Los Angeles (CNN) -- Actress Arlene Martel, who "Star Trek" fans know as Spock's bride-to-be, died in a Los Angeles hospital Tuesday of complications from a heart attack, her son said. Martel was 78.
Martel's ethnic ambiguity earned her the nickname "The Chameleon" among Hollywood casting directors in the 1960s, son Jod Kaftan told CNN.
It gained her diverse roles, including as a Russian spy on "The Monkees" and "I Dream of Jeannie," a French Underground operative in "Hogan's Heroes," a Native American woman in a "Gunsmoke" episode and as a Vulcan on "Star Trek."
Trekkies still lined up at sci-fi conventions to meet Martel and pay for autographs because of her role as T'Pring, the Vulcan priestess engaged to Spock in the first episode of the iconic show's second season.
Leonard Nimoy, who was the original Spock, tweeted his tribute to her: "Saying goodbye to T'Pring, Arlene Martel. A lovely talent."
Martel is also known for two former boyfriends. She was one of James Dean's girlfriends in New York before he became a star, Kaftan said. She also dated actor Cary Grant for a time, he said.
Her acting career began on Broadway when she was a teenager. She was cast as Esther in the 1956 production of "Uncle Willie." She was still using her birth name Arline Sax for her credits then.
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/08/14/showbiz/obit-star-trek-arlene-martel/index.html
