September 21, 2019 was a sad day for Star Trek. We lost three actors who contributed to our beloved franchise: Jack Donner, Sid Haig, and Aron Eisenberg.
Jack Donner was 90 years old. In the Trek universe, he was best known as the Romulan subcommander Tal in the Original Series episode "The Enterprise Incident". He also appeared as a Vulcan priest in the Enterprise episodes "Home" and "Kir'Sharra". Outside of Star Trek he founded the Oxford Theatre in Los Angeles, an acting school that saw among its many students the likes of Don Johnson and Craig T. Nelson. The intensity he brought to the role of Tal helped establish the lasting impression that the Romulans would have in Trek.
Sid Haig was 80 years old. In Star Trek, he was the First Lawgiver in the episode "Return of the Archons". Outside of Trek, he will likely be known for his role of Captain Spaulding in the horror classic "House of 1000 Corpses" and has a long resume of horror and B films.
Aron Eisenberg was 50 years old, and leaves behind a wife, Malissa Longo, and two sons, Lawrence and Christopher. He is best known for his role as Nog, son of Rom, nephew of Quark, and the first Ferengi to enter Starfleet. He also played Kar, a Kazon in an episode of Voyager. He was also an avid photographer and had written short stories for the popular fantasy series Dragonlance.
As much as I would like to make this an equal tribute to all three actors, each one having given much to the acting profession, I feel I can only do some justice to Aron. I had the opportunity to meet with him at the Las Vegas Star Trek convention in 2016. So, with all the respect to Mr Dinner and Mr Haig, the remainder of this post will be focused on Aron's contribution to Star Trek.
Aron Eisenberg was kind and generous with his fans. He was very active in the convention circuits, and I will fondly remember the time I got to speak with him. I asked him about his writing for Dragonlance, a series I loved as a teenager. It turned out that we had that in common, as he mentioned that while he was a youth he was often in the hospital (Aron was born with one kidney, and had two transplants in his life), and the Dragonlance series was something that he found solace in. He mentioned that he was discussing the possibility of a live action film or TV series of the Dragonlance saga, and that he hoped to play the popular character of Tasselhoff Burrfoot. That, incidentally, would have been a perfect casting choice.
It is always difficult to separate an actor and their most famous roles. For Aron, he will always be Nog to most of us. When we were first introduced to Nog, he was getting into trouble with the law (i.e. Odo), and he served as a reason for Sisko to convince/blackmail Quark to remain on the station. Little did we know how much this character would mean for the show and its cast of delightful characters. Nog quickly became friends with Jake, and the two got into their fair share of mischief across the station. As they grew up, it ended up being Nog who would go to Starfleet Academy, and Jake would stay on the station. Nog became a cadet, then an Ensign, and finally Lieutenant as Sisko's last official act.
His character, while only appearing in 44 episodes, became so heavily developed. Some would argue that he had better development than Jake Sisko did (although the two characters were often closely connected in each other's develpment). One of my favorite Nog episodes/stories was in "Heart of Stone", where Nog tried to convince Commander Sisko to sponsor his application to Starfleet Academy. This scene was the first time that we saw some great depth in Nog's character and was the first of many powerful performances by Aron. His desire to join, stemming from his own father not living up to Ferengi standards and not using his engineering talents for better use, pushed Nog to become more than his father was. It was the final push he needed for Sisko to grant him his desire, and off Nog went to the academy.
It's hard to talk about Nog without mentioning his personal loss during the Dominion War. In the episode "The Siege of AR-558", after months of exemplary military service, Nog was severely injured by the Jem'Hadar. His injury resulted in the loss of his leg. As important as that episode was to Nog's character, it only sets us up for the most powerful Nog episode in "It's Only a Paper Moon". It is this episode where Nog faces the emotional trauma that his physical trauma incurred upon him. In a rare episode where the focus was on two secondary characters (Nog and holographic crooner Vic Fontaine), Nog takes us on a journey of self-healing. We see the impact on traumatic events and how easy it is to lose ourselves in the search to escape the pain. Nog brought the realities of war close to home for us, and started some important discussion of PTSD. Nog not only survived the horrors of war, but the horrors of war's consequences. Again, Aron's abilities as an actor shone like a bright star in this episode, and James Darren as Vic Fontaine plays brilliantly with Eisenberg here. This episode, more than any other, showcased Aron's abilities as an actor and artist.
Circling back to my conversation with Aron three years ago, I think about how we parted. He thanked me for asking about the projects he was working on. I thanked him for his contribution to Star Trek. I feel that represents how the relationship between him and his fans was. We thank him for his contributions to a beloved character, and he thanks us for our love towards him. While I only had a brief glimpse into who Aron Eisenberg was, I feel confident from the tributes that have poured in over the last few days that Aron Eisenberg brought love to many around him. He will be missed at conventions and fan expos, and he will surely be missed by his close friends and family.
May you navigate the Great River in peace.
To support Aron's wife raise funds for his funeral, please click the following link.
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