Roger C. Carmel

Roger Charles Carmel was born on September 27, 1932, in Brooklyn, New York, and died on November 11, 1986, in Hollywood, California. An American actor, he built a career spanning Broadway, television, film, and voice work over roughly three decades.

Carmel's stage career ran from the late 1950s through the mid-1960s. His Broadway work included the comedy Auntie Mame and a multi-part role in The Power and the Glory in 1958. He originated several roles during this period: the 3rd Poet in Caligula in 1960, Pasha in Once There Was a Russian and The Deputy in Purlie Victorious, both in 1961, and Mr. Andrikos in The Irregular Verb to Love in 1963. He also stepped into existing productions as a replacement, taking over the role of Cardinal Wolsey in A Man for All Seasons in 1962 from Jack Creley, and replacing James Grout in Half a Sixpence in 1966.

On television, Carmel accumulated an extensive list of guest appearances across series including The Dick Van Dyke Show, Batman, The Patty Duke Show, I Spy, Hogan's Heroes, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Munsters, Hawaii Five-O, All in the Family, and many others. He was also a regular contestant on Pantomime Quiz, known alternately as Stump the Stars. In 1967, he joined the NBC sitcom The Mothers-in-Law as Roger Buell in its first season, but departed before the second season after a dispute with creator and producer Desi Arnaz over contractual salary increases. Carmel refused to forgo his raise, and additionally believed Arnaz was improperly collecting four separate salaries from the production as producer, creator, writer, and director. The series was canceled the following year.

Carmel is perhaps best remembered for portraying the flamboyant galactic criminal Harcourt Fenton Mudd, known as Harry Mudd, in two episodes of the original Star Trek series — "Mudd's Women" in 1966 and "I, Mudd" in 1967 — and reprising the character in the Star Trek: The Animated Series episode "Mudd's Passion" in 1973. His film credits included Gambit, Myra Breckinridge, Breezy, Thunder and Lightning, and Jerry Lewis's Hardly Working in 1981.

Later in his career, Carmel worked extensively as a voice actor. He voiced Smokey Bear in fire prevention advertisements and originated the role of the Decepticon deputy leader Cyclonus in The Transformers: The Movie in 1986, continuing the role into the animated series' third season. He also appeared in television commercials for the Naugles restaurant chain as the character Señor Naugles.

Carmel was found dead in his Hollywood apartment at the age of 54. His death certificate cited hypertrophic cardiomyopathy as the cause of death. He was interred at New Mount Carmel Cemetery in Glendale, Queens, New York City, in a section associated with his parents' synagogue, Temple Beth Emeth.