Science fiction veteran Gary Graham, best known for his roles on Alien Nation and Star Trek: Enterprise, has died. Graham was 73. Variety reports that Graham's ex-wife, Susan Lavelle, announced the news on Facebook. Says Lavelle, "Gary was funny, sarcastic sense of humor but kind, fought for what he believed in, a devout Christian and was so proud of his daughter, Haylee. This was sudden so please pray for our daughter as she navigates through this thing called grief."
Born June 6, 1950, in Long Beach, California, Graham began his acting career with a number of TV guest roles in the 1970s, appearing on a number of series including The Incredible Hulk, Police Woman, and Eight is Enough. He made his film debut in the 1979 Paul Schrader thriller Hardcore, a seamy thriller starring George C. Scott as a man who braves the underworld of the pornography industry to find his daughter. He also made a prominent appearance in the 1983 football drama All the Right Moves, where he played Tom Cruise's brother.
In 1990, after making guest appearances on hit shows like Moonlighting, Remington Steele, and Hunter, Graham landed his first series-leading role, as Detective Matthew Sikes, an LAPD cop partnered with an alien (Eric Pierpoint), on the TV series Alien Nation. The show was a spinoff of the 1988 James Caan/Mandy Patinkin film of the same name; despite strong ratings, the then-fledgling Fox network was having financial issues, and the series was canceled after a single season.
However, Graham and Pierpoint would return for a series of Alien Nation TV movies a few years later. Graham would find purchase in the world of science fiction; in 1995, he guest-starred on Star Trek: Voyager, and a few years later, starred in the 2001 pilot of the prequel series Enterprise as Vulcan ambassador Soval. Although he was not envisioned as a recurring character, Enterprise's producers enjoyed the character so much that he returned for eleven episodes of the series over the course of its four seasons. Graham subsequently appeared in a number of Star Trek fan films, reprising the character.
Graham's other film credits include the H.P. Lovecraft horror film Necronomicon, the futuristic Charles Band production Robot Jox, the Shaquille O'Neal DC Comics superhero film Steel, and the creature feature sequel Jeepers Creepers: Reborn.
Graham also worked as a paramedic, and played in a band, The Sons of Kirk. He is survived by his wife, Becky Hopkins, and his daughter Haylee.
