Nathan Jung Dies: Actor From ‘Star Trek’, ‘The A-Team’ & Many Films Was 74

Bruce Haring
·1 min read
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Nathan Jung, best known for his portrayal of Genghis Khan in the original Star Trek series, died April 24 at age 74. The location and cause of death has not been disclosed by his friend and attorney, Timothy Tau.

Jung began his acting career in 1969 with a role as Genghis Khan in “The Savage Curtain” episode of the original Star Trek.

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From that launching pad, he went on to numerous guest shots on some of the biggest television shows of the 1970s and 1980s, including M*A*S*H*, Starsky & Hutch, CHiPs, General Hospital, Manimal, Riptide, Hunter, Sanford and Son, and Kung Fu.

In the 1990s, he had stints on Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, Martial Law and Burke’s Law.

Jung also can claim to be one of the few actors who worked with both Bruce Lee and his son, Brandon Lee. Opposite Bruce, Jung appeared on a 1969 episode of Here Comes the Brides. With Brandon, Jung played a gunman in the 1992 movie Rapid Fire and appeared as the Bonsai Club manager in Showdown in Little Tokyo.

His other film credits include Kentucky Fried Movie, Big Trouble in Little China, Black Rain, American Yakuza, Beverly Hills Ninja, Darkman, The Shadow and Longshot. He also played Leslie Nielsen’s right-hand man in the 1993 comedy Surf Ninjas.

In his final role in 2016, Jung served as the narrator for Tau’s “Nathan Jung v. Bruce Lee,” a documentary short that recounts his meeting with Bruce Lee on Here Comes the Brides.

Jung is survived by his nephew, Keith Jung.

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