Joseph Ruskin (1924-2013)

Joseph Ruskin, who guest starred in Knight Rider‘s third season premiere Knight of the Drones, passed away December 28 from natural causes at UCLA Medical Center, Santa Monica. He was 89.

Mr. Ruskin was a prolific character actor, appearing in 25 films and 124 television shows in a career spanning 50 years. His notable film appearances included The Magnificent Seven and Prizzi’s Honor. His television credits include appearances on The Outer Limits, Gunsmoke, The Wild Wild West, The Man From UNCLE, Mission: Impossible, The Six Million Dollar Man, The Bionic Woman, Starsky and Hutch, Quincy, M.E., BJ and the Bear, Airwolf, Riptide and Murder, She Wrote. His distinctive voice could be heard in video games and cartoons such as The Smurfs, Duck Tales and Spider-Man, and he was the uncredited voice of the Kanamits in the famous Twilight Zone episode ‘To Serve Man.’

He had roles in four different Star Trek series: Star Trek (1966), Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Enterprise. He was the only actor to appear on screen in all four of the series in question.

Knight Rider fans will remember Mr. Ruskin as Bubba, the shifty manager of The Golden Fox Club in Knight of the Drones.