Michael Forest, a veteran character actor who lent his voice to multiple Power Rangers projects and played an unforgettable part on the original Star Trek, has passed away.
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The 97-year-old's Oct. 14 death was announced by longtime friend James A. Brown, according to Deadline. No further details of Forest's passing were provided. The beloved character actor had been living at an assisted living facility in Sparks, Nevada.
Classic TV fans perhaps know Forest best for his Star Trek turn in the episode "Who Mourns for Adonais?" In the 1967 episode, Forest portrayed the Greek god Apollo... who towered over Captain Kirk and Dr. McCoy.
"The way he called out the names of his fellow 'gods' at the end was so powerful," one Star Trek fan wrote on X in the wake of the actor's passing.
The North Dakota native got his break in entertainment after meeting B-movie guru Roger Corman in an acting class shortly after moving to Los Angeles in the 1950s. He went on to appear in Corman films like The Saga of the Viking Women and Their Voyage to the Waters of the Great Sea Serpent (1958), Ski Troop Attack (1960), and Atlas (1961).
Michael Forest's Prolific TV Career Included Turns on 'Gunsmoke', 'The Twilight Zone', and 'Gomer Pyle'
However, Forest truly left his mark on the small screen. The 1960's proved to be a prolific decade for the actor. He also appeared in classic shows like The Dick Van Dyke Show and The Twilight Zone, per IMDb.
He also popped up in a slew of TV favorites from the 1950s through the 1980s, like Maverick, The Outer Limits, Gunsmoke, Gomer Pyle: USMC, I Spy, Mission: Impossible, Gilligan's Island, Get Smart, and Who's The Boss. Forest also became a familiar face on soap operas, appearing on daytime fare like As The World Turns, Days of Our Lives, and The Young and the Restless.
Starting in the 1980s, Forest leaned into being a voice actor, lending his voice to dozens of animated projects and video games. He voiced the character Olympus across three Power Rangers projects in 2000, including 20 episodes of Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue. He also voiced characters for the Dynasty Warriors franchises, anime projects, and for the World of Warcraft video game series.
His final appearance was in the 2020 spoof Unbelievable!!!!!, which also included several Star Trek franchise alumni.
Forest's wife, actress Diana Hale, passed away in 2022.
