(Captain Christopher Pike) In one of the most enduring roles of his career, Jeff stars as the iconic first captain of the Federation starship, the U.S.S. Enterprise, in “The Cage”. This program was the first pilot for what became Star Trek television series (a.k.a. “The Original Series”). Although NBC did not pick up the first pilot, the network did pick up a second pilot starring William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk. Kirk succeeded Pike as captain of the Enterprise in Star Trek canon.
Four photos added 11/23/2023:
Plot of “The Cage”
In “The Cage,” aliens capture Captain Pike when he visits the surface of the planet Talos IV in response to a distress call. The crew of a research vessel that had crashed on the planet many years before had appeared to send out the call. In fact, the call had been sent by the aliens. To return to the Enterprise, Pike has to overcome the aliens’ ability to give him experiences that are illusions. Co-stars Susan Oliver as Vina, Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock, and Majel Barrett as Number One.
“The Menagerie”
“The Menagerie”, the only two-part episode of Star Trek: The Original Series, re-uses most of the footage from “The Cage”. This episode, which aired during Star Trek‘s first season, won a Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation.
In “The Menagerie,” which occurs some years after the events in “The Cage,” Pike has been severely disabled by a radioactive explosion. He is now confined to a wheelchair and can only communicate through “Yes” or “No” electronic signals. The Federation has court-martialed Mr. Spock (Nimoy) for trying to take Pike back to Talos IV. Talos IV had been declared off-limits to Federation vessels after Pike’s prior visit there. “The Menagerie” uses footage from “The Cage” as backstory for Spock’s defense during the court-martial proceedings. Sean Kenney plays the disabled Pike. Regular cast members of Star Trek: The Original Series co-star, including William Shatner as Kirk and DeForest Kelley as Dr. McCoy.
“Without sounding smug, I’ve always felt that you have to be well prepared when old man opportunity comes knocking. I always wanted to be an actor, and so I did everything possible to prepare myself for my career.” ….. Jeffrey Hunter
“Be natural, sincere and honest on and off screen and stage or radio. A good acting job must come from the mind and heart.” ….. Jeffrey Hunter
“He was the finest, most decent man I’ve ever known.” ….. Longtime friend Lee Riordan
“Despite his looks and talent, there was nothing of the snob about Hank. His voice was quiet and gentle and his manners came right out of the Civil War South.” ….. Friend Don Kreger
Jeff Enjoyed a Wide-Ranging Career in Movies…
Born Hank McKinnies, Jeff was a fine actor whose career spanned a wide range of roles:
Also, Jeff acted opposite some of the greatest screen actors of his day: most notably John Wayne – in The Searchers, and Spencer Tracy – in The Last Hurrah.
…And in Radio and TV!
In many 1950’s radio dramas, he showed off his college training as a radio actor. He also guest-starred regularly on TV series, especially during the 1960’s – including a role as a serial killer (!) on the very first episode of the popular series The FBI. During NBC-TV’s 1963-64 season, he starred in and co-produced his own series, Temple Houston, as a frontier lawyer in the Old West.
Many fans first discovered Jeffrey Hunter as the iconic first captain of the starship USS Enterprise – Christopher Pike, in the early days of Star Trek.
His Most Unforgettable Role? How About…
We dedicate this website with love and gratitude to Jeffrey Hunter, whose work as an actor, and whose untimely death in 1969, touched the lives of so many.
There are many excellent resources about Jeffrey Hunter on the Web! In particular, we recommend IMDb and Memory Alpha.
************************ Although we gathered the materials on this website from advertising sources, no copyright infringement is intended. However, if anyone can prove copyright ownership of any materials and requests their deletion, we will remove said materials. Claudia Henry designed the site, with some content carried over from the original jeffreyhuntermovies site created by Jim Lalley and Claudia Henry.
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A two-page biography, with two photos. (January 1984 "Enterprise Incidents", Special Collectors Edition #2)
Pages 1-5 of the entire story of the two-part episode, with many photos! (January 1984 "Enterprise Incidents", Special Collectors Edition #2)
Pages 6-10 of the entire story of the two-part episode, with many photos! (January 1984 "Enterprise Incidents", Special Collectors Edition #2)
Pages 11-14 of the entire story of the two-part episode, with many photos! (January 1984 "Enterprise Incidents", Special Collectors Edition #2)
3-paragraph biography, with a filmography and a few photos. (1985 "The Star Trek Files: Where No Man Has Gone Before", by John Peel)
One-page description of Christopher Pike's character, with a nice photo of Jeff as Pike. (1985 "The Star Trek Files: Where No Man Has Gone Before", by John Peel)
Cast, crew, and detailed storyline of Star Trek's first pilot. 5 pages, with many photos. (1985 "The Star Trek Files: Where No Man Has Gone Before", by John Peel)
Four pages about Jeff's life and his role in Star Trek. Many great photos! Written by Glenn A. Mosley. (October 1996 "Starlog" Magazine)
Very nice article about Jeff's life and his role in Star Trek. Wonderful photos! Link will take you to an Israeli Star Trek fan site. (in Hebrew; by Shmuel Loutaty)
Lloyd Bridges was considered for the role of Captain Christopher Pike in the "The Cage" before Jeff was cast in the role.
In J.J. Abrams' 2009 Star Trek reboot film, Bruce Greenwood played Christopher Pike. In the CBS series Star Trek: Discovery, Anson Mount has played Pike.
When in LA: Jeffrey Hunter's Star on the Walk Of Fame is located on Hollywood Blvd almost directly across the street from the Chinese Theater. It was placed there as part of the initial installation of stars which began on Feb 8th, 1960 and took 2-3 years.