We’re sad to report today that longtime Trek property master Joe Longo has passed away.
Longo worked as prop master on Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, the first five seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and all seven seasons of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
He first joined the Star Trek art department after being hired by director Nick Meyer for The Wrath of Khan in 1982, and later joined the Next Generation staff during development of “Encounter at Farpoint,” the series pilot. He and fellow property master Alan Sims would later trade off responsibility for each episode until Longo left to join the Deep Space Nine team in 1992.
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A few of Joe’s colleagues spoke with TrekCore today to share their thoughts and remember their friend and co-worker.
Michael and Denise Okuda:
Joe Longo was unflappable. Even when a director threw him a curve ball, he’d tackle the change-of-plans with his trademarked droll sense of humor. The rest of us might be running around like crazy, but Joe would remain calm until the problem was solved. We loved the fact that he trusted all of us to make him look good, which in turn helped the show look that much better.
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| A 1999 interview with Joe Longo in Star Trek: The Magazine. | ||
Doug Drexler:
One of my favorite characters on Star Trek was not a cast member, but the prop master, Joe Longo. Hearing of his passing was like an arrow to the heart. I saw Joe everyday for over ten years. He was irreverent, cool, and funny as hell. His laid back demeanor was the same kind of cool that made Dean Martin famous. I loved Joe. When he came into the art department, I would announce him as “That dynamic gentleman of the prop department.”Joe told me an amusing anecdote about his first job at Universal, where he started out with craft services in the 60′s. Not sure what to do with the the young Longo on his first day at work, his boss handed him a broom and told to clean up the soundstage. Joe was determined to make a good impression, and cleaned that danged stage from top to bottom. It was very dusty, and literally filled with cobwebs, but Joe made it sparkle. Unfortunately it was the Munster house, and was supposed to be dusty and full of cob webs! 40 years later and we are still laughing about it! Here’s to Joe, one of the most fun guys I got to work with! He was one of the personalities that made working on Star Trek special.
We’d like to extend our condolences to Joe’s family and friends at this sad time.