57: Meet Star Trek's Original Gorn, Stuntman Bobby Clark!

When people think of Star Trek aliens that don't look human, chances are the first thought that pops into their head is the Gorn. This verdant bruiser left an indelible mark on Trekkies since he debuted and remains a signature part of the series to this day. In this episode of Trek Untold, we chat with Bobby Clark, a stunt performer who performed four times in the original Star Trek, along with a list of other roles across many Westerns, crime dramas, and plenty of other TV shows & films during his very active career. Bobby Clark first appeared in the 1967 TOS episode "Arena," where he was the primary actor to wear the Gorn suit and fight against William Shatner's Captain Kirk. Learn how Clark got the role, what the suit was like, sparring with Shatner in arguably the most iconic fight scene in Star Trek history, and memories of his time at Vasquez Rocks.

 Clark followed that up with three more appearances in TOS, "Mirror Mirror" as a guard who gets shot by Trek Untold alumni Garth Pillsbury, "Return of The Archons" as a crazed towns-person, and "The Apple" as a follower of Vaal, who tussles once again with Kirk, but this time painted as a jumbo-sized Oompa-Loompa.

We chat about his many Star Trek memories, his background, and how he got into the stunt business, working with Hal Needham, Gene Lebell, Charlie Picerni, Vince Deadrick, Joseph Penvey, and others in this fascinating discussion about a time in Hollywood when stunt performers had a very different lifestyle than they do today.

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