Eric Menyuk
{{short description|American attorney and former actor}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Eric Menyuk
| image =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1959|11|5}}
| birth_place = Brookline, Massachusetts, U.S.
| death_date =
| death_place =
| othername =
| alma_mater = Vassar College {{Smaller|(1981)}}
Loyola Law School {{Smaller|(1998)}}
| occupation = Actor {{Smaller|(1987–98)}}
Attorney {{Smaller|(1998–present)}}
| spouse = Laurie Menyuk; 2 children
| yearsactive = 1987-2014, 2024
| website = {{URL|http://navlaw.net/eric-menyuk/}}
}}
Eric Menyuk (born November 5, 1959) is an American attorney and former actor. He is best known for his brief appearances in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation as the Traveler. He was originally considered for the role of the android Data, which was eventually given to Brent Spiner. After retiring from his acting career, he retrained to become an attorney and represents children with disabilities and specializes in children's education rights.{{cite web|url=http://www.startrek.com/article/catching-up-with-the-traveler-eric-menyuk#sthash.oKRHYsSk.dpuf|title=Catching Up With The Traveler, Eric Menyuk|date=25 July 2023 |publisher=}}
Acting career
Menyuk was in the running to play the android character Data in Star Trek: The Next Generation. A memo from John Pike to John Ferrard dated April 13, 1987, listed Menyuk as one of several actors who were in contention for the role, also including Mark Lindsay Chapman, Kevin Peter Hall, and Kelvin Han Yee.{{cite news|last=Keller|first=Joe|title='Star Trek: The Next Generation' Casting Memo: Reggie Jackson as Geordi La Forge and More Goofiness|url=http://www.aoltv.com/2010/08/26/star-trek-the-next-generation-casting-memo-reggie-jackson-as/|accessdate=November 25, 2012|newspaper=AOL TV|date=August 26, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130925123153/http://www.aoltv.com/2010/08/26/star-trek-the-next-generation-casting-memo-reggie-jackson-as/|archive-date=September 25, 2013|url-status=dead}} Brent Spiner was eventually chosen for the role over Menyuk.{{cite web|title=Star Trek: Las Vegas, Day 3 Recap|url=http://www.startrek.com/article/creation-san-francisco-convention-recap-day-1|publisher=StarTrek.com|accessdate=November 25, 2012|date=August 12, 2012}}
He was subsequently cast in the role of the Traveler, first appearing in the first season in the episode "Where No One Has Gone Before" and returning in the fourth-season episode "Remember Me" and season seven's "Journey's End".Nemecek (2003): p. 144Nemecek (2003): p. 289 To portray the character, he had to undergo a three-hour make-up process on each day of shooting, including prosthetics applied to his face and to both hands to reduce the number of fingers shown. He later remarked that although he respected the work of Michael Westmore, he disliked the prosthetics on his hands and went out of his way during shooting to hide them.{{cite web|title=Creation San Francisco Convention Recap - Day 1|url=http://www.startrek.com/article/creation-san-francisco-convention-recap-day-1|publisher=StarTrek.com|accessdate=November 25, 2012|date=March 12, 2011}} Following his appearances on Star Trek, he has appeared on the convention circuit, including Star Trek-themed cruises on Carnival Cruise Lines.{{cite news|last=Fox|author2=Radin Fox, Barbara|first=Larry|title=An Overseas Lob|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-773929.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140611120200/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-773929.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 11, 2014|accessdate=November 25, 2012|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=March 24, 1996}} {{Subscription required}}
In 2024, he reprised the role of the Traveler in a voice cameo in "The Devourer of All Things, Part I" in Star Trek: Prodigy season 2.
Personal life
He is an attorney, having graduated from Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, in 1998 after he retired from film and television.{{cite web|title= Eric Menyuk|url=http://www.navlaw.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=15&Itemid=16|publisher=Newman Aaronson Vanaman|accessdate=November 25, 2012}} He and his wife Laurie have a son and a daughter.
Due to his son's special needs, he has moved into the field of law involving children's education rights. He was admitted to the State Bar of California on July 12, 1998.{{cite web|title=Eric Menyuk - #199993|url=http://members.calbar.ca.gov/fal/Member/Detail/199993 |publisher= The State Bar of California |accessdate= November 25, 2012}} He earned his undergraduate degree from Vassar College in 1981.
Select filmography
=Movies=
- Ghost Dad (1990) as Clinic Doctor
- Fearless (1993) as Sears Salesman
- The Air Up There (1994) as Mark Collins
- The Babysitter (1995) as Joe
- Thieves (2018) as Boss
=TV guest appearances=
- Hill Street Blues as Carney (1 episode, 1987)
- The Betty Ford Story (1987) (TV movie) as Jake
- L.A. Law as Roland Burnet (2 episodes, 1987–1989)
- Matlock as Al White (3 episodes, 1987–1994)
- Star Trek: The Next Generation as The Traveler (3 episodes, 1987–1994)
- Cheers as Larry the Mailman (1 episode, 1988)
- Falcon Crest as Dr. Peters (1 episode, 1989)
- thirtysomething as Man #4 (1 episode, 1990)
- Jake and the Fatman (2 episodes, 1990)
- Married... with Children as Black Bob (2 episodes, 1990–1993)
- Night Court as Pizza Guy (1 episode, 1991)
- Melrose Place as Physician (1 episode, 1993)
- University Hospital as Max Whistler (1 episode, 1995)
- Ellen as Jim Hogan (1 episode, 1996)
- Voice from the Grave (1996) (TV movie) as Nate Bradshaw
- Diagnosis: Murder as Peter (1 episode, 1996)
- L.A. Doctors as Dr. Daniel Dalsky (1 episode, 1998)
- Star Trek: Prodigy as The Traveler (1 episode, 2024)
Notes
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}
Sources
- {{cite book|last=Nemecek|first=Larry|title=Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion|year=2003|edition=3rd|publisher=Pocket Books|location=New York|isbn= 0-7434-5798-6|ref=Nemecek1995}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|id=0579925|name=Eric Menyuk}}
- {{Tcmdb name}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Menyuk, Eric}}
Category:American male film actors
Category:American male television actors
Category:Entertainers from Brookline, Massachusetts
Category:Lawyers from Brookline, Massachusetts
Category:Male actors from Massachusetts
Category:Vassar College alumni