Henry Gibson Henry Gibson was the prolific character actor who played Nilva in the episode . He was also an occasional songwriter . Outside of " Star Trek " , he is best remembered as a regular performer on the television variety series " Rowan & Martin ' s Laugh - In " from 1968 through 1971 . He went on to appear in a large number of films , including several from Robert Altman and Joe Dante . His best known film role is country singer " Haven Hamilton " in Altman ' s acclaimed 1975 musical drama " Nashville " . Douglas S . Cramer , the Executive in Charge of Production on who worked with Gibson on the television series " Wonder Woman " , referred to Gibson as a comic genius of the 1960s and 1970s . Early life . Gibson was born James Bateman in Germantown , Pennsylvania . When he was eight years old , he began touring with the Philadelphia - based Mae Desmond Theater Company . He earned a bachelor ' s degree from Catholic University in 1957 , after which he served in the US Air Force as an intelligence officer stationed in France . As a struggling actor in the early 1960s , Bateman shared an apartment with his college friend and fellow rising actor . Together , Bateman and Voight thought of an idea to launch their careers : they would pose as " two brothers from the Ozarks who represented the United States on cultural tours and caused riots wherever they went . " Voight gave Bateman the name " Henry Gibson , " while he would assume the identity of Harold . The two ultimately booked an appearance on NBC ' s " The Tonight Show " , but Voight opted not to continue the act , leaving Bateman to continue solo . Nonetheless , Bateman kept the name Henry Gibson as his stage name . Early career . At the start of his career , Gibson became known for an act in which he portrayed a poet with a Southern accent who would recite comic poems while clutching a stuffed alligator . In 1963 , Gibson made his film debut in the the 1963 Jerry Lewis comedy " The Nutty Professor " , in which Gibson and TOS guest actresses Julie Parrish and Celeste Yarnall played college students . In 1964 , Gibson appeared in the comedy film " Kiss Me , Stupid " , also featuring Ray Walston and John Fiedler . Gibson had worked with Walston earlier that year on an episode of " My Favorite Martian " , in which Walston played the star role . In 1965 , Gibson appeared in the film " The Outlaws Is Coming " , with Nancy Kovack and Rex Holman . Gibson also made appearances on various television shows throughout the 1960s , including " The Beverly Hillbillies " , " The Dick Van Dyke Show " , and " Bewitched " . Gibson joined the cast of " Rowan & Martin ' s Laugh - In " in 1968 , where he often played " The Poet , " reciting satirical poems while wearing a Nehru jacket and " hippie " beads and brandishing an outlandishly large artificial flower . For his act , Gibson emerged from behind a stage flat , stated the title of his poem , noted that it was " by Henry Gibson " , bowed stiffly from the waist , recited his poem , and returned behind the flat . Gibson departed " Laugh - In " in 1971 , but not before receiving a Golden Globe nomination for his performance on the show . Notable film work . Like his fellow DS9 co - star Rene Auberjonois , Gibson worked with director Robert Altman on several films , beginning with " The Long Goodbye " in 1973 . Gibson and Altman reunited on the aforementioned " Nashville " , in which Gibson performed with fellow " Star Trek " alumni Keith Carradine , Robert DoQui , and Bert Remsen . Gibson ' s portrayal in " Nashville " as country music singer Haven Hamilton earned him a National Society of Film Critics Award as Best Supporting Actor as well as a second Golden Globe nomination . Gibson also wrote and performed several songs for the film , which allowed him to share a Grammy Award nomination for Album of Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or Television Special . Gibson again worked with Altman on 1979 ' s " A Perfect Couple " ( starring fellow DS9 guest star Paul Dooley ) and 1980 ' s " HealtH " ( with Dooley , Alfre Woodard , Georgann Johnson , and Robert Fortier ) . Along with Robert Picardo and Dick Miller , Gibson