RIP Rene Auberjonois

Just read that Rene Auberjonois passed away today, at the age of 79. Reading his wikipedia page now, I'm struck by the breadth and diversity of his work, in film, TV and stage, as well as voiceover work - there are a lot of roles I must have seen or heard him in, without knowing it was him, such as on the film version of MASH and on the animated Young Justice.

But of course I know him mainly for playing one of my favorite characters, Odo, on one of my favorite TV shows, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. He had the most distinctive prosthetics on the show, a sort of smoothed-out, simplified version of a human face, and he was involved in some of the show's best moments, including playing a huge part in the final storyline of the show as it wrapped up the Dominion War.

On the show, Odo was the "outcast" character, in the tradition of Star Trek characters like Spock and Data, but even though the entire cast, in some form or other, consisted of outcasts, he was more noticeable. In part this was because of his portrayal as the stern security officer on the station, whose methods didn't always match up with those of Starfleet. But it was also because of the gentleness that Auberjonois brought to the character - in the season 2 episode Shadowplay, he gradually befriends the young girl on the planet he and Dax are investigating, showing how Odo wasn't as gruff and forbidding as he wanted to appear.

I lost sight of his career after DS9, but I was always excited to see his name among the credits of a show. I'm heartened to read that he was a regular in Boston Legal, a series that my girlfriend loves and that we're going to watch together at some point soon (and, let it not be forgotten, a show that also starred William Shatner). I'm also pleased to read, though I must have known this at some level, that he did the voice of the French chef in Disney's Little Mermaid - another well-known role from my childhood.

My condolences go out to his family, and I'm hoping to find someplace to watch the recent DS9 documentary, What We Left Behind, for some interviews with him (and with Aron Eisenberg, who played Nog and who also passed away suddenly, not long ago).