It is only now becoming known that US actress Antoinette Bower (1932-2026), who was born in Germany, has been deceased for several weeks. She died on April 30 in a nursing home in the Eagle Rock neighborhood of Los Angeles, as the "Hollywood Reporter" reports, citing Bower's friend Carlotta Glackin, the great-niece of legendary character actor Edward Everett Horton. Bower was 93 years old. The actress remained in the memory of a broad audience primarily through two television appearances.
Two Appearances That Achieved Cult Status
In the science fiction series "Star Trek", she played the feline alien Sylvia. The episode "Catspaw" from the second season aired in October 1967, with Theo Marcuse as Korob at her side. With her scenes, Bower played her way into the hearts of many fans. As Carlotta Glackin revealed, the actress continued to receive fan mail from "Star Trek" devotees even decades after her appearances. After her death, series star William Shatner (95) has already expressed his condolences via email. Bower was among the roughly 20 women Captain Kirk had intimate contact with over the course of the series. A memorial service for the deceased is planned for September 26 in Pasadena.
Several years earlier, Bower had appeared in "The Twilight Zone". In the episode "Probe 7, Over and Out", which aired in November 1963 in the fifth and final season, she portrayed Eve Norda, a woman stranded on a distant planet. The story was based on the biblical tale of Adam and Eve, as the only other person on the planet was an astronaut named Adam Cook, played by Richard Basehart.
From Horror Films to Charles Bronson
Bower was also seen in cinema. In the 1972 horror film "Superbeast", shot in the Philippines, she took on the lead role. In the slasher classic "Prom Night" (1980), she played Leslie Nielsen's wife and the mother of the character portrayed by Jamie Lee Curtis. In the action thriller "The Evil That Men Do" (1984), her character was abducted by Charles Bronson.
For decades, Antoinette Bower was a sought-after face on US television. Until the early 1980s, she appeared in numerous series, including "Bonanza", "Kojak", "Mission: Impossible", and "Murder, She Wrote". In 1983, she was part of the cast of the miniseries "The Thorn Birds". For three seasons, from 1989 to 1992, she played the friendly Fox Devlin in the Canadian series "Neon Rider", an employee at a ranch for troubled and mistreated youth.
Born in Baden-Baden
Antoinette Alexandra Jane Bower was born on September 30, 1932, in Baden-Baden, the daughter of a German mother and an English father. She grew up and was educated in England. In the late 1940s, she worked for the United Nations refugee organization, which cared for millions of people in Europe and Asia after World War II.
In 1953, she followed her family to Canada. In Toronto, she found employment with the then still young Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, where she wrote pieces and conducted interviews on live television. She gained her first acting experience in 1958 in a TV adaptation of "The Tell-Tale Heart". In the early 1960s, she ended up in Los Angeles, where she received a small, uncredited role in "Mutiny on the Bounty" (1962) - and stayed.
A Second Life Away from the Camera
After her time on "Neon Rider", Bower largely withdrew from acting. About ten years ago, she completed a documentary film about chuckwagon racing in Canada, for which she took on directing, cinematography, editing, and commentary. Previously, she had spent several summers with the participants.
Privately, Bower displayed an unusual second passion. At Santa Monica College, she completed carpentry training, worked temporarily at the home improvement chain Home Depot, and built custom cabinets and bookshelves in her house in Beverly Glen, as her friend Glackin told the "Hollywood Reporter".
