Dick Miller Richard " Dick " Miller is a veteran character actor from the Bronx , New York , who has appeared in two " Star Trek " spin - off series . Miller is a veteran of campy and often humorous science fiction and horror movies . He began as a regular in films and , later , in films directed by . He made his film debut in Corman ' s " Apache Woman " in 1955 , and would go on to work with Corman in such cult B - movie classics as " It Conquered the World " ( 1956 ) , " The Gunslinger " ( 1956 , with William Schallert ) , " Not of This Earth " ( 1957 ) , " A Bucket of Blood " ( 1959 ) , " The Little Shop of Horrors " ( 1960 ) , " Atlas " ( 1961 , starring Michael Forest ) , " X : The Man with the X - Ray Eyes " ( 1963 , with John Hoyt ) , " The Wild Angels " ( 1966 , with Michael J . Pollard ) , " A Time for Killing " ( 1967 , with Kenneth Tobey ) , " The St . Valentine ' s Day Massacre " ( 1967 , with Celia Lovsky ) , and " Big Bad Mama " ( 1974 , with William Shatner , Noble Willingham , and William O ' Connell ) . One of Miller ' s earlier roles was also the film " The Undead " ( 1957 ) which would later be featured on " Mystery Science Theater 3000 " and also involved time travel ( a recurring theme in " Star Trek " ) . Since then , Miller has become part of director Joe Dante ' s informal acting troupe , along with fellow " Star Trek " alumni Henry Gibson , Wendy Schaal , Kenneth Tobey , Schallert , and , of course , star Robert Picardo . Of all of these , however , only Miller has appeared in every film Dante has ever directed , including ( 1981 , with Picardo , Tobey , and Noble Willingham ) , " Gremlins " ( 1984 , with Schallert , Tobey , Keye Luke , Jonathan Banks , Zach Galligan and composer Jerry Goldsmith ) , " Explorers " ( 1985 , with Picardo and James Cromwell ) , " Innerspace " ( 1987 , with Picardo , Schaal , Schallert , Gibson , Tobey , Mark L . Taylor , Richard McGonagle , and Andrea Martin ; with music by Goldsmith ) , " Amazon Women on the Moon " ( 1987 , with Picardo , Bernie Casey , Ronny Cox , William Marshall , Martin Goslins , Karen Montgomery , Ed Begley , Jr . , and Larry Hankin ) , " The ' burbs " ( 1989 , with Picardo , Gibson , and Schaal ) , " Gremlins 2 : The New Batch " ( 1990 , with Picardo , Tobey , Gibson , John Glover , Ron Fassler , Zach Galligan , Keye Luke , and Jerry Goldmith ) , " Matinee " ( 1993 , with Picardo , Schallert , and David Clennon ) , " Small Soldiers " ( 1998 , with Picardo , Schaal , Kirsten Dunst , Frank Langella , and Michael McKean ) , and " Looney Tunes : Back in Action " ( 2003 , with Picardo , George Murdock , Ron Perlman , and Marc Lawrence ) . Miller has also appeared in all of Dante ' s made - for - television movies , most notably 1997 ' s " The Second Civil War " , which also featured Picardo and Schallert , as well as Joanna Cassidy , Brian Keith , and Ron Perlman . Miller also appeared with Picardo in the non - Dante directed films " Get Crazy " ( 1983 , starring Malcolm McDowell and Ed Begley , Jr . ) , " Dead Heat " ( 1988 , starring Joe Piscopo and Keye Luke ) , and " Motorama " ( 1991 ) . Miller ' s extensive credits also include appearances in such popular films as " Truck Turner " ( 1974 , with Nichelle Nichols ) , " New York , New York " ( 1977 ) , " All the Right Moves " ( 1983 , with Gary Graham and Terry O ' Quinn ) , and " The Terminator " ( 1984 , with Paul Winfield , Earl Boen , and Brian Thompson ) . His television projects include the 1970 TV movie " The Andersonville Trial " ( with William Shatner , Whit Bissell , Robert Easton , Kenneth Tobey , and Ian Wolfe ) , the 1984 mini - series " V : The Final Battle " ( with Richard Herd , Andrew Prine , and Mark L . Taylor ) , and appearances on such TV series as " The Untouchables " , " Bonanza " , " Taxi " ( with Christopher Lloyd ) , " Police Squad ! " , " NYPD Blue " , and the sci - fi / horror anthology series " Tales from the Darkside " , " Amazing Stories " , and " Freddy ' s Nightmares " . Other " Trek " connections . Additional projects in which Miller worked with other " Star Trek " alumni include :