Eddie Paskey

Real World article
(written from a Production point of view)

Edward J. Paskey, better known as Eddie Paskey, (20 August 1939 – 17 August 2021; age 81) was a former actor remembered mainly for his role as Lieutenant Leslie, a recurring character during Star Trek: The Original Series. According to the Star Trek Encyclopedia (4th ed., vol. 1, p. 461), "He had been working at the gasoline station where all Desilu studio trucks and cars were serviced when studio vice-president Herbert F. Solow got him the job on Star Trek."

Paskey had previously appeared in Gene Roddenberry's unsold 1965 pilot, Police Story, which also featured DeForest Kelley, Grace Lee Whitney, Malachi Throne, and Steve Ihnat, and made background appearances on The Lucy Show, starring Lucille Ball; both produced at Desilu. According to Paskey, it was assistant director Gregg Peters (rather than Solow), who got him his job on Star Trek, after working together on The Lucy Show. [1]

He appeared in 57 episodes but only received onscreen credit for "The Alternative Factor" and "This Side of Paradise". His speaking opportunities on the series were limited to the two on-screen credited episodes plus "The Naked Time" and "The Conscience of the King". In addition to his role as Lieutenant Leslie, he portrayed Connors in "Mudd's Women".

Paskey served as William Shatner's stand-in and occasional body double (most notably in "The Devil in the Dark").[2] He was also a hand double for James Doohan, who was missing a finger, in "Wolf in the Fold". In "The City on the Edge of Forever", he was the truck driver who struck and killed Edith Keeler.[3] For the episode "Patterns of Force", he appeared as a Zeon resistance member and chauffeur who drove Kirk and Spock. [4] He retired during the third season due to a back injury, and severe headaches that were aggravated by the stage lighting on the set. The last episode he worked on was "Is There in Truth No Beauty?". [5]

Aside from his work in Star Trek, his other television credits include appearances on Ben Casey (1965) (with Marsha Hunt and Harry Landers), The Dick Van Dyke Show (1966), The Lucy Show, and Mission: Impossible (1966, with George Takei, Barry Russo, Vic Tayback, William Smithers, Michael Barrier, Jack Donner, Blaisdel Makee, Chuck Courtney, Bob Johnson, and Don Marshall).

After retiring from acting, Paskey and his wife, Judy, established "The Air Shop", a car-detailing business, in Santa Ana, California in 1981. He and Judy continued to operate the business until they sold it in 2002. [6]

He was interviewed for an article in the science fiction magazine Starlog in July 1988. He tried to return to acting after his pain had disappeared but he had lost many of his Hollywood contacts. Although he thought about auditioning for Star Trek: The Motion Picture initially, he later reconsidered. He also admitted that he was a fan of the Star Trek films but not the spin-off series, Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Paskey appeared in the pilot episode of the fan-produced internet series Star Trek: New Voyages, "Come What May", in January 2004. This time, he portrayed Admiral Leslie, the father of Lieutenant Leslie.

Paskey passed away three days before his 82nd birthday on 17 August 2021. [7]