THE HAT SQUAD: ROBERT ELLENSTEIN

I no longer do those large-scale "Hat Squad" tributes for everyone who's made their mark in Toobworld - I simply just don't have the time in what passes for a life. But I did want to mark the passing of L.A.-based theater director Robert Ellenstein. (He once mounted a production of "Hamlet" that used only six actors.) Among his films, he appeared in "North By Northwest" and in the fourth 'Star Trek' movie.

In the old days, I would have taken apart his IMDb resume and reassembled it into various categories. But instead, I'll just supply the link to his lengthy list of credits and you can see for yourself how many citizens of Toobworld he's supplied over the years. It's pretty impressive!

But, due to its fan base, I think the roles he might be best remembered for in the future would be those with the 'Star Trek' connections. He appeared in a first season episode of 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' ("Haven", with future 'Prison Break' star Rob Knepper as his son) in which his character was more than happy to follow Betazed tradition and be naked at his son's wedding - since Lwaxana Troi would be in attendance as well.

Any number of his roles from earlier in the Toobworld timeline could be members of Stephen Miller's family tree....

But it would be his appearance as the Federation President in "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" that will probably remain his most viewed performance for decades to come. At least, that's my opinion; I could be wrong, as Dennis Miller used to say.

His President, never named in the movie (although outside Toobworld sources give it as either Hyman Roth or Alistair Fergus), may have been in the last phase of his term in office. In 2286, he presided over the court-martial trials of Admiral Kirk and his companions for causing an intergalactic incident with the Klingon Empire after they hijacked the starship Enterprise.

He would be replaced in the sixth movie, "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country by the Efrosian Ra-ghoratreii at some point before the year 2293.

Good night and may God bless, Mr. Ellenstein.

BCnU......