Joseph Pevney (15 September 1911 – 18 May 2008; age 96) was an American film and television director from New York City who directed many episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series. Pevney helmed several episodes that are widely regarded as being among the best of the series, including "The City on the Edge of Forever", "Amok Time", and "The Trouble with Tribbles". He is tied with Marc Daniels for the most Original Series episodes directed (when counting Daniels' "The Menagerie, Part I" and "The Menagerie, Part II" as a single production). His directorial efforts on The Original Series won him three Hugo Award nominations, all in 1968, one of which he won.
Pevney was known for his very fast and efficient directing, which made him highly appreciated by the Star Trek production staff, especially Robert H. Justman. His first episode, "Arena" was scheduled to be filmed in seven days (one day extra), however Pevney finished it in the usual six. Justman and Herb Solow wrote about Pevney: "Some former actors become good directors; some become hack directors. Pevney was the former, but more than just 'good.'" (Inside Star Trek: The Real Story)
Along with Daniels, Pevney was made one of the two rotating directors during the second season (with Ralph Senensky filling in, if neither of them would be available), however he left the series mid-season after completing "The Immunity Syndrome", because he thought the on-set behavior of the actors went awry after producer Gene Coon left. (These Are the Voyages: TOS Season Two)
Pevney recommended Walter Koenig for the role of Pavel Chekov to Gene Roddenberry, although he noted that Koenig "has the worst Russian accent he ever heard". (Inside Star Trek: The Real Story)
Pevney was interviewed in the November 1998 documentary, Inside Star Trek - The Real Story.
Career outside Star Trek[]
The son of a Jewish watchmaker, Pevney began his career in entertainment as a boy soprano on vaudeville in the 1920s. He began studying medicine at New York University, but soon abandoned it in favor of his stage ambitions. In the 1930s and 1940s he acted in numerous stage plays, including several Broadway productions. His Broadway credits included the original runs of the controversial Native Son, directed by Orson Welles, Johnny Johnson, and Home of the Brave and a revival of Counselor-at-Law. Pevney also served as a staff sergeant in the US Army Signal Corps in Europe during World War II, making him one of the many Trek personnel with a military service record. [1]
Afterward, Pevney began acting in motion pictures, making his debut in the 1946 film-noir Nocturne. He then starred in Body and Soul (1947), The Street with No Name (1948),, and Thieves' Highway (1949). He ultimately made his directorial debut with a noir film, 1950's Shakedown, starring Lawrence Tierney. Pevney also had a role in this film, but it would be his last acting credit – he began focusing almost exclusively on directing.
In the late-1940s, Pevney was targeted by the House UnAmerican Activities committee because of his connections to several blacklisted artists and participation in several left-wing plays (see above), however he escaped the accusations. [2]
Throughout the 1950s, Pevney directed at least twenty-six feature films. Some of his more notable directorial efforts during this period include The Strange Door (1951, featuring Morgan Farley), Female on the Beach (1955, featuring Charles Drake), Away All Boats (1956, featuring Keith Andes, Hal Baylor, and Don Keefer), the Tammy and the Bachelor (1957), Man of a Thousand Faces (1957, featuring Celia Lovsky), Torpedo Run (1958, featuring Don Keefer), and Cash McCall (1960, also featuring Keefer). After directing Portrait of a Mobster (1961), starring Leslie Parrish, Pevney moved on to directing for television. He would return to features only once when he directed The Night of the Grizzly (1966).
Pevney directed episodes of such popular television series as Wagon Train, Bewitched, The Munsters, ission: Impossible, The Virginian, Bonanza, Emergency!, Fantasy Island, The Incredible Hulk, The Rockford Files, and Trapper John, M.D. While directing these programs and many others, Pevney worked with numerous Star Trek performers outside of the franchise, including Stanley Adams, John Anderson, Barry Atwater, Paul Baxley, Lee Bergere, Whit Bissell, William Campbell, Darleen Carr, Joanna Cassidy, Kim Cattrall, Rosalind Chao, Elisha Cook, Henry Darrow, Charles Drake, Fionnula Flanagan, Mariette Hartley, Sid Haig, Richard Hale, Rex Holman, Skip Homeier, Vince Howard, John Hoyt, Jeffrey Hunter, Robert Ito, Stan Ivar, Roy Jenson, Walter Koenig, Paul Lambert, Mark Lenard, Joanne Linville, Keye Luke, Ken Lynch, Stephen Macht, Arlene Martel, Ricardo Montalban, Byron Morrow, Bill Mumy, George Murdock, David Opatoshu, Alan Oppenheimer, Brock Peters, Robert Pine, Andrew Prine, Bert Remsen, Alfred Ryder, Charles Seel, William Shatner, Madge Sinclair, Warren Stevens, Kevin Tighe, Harry Townes, John Warburton, Beverly Washburn, William Windom, John Winston, Ian Wolfe, and Bill Zuckert.
Pevney worked frequently with his "Amok Time" co-star, Celia Lovsky. In addition to the aforementioned Man of a Thousand Faces, Pevney cast Lovsky in his films Foxfire (1955) and Twilight of the Gods (1958), as well as the "Surprise" episode of the TV series Emergency! (which co-starred Bill Quinn and Kenneth Tobey). Pevney also worked repeatedly with "Assignment: Earth" guest star Don Keefer, with the aforementioned Away All Boats, Torpedo Run, and Cash McCall being three of at least six collaborations.
In addition, Pevney worked with composer Leonard Rosenman on the Alfred Hitchcock Presents episode "One of the Family," which featured Kathryn Hays. Pevney and Rosenman had previously collaborated on two films released in 1960: The Crowded Sky and The Plunderers. Pevney also produced the latter film.
Pevney retired in the 1980s, having directed over 35 films and hundreds of television episodes. He died of age-related causes at his home in Palm Desert, California. He is survived by his wife, Margo; his two sons, Jay and Joel; and his daughter, Jan. [3] [4]
Star Trek credits[]
- TOS:
- DS9: "Trials and Tribble-ations" (archive footage, uncredited)
Hugo Awards[]
The following Hugo Award win and nominations were received by Pevney as director in the category Best Dramatic Presentation,
- 1968 Hugo Award for the episode "The City on the Edge of Forever", shared with Harlan Ellison
- 1968 Hugo Award nomination for the episode "The Trouble with Tribbles", shared with David Gerrold
- 1968 Hugo Award nomination for the episode "Amok Time", shared with Theodore Sturgeon