‘Mission: Impossible’ and ‘Star Trek’ Actor Tom Troupe Dead at 97

Veteran actor Tom Troupe died Sunday morning following a decades-long career both on stage and on screen, CBS reports. He was 97.

Troupe, who is best known for his roles in My Own Private Idaho, Star Trek, Cagney & Lacey and Mission: Impossible, died five days after his birthday at his Beverly Hills home due to natural causes, according to a family spokesperson.

A native of Kansas City, Mo., Troupe moved to New York in 1948 to pursue a career in acting after appearing in several local theater productions. Before his career was able to really take off, however, Troupe served in the Korean War, earning a Bronze Star, as per his rep.

Upon returning from the service, Troupe made his way back to New York, where he would go on to make his Broadway debut in a 1957 production of The Diary of Ann Frank. A decade later, Troupe made the move to Los Angeles, where he would go on to appear in more than 70 television roles throughout the 1960s, ’70s, ’80s and ’90s.

Troupe’s credits include The Fugitive; Mission: Impossible; The Wild, Wild West; Star Trek; Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman; Cagney & Lacey; CHiPs; Knots Landing; Murder, She Wrote; Cheers; The Big Fisherman; The Devil’s Brigade; Kelly’s Heroes; Summer School; and My Own Private Idaho.

In 1968, Troupe also co-wrote and starred in Sofi, a film version of a play based on Diary of a Madman.

He also continued to act on stage, appearing throughout his career in The Lion in Winter, Fathers Day and The Gin Game, which also starred Troupe’s wife, Carole Cook.

Cook died in 2023. Troupe is survived by his son, Christopher, daughter-in-law Becky, granddaughter Ashley and several nieces and nephews.

Donations in his memory can be made to the Entertainment Community Fund or the Pasadena Humane Society.