Tributes for Star Trek actor Rene Auberjonois
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Star Trek Cast and Creatives Say Goodbye to René Auberjonois

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Kaila Hale-Stern
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Published: Dec 9, 2019 02:20 pm

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The Star Trek community is reeling from the loss of the wonderful René Auberjonois, who played Constable Odo on Deep Space Nine for seven seasons. Alongside many admiring fans, members of the Trek creative family took to Twitter to pay tribute.

As I scrolled through Twitter last night, incredibly sad about the loss of our Odo, I was just about keeping it together until this appeared:

Armin Shimerman played Quark, the perpetual thorn in Odo’s side who was also, despite Odo’s protestations, his dear friend. The odd couple dynamic the two actors played up over the course of DS9 was a masterclass of subtle comedy and the complexities of emotion and character. Quark and Odo were about as polar a pair of opposites as could be—and so they were drawn to each other. Their offbeat friendship remains one of the best things about Deep Space Nine, and the actors’ offscreen closeness has been evident for decades. Shimerman’s heartfelt tribute here was perfect.

Odo’s most poignant relationship was, of course, with his love and longtime friend Kira Nerys, and actress Nana Visitor seemed at a loss for words.

Also writing in with a touching tribute was actress Terry Farrell, who played Jadzia Dax.

Jeffrey Combs, known as Weyoun on DS9 (and many more in Star Trek history) had this to say:

And from DS9 showrunner Ira Steven Behr, no words at all—only a memory.

Many other Star Trek creatives praised Auberjonois to the skies.

Many, many, many fans have been expressing similar sentiments; this is a tiny sample.

It’s been a tough year of losses in the world of Star Trek, with DS9’s Auberjonois and Aron Eisenberg, the legendary writer DC Fontana, and last night The Next Generation actress Marina Sirtis announced the sudden death of her husband. Hug someone you love today. But on days like this, I’m grateful for social media, which can be petty and vicious, instead being used as an outlet for an outpouring of praise, grief, and affection.

By every single account I’ve seen thus far of Auberjonois, he was as warm and lovely a person as he was talented an actor, and an ardent supporter of many charities, especially Doctors Without Borders. (My favorite trivia tidbit I’ve learned about his dazzling biography is that his great-great-great grandmother was Caroline Bonaparte, youngest sister of Napoleon.) We have lost one of the greats, and a true class act.  If you need me, I’ll be watching DS9’s “Necessary Evil” on repeat. Good night, sir.

(image: Paramount)

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Image of Kaila Hale-Stern
Kaila Hale-Stern
Kaila Hale-Stern (she/her) is a content director, editor, and writer who has been working in digital media for more than fifteen years. She started at TMS in 2016. She loves to write about TV—especially science fiction, fantasy, and mystery shows—and movies, with an emphasis on Marvel. Talk to her about fandom, queer representation, and Captain Kirk. Kaila has written for io9, Gizmodo, New York Magazine, The Awl, Wired, Cosmopolitan, and once published a Harlequin novel you'll never find.
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