Allan Miller Allan Miller is an actor from Brooklyn , New York who played the large - eared alien from whom Dr . McCoy attempts to bum a ride in the film . Miller has an extensive number of film and television credits to his name . He may be best known to soap opera fans for being among the original cast members of " One Life to Live " , on which he played the role of Dave Siegel from 1968 through 1972 . Afterward , Miller went on to co - star with fellow " Star Trek " movie actor F . Murray Abraham on the short - lived soap , " How to Survive a Marriage " . Miller is also known for his role as Colonel Sydell on " Galactica 1980 " and his recurring roles as Dr . Alan Posner on " Soap " and as Scooter Warren on " Knots Landing " . In 1977 , Miller , Rosanna DeSoto , and Gregory Sierra were regulars on the short - lived sitcom " A . E . S . Hudson Street " . The following year , Miller was among the cast of the mini - series " The Word " , as were star Kate Mulgrew and and actress Diana Muldaur , fellow " Star Trek III " co - star Christopher Lloyd , and " Trek " alumni Jonathan Banks and Nehemiah Persoff . Miller also appeared with Kate Mulgrew in a 1979 episode of " Mrs . Columbo " ( on which Mulgrew played the title character ) and with Diana Muldaur in a 1975 episode of " McCloud " ( on which Muldaur was a regular ) . Miller and Christopher Lloyd can also be seen together in a 1975 episode of " Barney Miller " , on which Ron Glass and James Gregory were regulars . Miller and actor Andrew Robinson worked together as guest stars on two popular television series : " The Streets of San Francisco " in 1975 ( starring Darleen Carr and also guest - starring Fritz Weaver ) and " Murder , She Wrote " in 1994 ( with David Ogden Stiers and William Windom ) . Miller himself appeared in four other episodes of " Murder , She Wrote " , including one with Gary Lockwood in 1985 and another with Lenore Kasdorf and Brock Peters in 1986 . Miller and Brock Peters had previously appeared together in the 1976 film " Two - Minute Warning " ( also featuring Garry Walberg ) . Besides those mentioned above , the other " Star Trek " movie performers Miller has appeared with outside of " Trek " are Bibi Besch ( in the 1976 TV movie " Victory at Entebbe " , along with Theodore Bikel and Harris Yulin ) , Stephen Collins ( in the 1985 film " Brewster ' s Millions " ) , James Cromwell ( in a 1977 episode of " Police Story " ) , Gregg Henry ( in the 1978 mini - series " Pearl " ) , and his " Star Trek III " co - star Robert Hooks ( in the 1985 TV movie " The Execution " , with Alan Oppenheimer ) . Miller has also been seen on such TV shows as " The Rockford Files " , " Hawaii Five - O " , " Starsky & Hutch " , multiple episodes of " Quincy " and " Archie Bunker ' s Place " , " Who ' s the Boss ? " , " Northern Exposure " , " L . A . Law " , " NYPD Blue " , and " Law & Order " . His other film credits include " Bound for Glory " ( 1976 , with David Clennon , Ronny Cox , Wendy Schaal , and Gail Strickland ) , " Fun with Dick and Jane " ( 1977 ) , " MacArthur " ( 1977 , with Kenneth Tobey and Garry Walberg ) , " The Champ " ( 1979 , with Elisha Cook , Jr . ) , " Cruising " ( 1980 , with Richard Cox , Paul Sorvino , and Mike Starr ) , and " Warlock " ( 1989 , with Ian Abercrombie ) .