Grace Lee Whitney

**Grace Lee Whitney** (April 1, 1930 – May 1, 2015) was an American actress and singer. She was known for her role as Janice Rand on the original *Star Trek* television series and subsequent *Star Trek* television series and films, as well as for her appearances at *Star Trek* events.

## Early life

Whitney was born **Mary Ann Chase** in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and was adopted by the Whitney family, who changed her name to Grace Elaine. She started her entertainment career as a "girl singer" on Detroit's WJR radio at the age of fourteen. After she left home, she began to call herself Lee Whitney, eventually becoming known as Grace Lee Whitney. In her late teens, she moved to Chicago and where she opened in nightclubs for Billie Holiday and Buddy Rich, and toured with the Spike Jones and Fred Waring Bands.Template:Fix/category[*citation needed*]

## *Star Trek*

### *Star Trek* television show

*Star Trek* creator Gene Roddenberry cast Whitney in the role of Yeoman Janice Rand, the personal assistant to Captain James T. Kirk, in 1966. Whitney said: "I was on diet pills trying to stay thin — and I was very thin. They wanted you to fit into the uniforms and I couldn't quite so I went on amphetamines." Whitney appeared in eight of the first thirteen episodes, after which she was released from contract. She had claimed that, while still under contract, she was sexually assaulted by an executive associated with the series. Later, in a public interview, she stated that Leonard Nimoy had been her main source of support during that time. She went into more details about the assault in her book *The Longest Trek*, but refused to name the executive, saying in the book, "This is my story, not his."Template:Fix/category[*citation needed*]

In a later interview, she said of her termination from the series:

> They wanted William Shatner to have romances in each episode with a different person, because for him to be stuck with one woman was not good for him and it wasn't good for the audience. That's what they told me, so I was written out. There were two blonde girls and one black girl. Nichelle was a more important character and couldn't be written out. Everything's political in America. One of the blondes had to go. The other one was engaged to the boss, so guess who went? I just about killed myself. I drank, that's what we do, we drink to get rid of pain. I was really mad. My God, was I bitter.
>
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### *Star Trek* films

Whitney returned to the Star Trek franchise in the 1970s after DeForest Kelley saw Whitney on the unemployment line and told her that fans had been asking for her at fan conventions.

Whitney reprised her role as Janice Rand, who had received a promotion to chief petty officer in *Star Trek: The Motion Picture* (1979). She also appeared in *Star Trek III: The Search for Spock* (1984), *Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home* (1986), and *Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country* (1991), with another promotion, as Lieutenant Commander Janice Rand. Five years later, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the franchise, she returned in the 1996 *Star Trek: Voyager* episode "Flashback", along with George Takei. She reprised her role in two internet *Star Trek* episodes: "Star Trek: New Voyages" and "Star Trek: Of Gods and Men". "New Voyages" premiered on August 24, 2007, while "Of Gods and Men" made its debut in late 2007.

## Career

### Theater

Whitney debuted on Broadway in *Top Banana*, with Phil Silvers and Kaye Ballard, playing Miss Holland. Following the successful run of the show, she joined the cast in Hollywood, where she recreated the role in the 1954 movie of the same name. While in Los Angeles, Whitney auditioned for and was cast in the starring role of Lucy Brown in the national tour of *The Threepenny Opera*, taking over the role from Bea Arthur, who had played the part in New York off-Broadway.Template:Fix/category[*citation needed*]

### Film highlights

Whitney was cast as a member of the all-female band in Billy Wilder's comedy *Some Like It Hot* (1959). She shared several scenes with Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis, and Marilyn Monroe, including the famed "upper berth" sequence. She had uncredited roles in *House of Wax* (1953), *Top Banana* (1954), *The Naked and the Dead* (1958), and *Pocketful of Miracles* (1961). Whitney was credited as Tracey Phillips in the drama *A Public Affair* (1962), and as Texas Rose in the western *The Man from Galveston* (1963). Billy Wilder then gave her the featured role of "Kiki the Cossack" in *Irma la Douce* (1963).

