(NEXSTAR) – Patti Yasutake, an actor known for her roles in the “Star Trek” franchise and Netflix’s hit series “Beef,” has died after a battle with cancer. She was 70.
Yasutake’s talent manager, Kyle Fritz, confirmed her passing to outlets including Variety and Deadline.
“We enjoyed every day we got to work together, and I will miss her spirit talent and tenacity but most of all her friendship,” Fritz said in a statement obtained by Variety.
Yasutake’s credits included early appearances on TV series including “T.J. Hooker” and “Knots Landing,” though she was probably best known to fans of “Star Trek: The Next Generation” as Nurse Alyssa Ogawa, a character she also played in the films “Star Trek: Generations” and “Star Trek: First Contact.”
“It was really fun when you get the call to come back because it made you feel good that you were probably doing something that they appreciated,” she once said of her recurring role in the “Star Trek” franchise.
Yasutake’s other film credits include “Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot,” “Drop Dead Gorgeous,” “The Wash” (for which she was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award) and the 1986 film “Gung Ho,” playing a role she would reprise in the movie’s short-lived television adaptation.
More recently, she appeared in the first season of the Netflix series “Beef,” in a recurring role as the mother-in-law of Amy Lau (Ali Wong).
“I didn’t think, like I said, after this many decades in the business, that some project like this and a role like this would come along,” she told Netflix shorty after the show’s debut. “It feels deeply gratifying that not only did I have the opportunity to participate in it, and we had such fun [making it], but that the audiences are having such fun — I can’t even describe it. It’s just a thrill.”
In addition to her work in film and TV, Yasutake was a veteran of several prominent theater companies, including the East West Players, with whom she worked for three decades, according to an online obituary.
The theater company is also hosting a memorial for Yasutake, Deadline and Variety report.
