Los Angeles (StarTrek.com) — Tige Andrews, Klingon from “Friday’s Child,” Mourned
The character actor who played the second Klingon to match wits with Kirk is being remembered for his lengthy TV career. Tige Andrews died two weeks ago of cardiac arrest at his home in Encino. He was 86.
Andrews was “Kras” in “Friday’s Child” — though in the episode he is referred to by the Capellans only as “Klingon,” and his name is not identified until the closing credits. Just last month a remastered version of “Friday’s Child” was released in syndication.
Andrews is most famous as “Captain Greer,” the officer who recruited the three undercover cops that made up The Mod Squad. He was nominated for an Emmy and a Golden Globe in 1970 and 1971 for that supporting role. (Mod Squad, by the way, was initially produced and written by Harve Bennett, who would later produce several “Star Trek” movies.)
Andrews often played detectives during a TV career that spanned five decades. He had a recurring role as “Lt. Johnny Russo” in The Detectives Starring Robert Taylor from 1959 to 1962. He was a member of Sergeant Bilko’s platoon on The Phil Silvers Show in 1955, and guest-starred on more than 60 other shows including Gunsmoke, Marcus Welby M.D., Kojak and Murder She Wrote. His film credits include “Imitation General,” “Onionhead” and “China Doll.”
He was born “Tiger” Andrews in Brooklyn on March 19, 1920. His immigrant parents, following Syrian custom, named him after a strong animal because it was supposed to ensure good health, his family said in an obituary for the Los Angeles Times.
Andrews was a graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. He began his acting career on Broadway and off Broadway in productions such as “Mr. Roberts” and “From Here to Eternity.” He is credited with introducing “Mack the Knife” in the original New York production of “The Threepenny Opera.” He went on to direct and act in other adaptations of this play.
His screen career began when John Ford saw him perform on Broadway in “Mr. Roberts” and brought him to Hollywood to appear in Ford’s film version with Henry Fonda. Andrews went on to appear in Ford’s “The Wings of Eagles” with John Wayne and in one of Ford’s rare television projects, Flashing Spikes with Jimmy Stewart in 1962.
Andrews served in the U.S. Army and was wounded in Sicily during WWII. He married ballerina Norma Thornton, whom he met during a publicity stunt where the men from “Mr. Roberts” competed in a bowling tournament against the women from “Gentleman Prefer Blondes.” She frequently danced on The Ed Sullivan Show. They were married 46 years until she died in 1996.
Andrews also painted and sang; in the early 1970s, he recorded two record singles, “Keep America Beautiful” and “The Mod Father.”
He is survived by six children and 11 grandchildren.
