EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: TOS Guest Star Celeste Yarnall, Part 1

What anecdotes do you remember from the set?

YARNALL: I had barely even seen the show. So, when I had the pleasure of being up close and personal with Bill Shatner and Leonard Nimoy, Leonard scared me to death. I really didn’t understand what Spock was or what it meant, and Leonard would stay in character when they were filming and off-camera. It seemed like he never smiled. I kept going to Bill and saying, “Billy, I don’t think Leonard likes me. What’s wrong?” Bill, playing white-hat good guy said, “Don’t worry. We all love you. He’s just being grumpy.” I later found out, and this might be wrong, but it’s what I was told… My episode was supposedly the episode where they’d hidden Leonard’s bicycle, and he was very upset that he couldn’t find his bicycle, which had been put up in the rafters where the lights were. Also, our episode was one in which there were so many episodes set so close to us that I know that Bill had many years of tinnitus and hearing problems as a result of the explosion being so close to us.

What do you recall of working with Walter Koenig on the episode?YARNALL: Getting to work with Walter and the whole crew – with Bill and Leonard and Walter -- was a very special experience I’ve met George Takei a lot through the years, though we didn’t have any scenes together in “The Apple.” I also worked in that episode with David Soul, and that was his first acting gig. I’ve seen David a few times since, including at a convention just last year. So that was a fun reunion. I actually see Walter and his wife quite often. I went to his Star celebration last year and we’ve been away at various conferences and conventions where he and his wife would be, and so we’ve attended some lovely functions and dinners.Visit StarTrek.com again tomorrow to read part two of our exclusive interview with Celeste Yarnall. Also, click HERE to visit Yarnall’s official site and HERE to follow her on Twitter.