### Television

Whitney made more than a hundred television appearances following her television debut in *Cowboy G-Men* in 1953. She appeared on episodes of *The Real McCoys*, *Wagon Train*, *The Islanders*, *Hennesey*, *The Roaring 20s*, *Gunsmoke*, *Bat Masterson*, *The Rifleman*, *77 Sunset Strip*, *Bewitched*, *Mike Hammer*, *Batman*, *The Untouchables*, and *Hawaiian Eye*.

She appeared in an episode of *The Outer Limits*, "Controlled Experiment", co-starring Barry Morse and Carroll O'Connor. In the late 1960s, Whitney appeared as guest star on *Mannix*, *Death Valley Days*, *The Big Valley*, and *The Virginian*. In 1962, she appeared in *The Rifleman* in the episode "The Tin Horn" as Rose Keeler. Also in 1964, she played the Marilyn Monroe lookalike character Babs Livingston on *Bewitched* in the episode "It Shouldn't Happen to a Dog". 1970s roles included *The Bold Ones*, *Cannon*, and *Hart to Hart*. In 1983, she had a small part in the television film *The Kid with the 200 IQ*, with Gary Coleman. In 1998, she appeared on an episode of *Diagnosis: Murder*, which reunited her with her old *Star Trek* cast-mates George Takei, Walter Koenig and Majel Barrett Roddenberry.Template:Fix/category[*citation needed*]

### Music

In the 1960s and 1970s, Whitney sang with a number of orchestras and bands, including the Keith Williams Orchestra. Later, she concentrated on jazz/pop vocalizing while fronting for the band Star. In the 1970s, with her then-husband, Jack Dale, she wrote a number of *Star Trek*-related songs. A 45 rpm record was released in 1976 with the songs "Disco Trekkin’" (A side) and "Star Child" (B side). She recorded such tunes as "Charlie X", "Miri", "Enemy Within" and "USS Enterprise". Many of these songs were released in the 1990s on cassette tape: *Light at the End of the Tunnel* in 1996 and *Yeoman Rand Sings!* in 1999.Template:Fix/category[*citation needed*]

### Writing

Whitney's autobiography, *The Longest Trek: My Tour of the Galaxy*, was released in 1998 (ISBN 1-884956-05-X). Along with her hiring and firing from *Star Trek*, the book recounts her work as the first Chicken of the Sea mermaid as well as her struggles with and eventual recovery from alcohol and substance abuse.

## Personal life and death

Whitney had two sons, Scott and Jonathan Dweck. She moved to Coarsegold, California, in 1993 to be close to Jonathan, and she “continued her fellowship work in Fresno and Madera [Counties], completely dedicating her life to helping herself and others find daily sobriety and a higher power out of addiction.” Jonathan Dweck said his mother wanted to be known more as a survivor of addiction than as a *Star Trek* cast-member.

Whitney died of natural causes at her home in Coarsegold on May 1, 2015. She was 85 years old.
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## Partial filmography

* *The Texan Meets Calamity Jane* (1950)
* *House of Wax* (1953)
* *Top Banana* (1954)
* *The Naked and the Dead* (1958)
* *Some Like It Hot* (1959)
* *Pocketful of Miracles* (1961)
* *The Man from Galveston* (1963)
* *Irma la Douce* (1963)
* *Star Trek* – Yeoman Janice Rand (1966, TV)
* *Star Trek: The Motion Picture* – Transporter Chief Janice Rand (1979)
* *Star Trek III: The Search for Spock* – Woman in Cafeteria (1984)
* *Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home* – MCPO Janice Rand (1986)
* *Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country* – Lt. Commander Janice Rand (1991)
* *Star Trek: Voyager* – Lt. Commander Janice Rand (1996)

## References

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## External links

* Grace Lee Whitney at the Internet Movie Database
* Grace Lee Whitney at AllMovie
* Grace Lee Whitney profile, Notable Names Database

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