How Star Trek's Gene Roddenberry Coaxed Elinor Donahue Out Of Acting Retirement

In the "Star Trek" episode "Metamorphosis" (November 10, 1967), guest character Commissioner Nancy Hedford (Elinor Donahue) is taking a break from a vital diplomatic mission to be treated for a rare and potentially fatal condition on board the Enterprise. Her shuttle is attacked, however, by a mysterious energy blob, causing it to crash on a nearby — and presumably uninhabited — planet. Inexplicably, Hedford, Captain Kirk (William Shatner), Spock (Leonard Nimoy), and Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley) are greeted by a man named Zefram Cochrane (Glenn Corbett), the inventor of warp engines who had disappeared a century earlier. By "Star Trek" lore, Zefram Cochrane flew out into space as a very old man and never returned. 

This Cochran, however, is young and vibrant here. It seems that the blob of energy — a blob Cochrane calls the Companion — is alive and lives on this world. The being is powerful enough to keep Cochrane young, and has kind of fallen in love with him. The Companion wanted to capture some fellow humans to keep Cochran company. This doesn't work out so well for Commissioner Hedford, as her disease will progress rapidly and kill her within a matter of days. Will they manage to communicate with the Companion and escape in time?

Donahue only appeared in one "Star Trek" episode, but had a massively prolific career besides, having come up as a child actress in movies, and making her breakthrough in 1954 with "Father Knows Best." She semi-retired a few times in her career, and it seems she was trying to give up acting in 1967. Donahue might have come back to the craft on her own, but in 1967, it helped that Gene Roddenberry gave her a call. 

Donahue recalled her days filming "Trek" in a 2016 interview with StarTrek.com.

Elinor Donahue played Ellie Walker, one of the main characters on "The Andy Griffith Show," for its first season in 1961 and 1962. She was only 24, but had chosen to stop acting after that, hoping to live a quiet, private life. She had just married her second husband, Harry Ackerman, and wanted to raise her child in peace. Despite her semi-retirement, Donahue continued to work, appearing on episodes of "77 Sunset Strip," "Dr. Kildare," "Have Gun — Will Travel," and playing one of the main roles on "Many Happy Returns." 

If that's retirement, one might wonder how busy Donahue was when working full-time. "I still worked about once a year on something," she said, which seems like a modest description. Her work was all based on calls from a very active agent. "I don't remember what they were," Donahue said, "but they were episodes of series." Then the call came for "Star Trek." This, of course, was yet another call for Donahue, and not some kind of massive opportunity. Donahue recalled:

"Harry got a call from Gene Roddenberry at the office asking if it was okay for him ... to call me at home. [...] Harry said yes. It was sort of like asking a father for his daughter's hand in marriage. It was very sweet. So, that evening, Gene Roddenberry called me and told me that he had a new show called 'Star Trek' and he asked me if I'd heard of it. I told him, 'No.' He told me a little bit about it and he said, 'I'd love for you to play a role on it. Would you be interested?' I said, 'Of course.' So that was how it came about." 

A call from the boss. Easy as pie.

Donahue was surprised at the kind of role Roddenberry asked her to play. She confessed that she was a professional, but never delved very deeply into her craft, hoping to land complex characters or dramatically meaty parts. She just showed up on set with her lines memorized and ready to shoot. She had a very lax attitude toward acting, calling it a vacation from being a housewife, and that it was "kind of a hobby." She said:

"I'd never read anything quite like that and had never played that kind of role before. That wasn't what I was known for. I was known for kind of Happy Sam parts or the sweet lady next door, or whatever. But this was different. It was interesting in that respect. And — I hope this will make sense — but I was never an 'actress-actress,' do you know what I mean? I never wanted the career arc. I wasn't seeking a particular role, like 'Oh, this is a nice, juicy role.' It was more, 'Oh, they want me? That's terrific. I feel happy about myself. I'll do it.'"

Commissioner Hedford was different for her, though, and she was given a chance to stretch a little bit. Donahue wasn't looking to stretch, but her willingness to do so left her in the permanent pop consciousness for decades. She continued: 

"...[T]here wasn't anything about the character that made me say, 'Oh, this is nice and juicy, and I need to do it.' I just wanted to do it, period. That [Commissioner Hedford] was a different kind of character, and that people liked and remember the performance, that was just a bonus."

Donahue, now 86, last appeared in four episodes of "The Young and the Restless" in 2011. That's one long-term hobby.