Celeste Yarnall (1944-2018)

"The number boggles my mind, because my 69th birthday will be July 26. But I don’t refer to them as years. I refer to them as trips around the sun on a big, blue ball. So when you look at life as a trip around the sun, rather than getting locked into the fear paradigm of age or how many years you might have left, my philosophy is that 60 is the new 30. My work is all about anti-aging."
Celeste Yarnall



Celeste Yarnall played Corporal Martha Landon in the Star Trek Original Series episode "The Apple", played with Elvis, Paul Newman, Jack Lemmon, Christopher Lee, and had roles in Bonanza and Men from UNCLE. In 1998, she received her Ph.D in nutrition and worked as adjunct professor at the Pacific Western University (via and via). In 2014, she was diagnosed with cancer. Celeste Yarnall passed away Monday night.

On age:
"Isn’t that just amazing? My daughter just celebrated her 20th wedding anniversary. For me, it just feels like time has been standing still. Time, fortunately, has been kind to me. It’s just been fantastic. I met the love of my life in 2009 and we were married in 2010, and we’re coming up on our third wedding anniversary. So, life is just a blessing and a gift. I’ve been on what I call a celestial Trek, and it’s wonderful that fans of the show keep us (people who were involved in Star Trek) alive in their memories and with their good wishes."
Celeste Yarnall

On NBC Broadcast Standards and Star Trek:
"They were very concerned. They didn’t want it thought that I was spending too much time in this hut with these four or five men. It was explained to them by the producers that this is the 23rd Century; that men and women are equal; there’s no reason for concern. But it didn’t matter. This isn’t the 23rd Century. This is 1967. And this is American TV. So they had some changes made, and some good moments were left on the cutting room floor."
Celeste Yarnall

On the fight scene in "The Apple":
"None of us were singled out as not being capable. I participated in a fight scene. It was very good for the liberated spirit of today’s woman because, I think, we were treated as equals. The show was progressive that way."
Celeste Yarnall



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