Majel Barrett Roddenberry: A Tribute

In this Feb. 1994 file photo, Majel Barrett-Roddenberry speaks in San Francisco. (AP Photo, file)

Not everyone knew her name, but every Star Trek fan certainly knew Majel Barrett's voice. The woman that TV critics called "The First Lady of Star Trek" could be heard responding whenever the crew of the Enterprise asked the ship's computer to perform some action or make a calculation. But Majel Barrett was much more than the voice of the computer. She was involved with the Star Trek franchise from the beginning.

Barrett had never planned to be a star on a sci-fi show. She was born Majel Leigh Hudec in Cleveland Ohio on 23 February 1932, and while she had been interested in acting since childhood, and took acting classes in high school, her first career choice was to enter the legal profession. She began taking college courses in pre-law, but when her studies did not go well, she soon decided to re-focus her life on becoming an actress. She performed in some stage roles, including a touring version of "The Solid Gold Cadillac," and by the late 50s, she had gotten a few small parts in movies, such as the 1958 films "The Black Orchid" and "The Buccaneer." But she decided to turn her attention to the rapidly expanding field of television. There too, she got bit parts here and there, including on "Pete and Gladys" and "Bonanza," and after meeting Lucille Ball, she appeared on a 1962 episode "The Lucy Show." Then, in 1964, she appeared in an episode of a new NBC drama called "The Lieutenant," which was produced by Eugene Roddenberry. That's how they met, and Gene decided to cast her in a major role of a new science-fiction series he was planning.

It was the pilot episode of the original Star Trek, "The Cage," and Barrett played the first officer, an authoratative and confident character referred to only as "Number One". But the role made NBC executives nervous: they thought her character was too aggressive, and they didn't think a woman would be believable in such an important position, as the second in command on a starship. The mid-60s was still a very conservative era, and most TV shows, even the futuristic ones, maintained very traditional gender roles. By the time the Star Trek series finally began airing on NBC, Barrett's part had been reduced: she now played a much more stereotypic female character-- Nurse Christine Chapel. Her character wore a blonde wig and a mini-skirt; we were told she had given up a successful career in biological research to join the Enterprise in hopes of finding her fiancé, who had been lost in space. And while working with the crew of the Enterprise, Nurse Chapel became attracted to Spock, Leonard Nimoy's emotionless Vulcan character; of course, her love for him could never be returned. Although Gene Roddenberry lost his battle with NBC over how strong Barrett's character could be, he remained one of her biggest fans. In fact, he not only liked her acting skills-- he also fell in love with her. After divorcing his first wife, Roddenberry married Barrett in 1969; they had a son, Eugene Jr., better known as "Rod," in 1974.

Although the original Star Trek developed a small but devoted following, NBC cancelled it after only three years and 79 episodes (it was nearly cancelled after its second year, but demand from fans earned it a brief reprieve). Those fans remained loyal, even when the show was off the air: Star Trek conventions were especially popular, and Barrett attended her first one in 1972; she and Roddenberry developed longstanding friendships with many of the fans. Meanwhile, in 1973, there was an animated version of Star Trek, produced by a company called Filmation. (Among the company's founders was a former top-40 disc jockey from Boston named Norm Prescott, to whom I listened when I was a kid. But I had no idea he co-produced the Star Trek animated series!) Most of the original cast did the voices for the animated series, and that included Majel, who reprised her Nurse Chapel character for nine of the episodes.

Given the enduring popularity of the Star Trek concept, it was inevitable that it would be seen on TV again as a dramatic series. In 1987, Star Trek: The Next Generation made its debut, and as a feminist, the first thing I noticed was that the introduction had been slightly changed-- where the original said "to boldly go where no man has gone before," the new version changed "man" to a more gender-neutral "where no-one has gone before." And while TNG did continue the tradition of female characters in body-hugging uniforms, it also expanded the kinds of roles that female characters were given, with women who were doctors, scientists, and officers. Majel Barrett was involved in these changes too. In addition to being the voice of the ship's computer, she had a recurring role as Lwaxana Troi, the outspoken (some would say outrageous) mother of the ship's counselor Deanna Troi. Where Deanna exemplefied traits typically associated with female characters (as the ship's counsellor, she was empathetic, compassionate, and sometimes emotional), her mother Lwaxana was independent, brash, and sometimes bossy, unafraid of being herself. However, there was one aspect of Majel's character that was reminiscent of Nurse Chapel: Lwaxana was determined to have a relationship with Captain Jean-Luc Picard whether Picard wanted one or not (he didn't). Once again, a Majel Barrett character endured a love that was unrequited. But the character of Lwaxana Troi was in most other respects a far cry from what Nurse Chapel's role had been. And further reflecting the changes in American culture, when the Lwaxana Troi character was seen on another Star Trek spin-off: Deep Space Nine, Majel's character was now a diplomat-- a Betazoid ambassador.

Gene Roddenberry died in 1991, but Majel Barrett continued to keep some of his projects alive, including a 1997 syndicated series Gene Roddenberry's "Earth: Final Conflict," in which she had a recurring role as the character Julianne Belman. She also served as the executive producer of the 2000 series Gene Roddenberry's "Andromeda," a position she held through 2002. But for many fans, it was her on-going work as the voice of the Star Trek computer that brought her so much acclaim -- and it also brought her an opportunity for some parody. She appeared in a 2001 episode of the popular TV comedy "Family Guy," as the voice of Stewie Griffin's computer.

On 18 December 2008, Majel Barrett lost her battle with leukemia. Because she was a passionate supporter of humane treatment for animals, her family asked that donations in her memory be made to either Precious Paws, www.preciouspaws.org , or CARE (Cat & Canine Assistance, Referral and Education), www.care4pets.org .

Ironically, despite her poor health, she had recently completed the voice-work for a new Star Trek film, scheduled for release in May 2009. Although she is no longer with us, her voice will once again be heard on a Star Trek-related project.


[Donna L. Halper is a Boston-based author, educator, and media historian, as well as a big fan of Star Trek and the Sime-Gen universe.]

Further reading:

http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/index.html The Official Star Trek website.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000854/ Internet Movie Database (complete listing of all the roles she played on TV and in movies)

Robert Jablon (Associated Press). "Majel Roddenberry, Star Trek Actress, Dies at 76." New York Times online, 19 December 2008, http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/20/arts/television/20roddenberry.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=Majel%20Barrett%20Roddenberry&st=cse

Michel Marriott. "The Star Trek Curse: A Lifetime Starfleet Commission." New York Times online, 15 September 1991, http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE7D7143CF936A2575AC0A967958260&sec=&spon=&&scp=4&sq=Majel%20Barrett%20Roddenberry&st=cse

Dennis McLellan. "Majel Barrett Roddenberry (1932-2008) 'Star Trek' creator's wife was an actress, voice of Enterprise." Los Angeles Times, 20 December 2008, p. B7

Andy McSmith. "The ultimate Trekkie; Actress, voiceover, producer - Majel Roddenberry Dies." The Independent (London, UK), 20 December 2008, p. 30