Barbara Luna

Barbara Ann Luna was born on March 2, 1938, in Manhattan, New York. Her mother was Jewish and originally from Budapest, Hungary, with a maternal grandfather from Italy, while her father was born in Manila, Philippines. This mixed heritage made Luna a natural fit for a wide range of ethnic roles throughout her career as an actress in film, television, and musicals.

Luna's Broadway career began in 1949 and extended through 1975. Her first major stage credit was in the original Broadway production of South Pacific, where she played Ngana and contributed to the show's opening number, "Dites-Moi." She subsequently appeared in The King and I as one of the Siamese children, eventually advancing to the role of Royal Dancer before the production closed. Rather than leave school to tour with a road company, she pursued the understudy role of Lotus Blossom in The Teahouse of the August Moon. Upon graduating from high school, she was elevated to the starring role of Lotus Blossom and toured with that company from its launch in December 1954 through its final performance in June 1956. Her last Broadway credit was A Chorus Line, in which she played Diana Morales as part of the so-called "New" New York cast in 1976.

Between her Broadway engagements, Luna remained active in musical theater more broadly, appearing as Anita in five separate companies of West Side Story, including a revival at Lincoln Center in New York City. Her performance in A Chorus Line led directly to the development of a cabaret act, which opened at Freddie's in New York City and was followed by engagements at the Concord Resort Hotel in the Catskills and at clubs in Atlantic City and Los Angeles. A review of the cabaret show in The New York Times described her voice as small and kittenish, with wobbly pitch and wide vibrato, characterizing it as insufficient for songs associated with well-known vocalists.

Luna's film career began with Tank Battalion in 1958. Director Mervyn LeRoy, having seen her perform as Lotus Blossom in Los Angeles, cast her in The Devil at 4 O'Clock, in which she played Camille, the blind girl who served as Frank Sinatra's love interest. Additional film roles followed, including Amparo in Ship of Fools, Meli in Firecreek, Cat in The Concrete Jungle, and Makia in Five Weeks in a Balloon.

Television provided Luna with an extensive body of work spanning several decades, encompassing approximately 500 series appearances. Among her recurring and notable roles were Theresa the Tamale Peddler in Walt Disney's Zorro, Rikki Stevens in the 1958 Perry Mason episode "The Case of the Sardonic Sergeant," and Lupita in the Have Gun Will Travel episode "The Monster" in 1960. She appeared in multiple episodes of Hawaiian Eye, playing Susan Chang, Michiko, and Tia Kuno across three separate installments, and in two episodes of Hawaii Five-O as Yoko Collins and Elena Kamoku. Other television credits include The Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Wild Wild West, The Big Valley, Gunsmoke, Bonanza, The Outer Limits, The Invaders, Overland Trail, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Dallas, Charlie's Angels, and two guest appearances each on both the original Mission: Impossible and its 1980s remake. She also had roles in the soap operas Search for Tomorrow and One Life to Live.

Among her most recognized television performances is her portrayal of Lt. Marlena Moreau in the Star Trek: The Original Series episode "Mirror, Mirror," which aired in 1967. Luna has continued to appear at Star Trek conventions worldwide in connection with that role. In 2004 and again in 2010, she appeared in the first and sixth episodes of Star Trek: New Voyages, a fan-produced series distributed over the internet that was retitled Star Trek: Phase II in 2008. Actor Doug McClure was Luna's second husband.