Gary Graham, Alien Nation and Star Trek actor, dies at 73

Gary Graham, the actor best known for starring on the TV series Alien Nation and appearing in various Star Trek projects, died Monday at 73.

His wife, Becky Graham, told The Hollywood Reporter that he died from cardiac arrest at a hospital in Spokane, Wash. Graham's ex-wife Susan Lavelle also paid her respects on Facebook, remembering him as an "amazing actor and father of our beautiful only child together, Haylee Graham."

Graham led Alien Nation for its single season from 1989 to 1990 as Det. Matthew Sikes, a Los Angeles police officer who works with extraterrestrial "Newcomers" like Sam "George" Francisco (Eric Pierpoint) to solve crimes. He also portrayed as the Vulcan ambassador Soval on Star Trek: Enterprise and played different characters in other Star Trek works.

Born in Long Beach, Calif., in 1950, Graham started his screen career with appearances on shows including The Quest, Starsky & Hutch, and Eight Is Enough. In 1979, he made his film debut portraying a porn peddler in Paul Schrader's Hardcore. For the next decade, Graham worked steadily on shows like The Incredible Hulk, Scruples, CHiPs, The Dukes of Hazzard, Moonlighting, and Remington Steele, as well as in movies like All the Right Moves, The Arrogant, and The Hollywood Knights.

Although Alien Nation only lasted a single season, Graham reprised his role as Sikes in five TV movie follow-ups throughout the 1990s. He made his Stark Trek debut on Voyager in 1995, playing Ocampa leader Tanis in one episode. He then appeared sporadically as Soval on Enterprise for 12 episodes between 2001 and 2005.

Graham also appeared in episodes of Ally McBeal, Walker, Texas Ranger, Nash Bridges, and Nip/Tuck, and had a six-episode supporting role on JAG. He was a contributor to Breitbart publications from 2009 to 2014.

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