Welcome! As part of its ongoing mission to document the Art and Production History of Star Trek, this site will present technical articles on Star Trek prop and costume authentication - focusing on The Original Series - with detailed photos and episode screenshots to complement the information presented; as well as feature pictorials to showcase Star Trek memorabilia in private & public collections, present rare Behind The Scenes TOS imagery & discuss other topics.
Gerald Gurian is a 40+ year collector of screen used Star Trek memorabilia and a passionate fan of TOS
     
- Star Trek TOS At Auction Part I - Gurian Collection Highlights - Greg Jein TOS Hero Type II Phaser
-Authenticating a TOS Communicator -6 Myths About Star Trek Prop Design -Star Trek 3rd Season Command Tunic
- Design Features of TOS Tricorders -Star Trek Props At National Air & Space - TOS Leatherette Tricorder
- TOS Federation Sciences Dress -Desilu Studio TOS Prop Fabrication - Unreleased Allen/Gurian Prop Photos
- The Beautiful Women of TOS Part I -TOS U.S.S. Enterprise 11' Filming Model - Captain Kirk's Chair from TOS
- Spock Ears -TOS Control Panels & Displays - Mr. Spock's Science Station
- TOS Soundstage at Desilu -TOS Shatner Romulan Pants - The Beautiful Women of TOS Pt. II
- TOS Galileo Shuttlecraft -Greg Jein TOS Cage Laser Pistol - TOS 3rd Season Midgrade Type II Phaser
- Dr. McCoy's Sickbay on TOS -TOS Balok Puppet Head - Captain Kirk "Mirror, Mirror" Tunic
- Greg Jein TOS Hero Tricorder -1992 Smithsonian TOS Cast Video - TOS 1st Season Command Tunic
- TOS "Where No Man" Silver Contact Lenses -TOS Special Effects: The Transporter - The Art of Matt Jefferies
- TOS "Space Seed" Gold Mesh Jumpsuit -Gorn Costume from "Arena" - Rare TOS Behind-the-Scenes Videos
- TOS Stunt Type II Phaser -1993 Bill Theiss Estate Auction - TOS Shatner Command Dress Tunic
- TOS Elasian Royal Guard Tunic -TOS Finnegan Silver "Shore Leave" Tunic - TOS Science Officer Tunic "The Cage"
- TOS Shatner Early 1st Season Command Tunic -William Shatner TOS Tunics At Auction - TOS Shatner Late 1st Season Command Tunic

Saturday, May 23, 2009

Star Trek At The Smithsonian - Lt. Palamas Grecian Style Dress from "Who Mourns for Adonais?"

From February, 1992 through January, 1993; a major exhibition of Star Trek: The Original Series props, costumes and model miniatures was held at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC. This exhibition was part of the 25th Anniversary celebration of TOS, and attracted over 880,000 visitors during its 11 month engagement. It was the first time that the Smithsonian had honored a fictional as opposed to scientific achievement; and, to this day, represents the largest and most significant collection of Original Series screen used memorabilia ever to be assembled for public display.

This eighth in a series of posts on Star Trek at the Smithsonian focuses on an elegant grecian-style dress worn by actress Leslie Parrish as Lt. Carolyn Palamas in the 2nd season episode "Who Mourns for Adonais?" (first airdate Sept. 22, 1967). Created by TOS Costume Designer Bill Theiss; this beautiful, flowing gown is highly regarded as one of the most attractive costumes seen in The Original Series.

The initial article on this historic Air and Space exhibition featured a rare 26 min video prepared especially for the event in which the Original Series Cast and Crew discussed the appeal and relevance of Star Trek. It can be seen at http://startrekpropauthority.blogspot.com/2009/05/special-1992-smithsonian-video-with.html

Today's and future presentations on Star Trek At The Smithsonian would not be possible without the kindness and thoroughness of Randy Holland, a dedicated fan of Star Trek since 1972, who created an outstanding video record of his visit to the Exhibition over 17 years ago - during the Easter weekend of 1992. Mr. Holland, a fan of all incarnations of Trek, expertly documented all of the treasures on display in a careful, meticulous way (even capturing the many descriptive plaques that accompanied the memorabilia) to allow us to effectively travel back in time to participate in this event as if it were truly unfolding before our eyes.

And now, the Lt. Palamas costume from "Who Mourns for Adonais?" ...










Below are some screenshots of Leslie Parrish wearing the costume in the episode ...






A quite interesting anecdote involving this beautiful costume, that many Star Trek fans might not be aware of, is that it was screen worn once again by the lovely actress Leslie Parrish on a different Desilu studios televison series, Mannix, in an episode that aired a few months following the September 1967 broadcast of "Who Mourns for Adonais". Parrish is being viewed through binoculars in the Mannix episode by actor William Windom, who coincidentally also has a celebrated association with TOS for his portrayal of Commodore Matt Decker in the 2nd season episode "The Doomsday Machine" (first airdate: Oct. 20, 1967). Some screenshots of Parrish in the Mannix episode follow. Many thanks to Eric Paddon for his kindness in capturing and sharing these images upon recognizing the Palamas dress; and to John Garrett for his kind efforts that enabled the anecdote to be included in this article on one of the most admired creations of TOS Costume Designer Bill Theiss.