Joseph Pevney | 'Star Trek' director, 96

Joseph Pevney, 96, who directed some of the best-loved episodes of the original

Star

Trek television series, died May 18 at his home in Palm Desert, Calif.

Mr. Pevney directed 14 episodes of the 1960s series, including "The City on the Edge of Forever," in which Capt. Kirk and Spock travel back in time to the Depression, and "The Trouble With Tribbles," in which the starship Enterprise is infested with cute, furry creatures.

He made his movie debut playing a killer in 1946's

Nocturne.

As an actor, he made several other film-noir appearances but turned to directing with 1950's

Shakedown.

He went on to direct more than 35 films, including two memorable movies from 1957:

Man of a Thousand Faces,

which starred James Cagney as silent star Lon Chaney, and

Tammy and the Bachelor,

a romantic comedy starring Debbie Reynolds that spawned her No. 1 hit, "Tammy."

In the 1960s and '70s, he turned to television, directing dozens of episodes of

Wagon Train, Fantasy Island, The Incredible Hulk

and

Trapper John, M.D.

- AP