Patti Yasutake, best known for her roles in Beef and Star Trek: The Next Generation, has died aged 70.
The news was shared by her manager, Kyle Fritz, on Tuesday (August 6).
Yasutake died peacefully on August 5 in a Santa Monica hospital surrounded by friends and family after a long illness with cancer, her manager explained. Yasutake had been suffering from a rare form of T-cell lymphoma.
Fritz told Variety: “Patti was my first client when I began over 30 years ago. We enjoyed every day we got to work together, and I will miss her spirit, talent and tenacity but most of all her friendship.”
Born in Los Angeles on September 6 1953, Yasutake was raised in the areas of Gardena and Inglewood. She later graduated UCLA with an honours degree in theatre.
She began her acting career in 1985 in television, appearing on police drama T. J. Hooker with William Shatner. Yasutake had her major feature debut just one year later in Ron Howard’s 1986 film Gung Go. On this, she appeared as Umeki and it was eventually a role she reprised when it was adapted into a television series between 1986-1987.
She later starred in Star Trek: The Next Generation as Nurse Alyssa Ogawa, a role she reprised in the films Star Trek Generations (1994) and Star Trek: First Contact (1996).
Yasutake’s last TV role was on Netflix’s Beef, a critically acclaimed drama which also starred Ali Wong and Steven Yeun. In this, Yasutake played Fumi Nakai.
Film credits included The Wash, Drop Dead Gorgeous, Blind Spot and Road to Galveston, while in TV she had many appearances on shows including: The Closer, Grey’s Anatomy, Bones, Flash Forward, The Unit and Cold Case.
She is survived by her siblings Linda Hayashi and Steve Yasutake.
You can see some of the tributes to Yasutake here:
🖤 RIP Patti Yasutake
Patti Yasutake, who played #TheNextGeneration’s Nurse Alyssa Ogawa in both the series and movies, sadly passed away on Monday (Aug 5) at the age of 70, after a long battle with cancer.
Source: Deadline#StarTrek pic.twitter.com/LPSGUryhBC
— Trek Central (@TheTrekCentral) August 6, 2024
Farewell to Patti Yasutake — who portrayed Dr. Crusher's trusty nurse Alyssa Ogawa in "Star Trek: The Next Generation," "Star Trek Generations," and "Star Trek: First Contact."#StarTrek https://t.co/cluBcbjfKa pic.twitter.com/GGroC9KRlM
— TrekCore.com 🖖 (@TrekCore) August 6, 2024
Rest in peace Patti Yasutake. I’m grateful we worked together, shared laughter & heard the great stories about your efforts for American East Asian representation and adventures in Star Trek: The Next Generation. May you continue to play in the stars. pic.twitter.com/YzXwJbsB6F
— Andrew Keates (@andrewkeates) August 6, 2024
This scene in #StarTrekTNG's "Suspicions" is my favourite Alyssa Ogawa moment. As a kid, it taught me so much about being a good friend, trusted colleague and decent human being. We've lost a member of the #TNG family. RIP Patti Yasutake, you will be missed! 😢😢 pic.twitter.com/YLFgw2QuZv
— Jörg Hillebrand (@gaghyogi49) August 6, 2024
We are sad to hear that Patti Yasutake – Nurse Alyssa Ogawa in 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' has died. A respected Japanese-American actress of stage and screen, she graduated UCLA with honors in theater. Our condolences to her family and friends. pic.twitter.com/BrDkIXfagm
— TrekMovie.com (@TrekMovie) August 6, 2024
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