “the crew and set visitors who had all the qualms”. (The Making of Star Trek, p. 361)

Parrish herself has expressed immense pride in her Star Trek performance in later life, “Whenever I watch it, I go right back to the whole thing again and cry my way through it. I relive it. My impression of it is that it’s one piece of work that I’m very proud of. Of all the work I did, this is outstanding, because it is rooted in something which I believe so deeply.” (These Are the Voyages: TOS Season Two, p. 115)

Nearly five decades after the Star Trek episode had aired, Parrish became acquainted again with it when she was invited to reminisce on her performance for the special feature “Inside the Roddenberry Vault (Part 3)” included on the 2016 Star Trek: The Original Series – The Roddenberry Vault Blu-ray Disc-set, commenting on recently rediscovered outtakes from the episode, including some featuring herself, most notably the one in which it was divulged that her character was pregnant from Apollo which had been omitted from the episode as aired. She also reiterated her beliefs in the futuristic philosophy behind Star Trek and her friendship because of them with Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, whom she had already met when she appeared in an episode of the 1963-64 television series The Lieutenant, which he created.

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