Mark Lenard; Actor Played Spock’s Father in ‘Star Trek’

NEW YORK — Mark Lenard, an actor who performed Shakespeare, Chekhov and Ibsen but was best known for playing Mr. Spock’s Vulcan father in the “Star Trek” series, has died.

Lenard, 68, died of multiple myeloma Friday. He appeared on television in the original “Star Trek” series in the late 1960s, then parlayed his role as Sarek into recurring appearances in later films. Sarek was married to a human, which accounted for Spock being half-Vulcan, half-human.

Along with Leonard Nimoy, who played Sarek’s son Spock, Lenard was a favorite at Star Trek conventions.

He also was an accomplished stage actor. He made his Broadway debut in 1957 in Carson McCuller’s “Square Root of Wonderful.” He was in “Much Ado About Nothing,” with John Gielgud and had pivotal roles in productions of Ibsen’s “Little Eyolf” and “Rosmersholm” and Chekhov’s “Country Scandal.”

His film credits included “The Greatest Story Every Told,” “Hang ‘Em High” and “Annie Hall.”

In recent years he and Walter Koenig, who played Ensign Chekov in “Star Trek,” toured in “The Boys in Autumn,” a two-character comedy reuniting Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn in their 60s.