Ralph Maurer

Ralph Maurer , also known as his stage name Lev Mailer, was an actor and voice artist, who played Bilar in the first season episode and an Ekosian SS lieutenant in the second season episode .
Maurer filmed his scenes for "The Return of the Archons" on Wednesday and Thursday at the 40 Acres backlot. He filmed his scene for "Patterns of Force" on Wednesday at Paramount Pictures' "European town" back lot.
== Early life ==
Born as Ralph Maurer, Mailer grew up in Brooklyn, New York and described himself in his early life as "something of a trouble maker" who received low grades in school. His first exposure to acting was in high school when he was cast in a local theater production, afterwards choosing to seek acting as a profession.
By the 1970s, both of his parents had passed away and Mailer was living in California. Experiencing what he described as "an identity crisis", he changed his name to Lev Mailer following the death of his mother from cancer ("Interview with Lev Mailer", Yiddish Book Center, 2017).
A lifelong practicing Jew, one of Mailer's closest friends was actor Mark Lenard; in later life, Mailer was also friends with Christopher Held and was at one point neighbors with . Outside of acting, Mailer enjoys reading about the history of the Second World War. In a 2018 interview, he stated his favorite conflict to read about is the Battle of Midway.
== Acting career ==
Mailer's career spanned several occupations, including acting, directing, voice performance, and teaching acting classes. He taught for the American Film Institute and campaigned along with several other actors for greater opportunities for older actors in Hollywood. Mailer was a classmate of Desilu casting director Joseph D'Agosta, who got him his first acting jobs in The Lucy Show and Star Trek. 
Among Mailer's first television appearances are series such as (1967, starring Lucille Ball), Mission: Impossible (1967, alongside Mark Lenard, Jack Donner, and Dick Dial), (1967, with Michael Forest and Morgan Jones), and It Takes a Thief (1968, with Malachi Throne, Steve Ihnat, and Lawrence Montaigne). He also appeared in (1968, with Susan Oliver and ) and (1968, with Michael J. Pollard and James Doohan). Also in the late '60s, he began a career as a voice artist, performing in the short film The Great Escapo (1967).
Mailer continued with appearances in the television series (1970, with Chuck Hicks), (1970), (1977, with regulars Garry Walberg and John S. Ragin), Mrs. Columbo (1979, starring Kate Mulgrew and with Michael Durrell and Allan Miller), (1979, with Mary Crosby), and Brooklyn Bridge (1991, alongside Natalia Nogulich and Jeffrey Nordling), beside supporting roles in the (1978, with Mickey Morton) and (1982).
== Voice work ==
Beginning in the '80s, Mailer concentrated more into his voice work and provided background voices and voice-overs for films such as (1988), (1990, with Ronald Guttman), (1991, starring Christian Slater, F. Murray Abraham, and Seymour Cassel), (1991, with the voice of Nehemiah Persoff), (1993), (1994), (1994, with Leon Rippy and Erick Avari), (1995), (1996, with Brent Spiner), (1999), and (2000).
From 2000, he was retired from the "in front of the camera" acting and taught several acting classes in Minnesota like Cynthia Uhrich. Throughout his lengthy actor career, Maurer was also heavily involved with the Screen Actors Guild, representing actors across the film and television industry, and at one point had served as the SAG Vice President. 
== Death ==
In January 2022, Maurer was hospitalized for a bacterial infection. He died a month later on 24 February 2022. 
==External links==
* 
* – former official site
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