also appeared in several Joe Dante films , including " Innerspace " ( 1987 , with Pat Kehoe , Mark L . Taylor , Wendy Schaal , William Schallert , Kenneth Tobey , Andrea Martin , and Bruce Botnick ) , " The ' burbs " ( 1989 , with Cory Danziger , Charles L . Hughes , Pat Kehoe , Wendy Schaal , Carey Scott , Bruce Botnick , and Tom Cranham ) , and " Gremlins 2 : The New Batch " ( 1990 , with Zach Galligan , John Glover , Keye Luke , Kenneth Tobey , Leslie Neale , Ron Fassler , and Time Winters ) ; of interesting note , all three movies featured music composed by Jerry Goldsmith , orchestrated by Arthur Morton , and edited by Kenneth Hall . Other films in which Gibson has appeared include " The Blues Brothers " ( 1980 , with Charles Napier ) , " National Lampoon ' s Vacation " ( 1983 , with Miriam Flynn ) , " Magnolia " ( 1999 , with Jim Beaver , April Grace , Pat Healy , and Don McManus ) , and " Wedding Crashers " ( 2005 , with Ron Canada , Ellen Albertini Dow , Noel De Souza , Richard Riehle , and Tiffany Turner ) . His final movie was the 2007 comedy " Big Stan " , which also featured Richard Riehle and starred Jennifer Morrison . Later television work . " Star Trek : Deep Space Nine " was not Gibson ' s only foray into science fiction television . In 1999 , he guest - starred on " Total Recall 2070 " , and he subsequently appeared on " " , playing in the 2002 episode " " . Gibson has also appeared in a number of fantasy - based shows ranging from " Fantasy Island " ( working with series star Ricardo Montalban and fellow guest star John Schuck ) and " Wonder Woman " ( including the pilot and an episode with Vaughn Armstrong ) to " Sabrina , the Teenage Witch " ( in the recurring role of the Witch Judge ) and " Charmed " ( in an episode directed by John Kretchmer and co - starring Tim Kelleher ) . Other television shows on which Gibson has guest - starred include " Love , American Style " ( on which he was a frequent guest ) , " The Dukes of Hazzard " , " Magnum , P . I . " ( in an episode with Claudette Nevins ) , " Quincy M . E . " ( which starred Robert Ito and Garry Walberg ) , " Knight Rider " , " Murder , She Wrote " ( with Ron Glass and William Windom ) , " Newhart " , " MacGyver " , " Sisters " ( with Ashley Judd ) , and " The John Larroquette Show " . One episode of " MacGyver " in which he appeared also featured TOS star James Doohan . Gibson had previously worked with Doohan ' s TOS co - star , William Shatner , on an episode of Shatner ' s first post - TOS series , " Barbary Coast " , in 1975 . Gibson also lent his voice to a number of animated television series , including the short - lived science fiction - oriented " Galaxy High School " , in which he and David L . Lander were part of the regular cast . Years later , Gibson voiced the recurring role of eye - patched reporter Bob Jenkins on the animated Fox series " King of the Hill " , which also featured the voices of Pamela Segall and Stephen Root . Gibson voiced on many other series , including " Aaahh ! Real Monsters " ( as Mayor Lendt ) and " Grim & Evil " ( as Lord Pain ) . Most recently , Gibson had a recurring role on " Boston Legal " , which starred the aforementioned William Shatner . Rene Auberjonois and John Larroquette , both of whom Gibson worked with in the past , also starred on the show at different points . On this series , Gibson played a peculiar , elderly judge who frequently tried cases involving Shatner ' s Denny Crane , who took delight in calling Gibson ' s character a " namby pamby . " Gibson ' s DS9 co - star Armin Shimerman played a fellow judge in two of Gibson ' s " Boston Legal " episodes . Death . Gibson died on 14 September 2009 at his home in Malibu , California , following a brief battle with cancer . He was 73 years old . He is survived by three sons from his 41 - year marriage to Lois Joan Geiger , who passed away in 2007 , as well as three sisters and two grandchildren . Gibson was remembered in the " In Memoriam " section at the 16th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards on . Other " Trek " connections . Additional projects in which Gibson appeared with other " Star Trek " performers include :