Antoinette Bower, the German-born British actress best known for playing the catlike alien Sylvia in Star Trek: The Original Series and appearing in The Twilight Zone, has died at the age of 93.
Death Confirmed by Friend
Her death was confirmed by her friend, Carlotta Glackin, who is the great niece of Golden Age actor Edward Everett Horton. Bower died on April 30 in an Eagle Rock retirement home in Los Angeles, Glackin told The Hollywood Reporter.
Career Spanning Four Decades
Bower's career began in television in 1958 when she moved to Canada to pursue acting. Her earliest roles included the made-for-TV film The Telltale Heart and an episode of The Unforeseen. In the late 1950s, she scored a recurring role in Hudson's Bay and featured in episodes of Heritage in 1960. That year, she also wrote, produced, and narrated an hour-long profile of actor Barry Morse for CBC Radio.
American Television Breakthrough
Bower landed her first American series role in a 1961 episode of Hong Kong, after which she frequently appeared on the small screen in the States. Her credits included major projects such as Columbo, Murder, She Wrote, and the mini-series The Thorn Birds. She played Sylvia in Star Trek: The Original Series season 2 episode Catspaw, filming her scenes in 1967.
Film Career
Branching out into film over the next two decades, Bower featured in Death of Innocence (1971), Die Sister, Die! (1978), The Cowboy and the Ballerina (1984), The Evil That Men Do (1984), and Club Paradise (1986). She also starred alongside Jamie Lee Curtis in the 1980 mystery slasher film Prom Night.
Return to Canada
In a full-circle moment, Bower completed her lengthy performing career by returning to Canada and joining the cast of Neon Rider for three seasons from 1990 to 1993.
