The Star Trek community continues to mourn the death of Discovery actor Ken Mitchell. As tributes pour in, we have even more evidence that Trekkies are some of the coolest and most wholesome people. A bunch of fans gathered together for the annual rave on the Star Trek Cruise and performed a Klingon death ritual in Mitchell's honor. And, yes, there's an awesome video of this wonderful moment.
The House of Kor rave is an annual event on the Star Trek Cruise that Ken Mitchell and other Trek actors often played a part in. As such, his presence was felt. Given that he played Klingons Kol, Kol-Sha and Tenavik on Discovery, it felt appropriate for those in attendance to honor him with the Klingon death ritual first seen in The Next Generation's "Heart Of Glory." Take a look at the video of the moment below via @Tyranicus of X:
Last night, I was part of a huge room full of Trekkies who performed the Klingons death ritual to send Ken on his way to Sto'Vo'Kor. This video doesn't really do it justice. It was an incredibly moving scene. #StarTrekCruise pic.twitter.com/yoDWI8N4R0February 27, 2024
I can't express as a fan how much I love this moment and how it played out. It's awesome to see Mary Chieffo, a friend of Ken Mitchell's and one of the first Klingons cast for Star Trek: Discovery, leading the crowd in the death howl to inform Sto'Vo'Kor that another proud Klingon warrior is on the way. It may seem silly to the uninitiated, but this is an undeniably sweet tribute to an actor the Trek fandom loved dearly.
As condolences continue to pour in and others revisit the late actor's past work on Discovery (which is available with a Paramount+ subscription), the GoFundMe supporting his wife and children is nearing its set goal. In mere days, the cast, crew, and fans of Star Trek have raised over $80k in support of the family, which further speaks to their overall charity and willingness to help others.
Discovery will begin its final season in April following a sudden cancellation, and I hope Ken Mitchell gets some sort of tribute. Seeing that he was an actor who had a solid presence in the series across different seasons, it would be great to learn that he had some secret role in Season 5 that hasn't been announced. As of writing, however, it doesn't appear that is the case, so at least a title card honoring his memory would be great.
The Miracle alum passed away years after publicly announcing his ALS diagnosis in February 2020. Though he played Klingons during the early seasons of Discovery, he later returned in Season 3 to portray Aurellio, a human scientist who used a hover chair. The role once again highlighted the show's big emphasis on inclusivity, which was championed by past Trek actors like George Takei over the years. That's just one unifying element for Trekkies, and the same can definitely be said of the Klingon death ritual performed in the deceased star's honor.
Star Trek: Discovery premieres on Paramount+ on Thursday, April 4th as part of the 2024 TV schedule. All the while, we here at CinemaBlend, like so many others, continue to extend our thoughts to Ken Mitchell's family and friends during this time.
