StarTrek.com: René Auberjonois, 1940-2019

https://startrek.com/news/rene-auberjonois-1940-2019

StarTrek.com is deeply saddened to report the passing of René Auberjonois, the veteran stage, television and film actor — not to mention artist, director, voiceover talent, audiobook narrator, painter, photographer and gourmet chef — who counted among his hundreds of credits the role of Odo on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. He also directed eight episodes of DS9, appeared uncredited as Colonel West in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, voiced Odo for the DS9 video games Harbinger and The Fallen, guest starred as Ezral in the Enterprise hour, "Oasis," and entertained fans at countless conventions all over the world. Auberjonois, who was 79, died on December 8, 2019, succumbing to metastatic lung cancer. His son, Remy, confirmed the news.

Auberjonois spent his childhood traveling between New York, where he was born; Paris, where he decided to become an actor; and London, where he completed high school. During his childhood, Auberjonois' neighbors in the Artist's Colony in upstate New York included Helen Hayes, Burgess Meredith, and John Houseman, with Houseman later becoming a key mentor. After graduating from Carnegie-Mellon University, he appeared in plays on both American coasts, acting with the American Conservatory Theater, the Mark Taper Forum and the Brooklyn Academy of Music. His first role on Broadway was as the Fool in King Lear; and a year later he earned a Tony Award for his work alongside the legendary Katharine Hepburn in Coco. Auberjonois also earned Tony Award nominations for Big River, City of Angels, and Sly Fox, all on Broadway, and appeared in dozens of other productions in Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and elsewhere.