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February 16, 2006
Andreas Katsulas Passes
(Jimmy Akin)
Andreas Katsulas, best known for his depiction of the character G'Kar on Babylon 5, has died.
He was 59.
The cause of death was lung cancer.
MORE HERE.
May he rest in peace, and may perpetual light shine upon him.
(Katsulas is the second member of the Babylon 5 family to die. The first was Richard Biggs, who played Dr. Franklin and who died unexpectedly from a tear in his aorta.)
I must say that my views on Katsulas changed over the course of time. Originally, I didn't like him. I first became aware of him when he was playing the Romulan character Tomalak on Star Trek: The Next Generation, and I thought he played the part in an unpleasing, cartoon-of-a-villain way.
When B5 started, this view was confirmed, because originally G'Kar was an even more over-the-top cartoon of a villain than Tomalak ever dreamed of being.
But this was a fakeout on JMS's part, and he always meant G'Kar to evolve from villain to spiritual leader, and Andreas Katsulas has the range as an actor to be able to make that amazing transformation.
I know that Joe must have told him to play G'Kar in the pilot and much of the first season as a swaggering stereotype, and knowledge of his true range leads me to think that maybe as Tomalak he just got bad direction. Star Trek has always had a lot of wooden, cartoonish acting, and maybe that just what the directors told him to give them.
I'm glad I got a chance to see what he was really capable of.
Katsulas also was one of the few actors in Hollywood to regularly work under massive amounts of prosthetic make-up. (And one of the few willing to do so.) Though he did have parts in which he didn't have latex glued all over his face, most fans know him only through his sci-fi appearances, and his true visage is not often seen.
So in honor of his passing, let's look at the man without the make-up.
Posted by Jimmy Akin in Film and TV | Permalink
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Comments
Don't forget... he was also the one-armed man in The Fugitive movie with Harrison Ford.
Posted by: April | Feb 16, 2006 10:54:28 AM
Rest in peace Andreas. Thank you for the memories.
Posted by: Brent Brown | Feb 16, 2006 11:08:05 AM
That's Tomalak?
Posted by: BillyHW | Feb 16, 2006 11:24:14 AM
G'Kar was my favorite B5 character. Rest in peace, Andreas.
Posted by: Tim Ball | Feb 16, 2006 11:26:00 AM
Don't forget... he was also the one-armed man in The Fugitive movie with Harrison Ford.
I thought that was him! LOL
Eternal rest, O Lord...
Posted by: Jason | Feb 16, 2006 1:02:46 PM
Yep. G'kar was great and so was the one-armed man in The Fugitive. Rest in Peace.
Posted by: Kosh | Feb 16, 2006 3:41:08 PM
G'Kar was great and of course Susan Ivonova..sigh :)
Posted by: SteveL | Feb 16, 2006 5:09:16 PM
Andreas is the THIRD cast member of Babylon 5 to die. Do not forget the marvelous Tim Choate who played Zathras and whose life was cut short by a tragic motorcycle accident. Not a regular but still unforgettable in the episodes he in which he appeared.
Posted by: Michael | Feb 16, 2006 7:11:15 PM
Londo is grieving.
Posted by: Al Kimel | Feb 17, 2006 6:26:41 AM
and so G'kar passes beyond the veil..
'though it take a thousand years, we will be free'
I always thought of G'kar as the Narn Moses.
Posted by: Christopher | Feb 20, 2006 10:07:32 AM
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