Ed Lauter Ed Lauter was the actor who played Lieutenant Commander Albert in the fifth season episode in . He filmed his scenes for this episode between Thursday and Monday on Paramount Stage 16 . Lauter began as a comedian before moving on to become a film and television actor in 1971 . He made his feature film debut in the 1972 sequel " The Magnificent Seven Ride ! " , co - starring fellow " Star Trek " alumni William Lucking and James B . Sikking . Lauter and Sikking also appeared in " The New Centurions " that same year . Perhaps Lauter ' s best known role is Captain Knauer in the original 1974 blockbuster " The Longest Yard " . He and star Burt Reynolds were the only two actors from the original film to reappear in the 2005 remake , albeit in different roles . The remake also starred veteran " Trek " actor James Cromwell . Other films Lauter appeared in during the 1970s include " Breakheart Pass " ( with Jill Ireland ) , the 1976 remake of " King Kong " ( with Rene Auberjonois ) , " Magic " ( with David Ogden Stiers ) , and last film , " Family Plot " ( 1976 ) . He also had a role in the 1978 mini - series " How the West Was Won " . William Shatner , Fionnula Flanagan , William Boyett , Robert DoQui , Brian Keith , Ricardo Montalban , George D . Wallace , Morgan Woodward , and Harris Yulin were also involved with this series . Lauter was also part of the mini - series " Greatest Heroes of the Bible " , as were Ted Cassidy , Jeff Corey , Frank Gorshin , Nehemiah Persoff , John Schuck , and Dean Stockwell . In 1980 , Lauter co - starred with LeVar Burton , Brad Dourif , Meg Foster , and Madge Sinclair in the made - for - TV movie " Guyana Tragedy : The Story of Jim Jones " . His many other movie credits during the 1980s include " Cujo " ( with Daniel Hugh Kelly ) , " Death Wish 3 " ( with Marina Sirtis and Gavan O ' Herlihy ) , 1984 ' s " Nickel Mountain " with Heather Langenkamp in her film debut , " Girls Just Want to Have Fun " ( with Biff Yeager and Morgan Woodward ) , " Real Genius " ( with Beau Billingslea , Jeanne Mori , Peter Parros , Louis Giambalvo , and Randy Lowell ) , the TV remake of " The Defiant Ones " ( with Wil Wheaton ) , " Youngblood " ( with Fionnula Flanagan ) , " Class 89 " ( with Rene Auberjonois ) , " Revenge of the Nerds II : Nerds in Paradise " ( with James Cromwell , Tom Hodges , and Raymond Forchion ) , " Fat Man and Little Boy " ( starring Dwight Schultz ) , and " Born on the Fourth of July " ( with Bob Gunton , Richard Poe , and Mike Starr ) . In 1991 , Lauter starred in " The Rocketeer " along with Bill Campbell , Paul Sorvino , Terry O ' Quinn , Tiny Ron , Max Grodénchik , Clint Howard , and William Boyett . 1992 saw Lauter in the 1950s set race drama " School Ties " with " Voyager " guest Kevin Tighe . In 1993 , he made an uncredited appearance in the crime thriller " True Romance " , featuring Saul Rubinek and starring Christian Slater . The following year , he co - starred with actors Robert Picardo , Ethan Phillips , and Charles Rocket in the Western comedy " Wagons East " . Other movies in which Lauter appeared include TV ' s " The Tuskegee Airmen " ( 1995 , with Christopher McDonald , Daniel Hugh Kelly , Tim Kelleher , and Janet MacLachlan ) , " Digital Man " ( 1995 , with Chase Masterson and Clint Howard ) , " Leaving Las Vegas " ( 1995 , with Steven Weber and Thomas Kopache ) , " Mulholland Falls " ( 1996 , with Louise Fletcher ) , TV ' s " Married to a Stranger " ( 1997 , also with Louise Fletcher ) , TV ' s " A Bright Shining Lie " ( with Kurtwood Smith and Richard Libertini ) , and TV ' s " Python " ( 2000 , starring Wil Wheaton ) . Lauter was one of many " Star Trek " alumni to appear in the 2000 drama " Thirteen Days " . Also starring in this film were Bruce Greenwood , Steven Culp , Kevin Conway , Tim Kelleher , Bill Smitrovich , Boris Lee Krutonog , Jack Blessing , and Peter White . The following year , he and Michael Ensign appeared in the 2001 comedy " Not Another Teen Movie " . In 2003 , Lauter appeared in the Oscar - nominated drama " Seabiscuit " , also with Michael Ensign as well as Michael Buchman Silver . In 2004 he appeared in the science fiction sequel " Starship Troopers 2 : Hero of the Federation " , with Bobby C . King , Brenda Strong , Lawrence Monoson and Oliver Keller . Besides " The Next Generation " , Lauter has made guest appearances on several popular TV series , most notably a recurring role as Fire Captain Dannaker on " ER " . He also appeared in the two - hour pilot episode for " Hardcastle and McCormick " , starring fellow " Trek " alumni Brian Keith and Daniel Hugh Kelly . Lauter appeared on " CSI : Crime Scene Investigation " in the second season episode " Cats in the Cradle " . The " Trek " alumni working with Lauter were Megan Gallagher , Ellen Geer , and Frank Military . The episode was written by Kristin Dobkin , daughter of director and guest star Larry Dobkin . More recently , Lauter was seen as " The Butler " in the award - winning drama " The Artist " ( 2011 , with James Cromwell , Malcolm McDowell , Hal Landon , Jr . , Andy Milder , Annie O ' Donnell , J . Mark Donaldson , Brian J . Williams , Tim de Zarn , and Bill Blair ) , had a supporting role in the television movie " Carnal Innocence " ( 2011 , with Pancho Demmings ) , and filmed the thriller " Blind Pass " ( 2012 ) . Leaving the 2012 Oscars ceremony , an embarrassing incident occurred when a " tired " BBC News reporter , live , on - air , in the early hours of the morning , thrust a microphone into the face of someone they had been told was " Patrick Stewart " - turned out , it was Ed Lauter ! Lauter died of mesothelioma at his home in West Hollywood on 16 October 2013 . He was 74 .