Quick Facts
Biography
Roger Charles Carmel (September 27, 1932 – November 11, 1986) was an American actor. Of his hundreds of roles, he is best remembered for playing the flamboyant and hapless criminal Harcourt Fenton Mudd in two episodes of NBC's Star Trek: The Original Series: "Mudd's Women" and "I, Mudd", and one episode of Star Trek: The Animated Series: "Mudd's Passion". He was one of the few actors, other than those who played Enterprise crew members, to appear in multiple episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series as the same character.
Career
Carmel starred as the henpecked husband Roger Buell in the 1967 NBC sitcom The Mothers-in-Law, but was replaced by Richard Deacon after season 1. Officially, Carmel had a salary dispute with producer Desi Arnaz, although, according to rumors, he was fired because his drug use interfered with production.
Carmel's other guest roles included the accountant Doug Wesley on CBS's The Dick Van Dyke Show and Colonel Gumm on ABC's Batman. He also appeared in roles on The Patty Duke Show, I Spy, Blue Light, The Everglades, Hogan's Heroes, Car 54, Where Are You?, Banacek, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Munsters, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Hawaii Five-O, The High Chaparral, All in the Family, and The San Pedro Beach Bums. He was a regular contestant on Pantomime Quiz, also known as Stump the Stars. His film roles included Gambit, Myra Breckinridge, Breezy, Thunder and Lightning, and Jerry Lewis's 1981 comeback film, Hardly Working.
Later in his career, Carmel was a frequent voice actor. He voiced Smokey Bear in fire safety advertisements and Decepticon deputy leader Cyclonus, among others, in the second and third seasons of the popular Transformers animated series. In the television commercials for the Naugles chain of Mexican fast-food restaurants, he played the character of Señor Naugles.
Carmel died in Hollywood, of hypertensive cardiomyopathy in 1986. He was interred in New Mount Carmel Cemetery in Glendale, Queens, New York. His plot is in the section dedicated to his parents' synagogue, Temple Beth Emesh.
According to a letter column in the first volume of the monthly DC Comics Star Trek comic book, that Carmel was slated to reprise his role as Harry Mudd in a first-season episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, but died before filming could commence. The storyline would have involved Mudd being discovered cryogenically frozen by the crew of the Enterprise-D in the 24th Century, and heroically sacrificing himself at the end of the episode. After Carmel's death, Jack Angel took over his role as Cyclonus in The Transformers.
Television
- Route 66 (1960) - episode - The Man on the Monkey Board - Man in the Shower
- The Defenders (1961) - episode - The Hundred Lives of Harry Simms - Mr. Dinsmore
- Car 54, Where Are You? (1962) - episode - Stop Thief - Mr. Cochran, Director (uncredited)
- The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964) - episode - The Quadripartite Affair - Milan Horth
- The Dick Van Dyke Show (1964) - episode - It Wouldn't Hurt Them to Give Us a Raise - Doug Wesley
- The Munsters (1965) - episode - Lily Munster, Girl Model - Laszlo Brastoff
- The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1965) - episode - The Ultimate Computer Affair - Captain Cervantes
- Hogan's Heroes (1965) - episode - The Prisoner's Prisoner - General Karl Schmidt
- I Spy (1965) - episode - Affair in T'Sien Cha - Edwin Wade
- Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1965) S2:E12, "The Machines Strike Back" - Admiral Halder
- The Phyllis Diller Show (1966) - episode - Phyllis, the General Stealer - Cannon
- I Spy (1966) - episode - The Barter - Gordon Merritt
- Star Trek (1966–1967) - episodes - Mudd's Women & I, Mudd - Harry Mudd
- Batman (1967) - episodes - A Piece of the Action & Batman's Satisfaction - Colonel Gumm
- I Spy (1967) - episode - Red Sash of Courage - Pappas
- The Mothers-in-Law (1967–69) - 30 episodes - as Roger Buell
- It Takes a Thief (1968) - episode - The Bill Is in Committee - Paz
- The Hollywood Squares (1968) - 5 episodes - Himself
- Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color (1969) - episode - My Dog, the Thief: Parts 1 & 2 - McClure
- Ironside (1971) - episode - Walls Are Waiting - Mike Elman
- The High Chaparral (1971) - episode - The New Lion of Sonora (Part 1) - General Casados
- Hawaii Five-O (1971–1972) - episodes - F.O.B. Honolulu: Parts 1 & 2 & The Ninety-Second War: Part II - Misha the Bear
- Banacek (1972) - episode - To Steal a King - Oliver Garson
- Star Trek: The Animated Series (1973) - episode - Mudd's Passion - Harcourt Fenton Mudd (uncredited)
- McMillan & Wife (1973) - episode - Death of a Monster... Birth of a Legend - Houston Gorman
- McCloud (1975) - episode - The Man with the Golden Hat - David Kern
- The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries (1977) - episode - Nancy Drew's Love Match - John Bender
- All in the Family (1977) - episode - Fire - Mr. Ligway
- B.J. and the Bear (1979) - episode - The Eyes of Texas - Morton Jarvis
- Three's Company (1979) - episode - Ralph's Rival - Merl Denker
- The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo (1980) - episode - Mystery on the Orly Express - Hubert Hemmings
- Laverne & Shirley (1980) - episodes - Murder on the Moose Jaw Express: Parts 1 & 2 - The Waiter
- Hart to Hart (1980) - episode - 'Tis the Season to Be Murdered - Walter Brent
- The Transformers (1985–1987) - 32 episodes - Cyclonus / Motormaster / Bruticus / Prime Minister of Japan / Various
- The New Adventures of Jonny Quest (1986) - Additional Voices
- Adventures of the Gummi Bears (1986) - 4 episodes - Sir Tuxford / Town Crier / Charm Teacher
- DuckTales (1987) - episode - Master of the Djinni - Sultan (voice)
Filmography
- Stage Struck (1958) - Stagehand (uncredited)
- Act One (1963) - Hotel Clerk (uncredited)
- A House Is Not a Home (1964) - Dixie Keeler
- Goodbye Charlie (1964) - Inspector Frank McGill
- The Art of Love (1965) - Zorgus
- The Silencers (1966) - Andreyev
- Alvarez Kelly (1966) - Capt. Angus Ferguson
- The Venetian Affair (1966) - Mike Ballard
- Gambit (1966) - Ram
- Skullduggery (1970) - Otto Kreps
- Myra Breckinridge (1970) - Dr. Randolph Spencer Montag
- The Telephone Book (1971) - Analyst
- Breezy (1973) - Bob Henderson
- Thunder and Lightning (1977) - Ralph Junior Hunnicutt
- That's Life (1979)
- Hardly Working (1980) - Robert Trent
- The Transformers: The Movie (1986) - Cyclonus / Quintesson Leader (voice)
- Transformers: Five Faces of Darkness (1986) - Cyclonus / Motormaster / Quintesson Judge #2 / Unicron (voice)