Tom Troupe, star of film like Mission: Impossible and Star Trek, dead at 97

Veteran stage and screen actor Tom Troupe is dead. The actor appeared in dozens of projects in the late 1990s, such as Star Trek, My Own Private Idaho, Cagney & Lacey and Mission: Impossible. Toupe was 97. He died at his Beverly Hills home due to natural causes, five days after celebrating his birthday. The news of his demise was shared by a spokesperson of his family in a statement.

Born on July 15, 1928, in Kansas City, Missouri, Troupe began his acting career in local theater productions early in his life. He moved to New York in 1948 and went on to study acting at the Herbert Berghof Studio after receiving a scholarship from legendary actress and teacher Uta Hagen.

After serving in the Korean War, where he was awarded a Bronze Star, Troupe returned to NYC and made his Broadway debut in 1957 as Peter van Daan in The Diary of Ann Frank.

As he shifted to Los Angeles the following year, Troupe appeared in to appear in dozens of films and TV shows throughout the 1960s, ’70s, ’80s and ’90s. His credits included The Fugitive; Mission: Impossible; The Wild, Wild West; Star Trek; Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman; Cagney & Lacey; CHiPs; Knots Landing; Murder, She Wrote; Cheers; The Big Fisherman; The Devil’s Brigade; Kelly’s Heroes; Summer School; and My Own Private Idaho.

On stage, he co-starred with his wife Carole Cook in The Lion in Winter, Fathers Day and The Gin Game. Elsewhere, he appeared plays with Barbara Rush and Mia Farrow among others.

He is survived by son, Christopher, daughter-in-law Becky, granddaughter Ashley and several nieces and nephews. He lost his wife, Carole, in 2023.