René Auberjonois, the actor known for his roles on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Benson, among others, died on December 8, 2019. He passed at his home in Los Angeles at the age of 79.

Auberjonois worked consistently as a character and voice actor, logging in nearly 230 credits over a 55-year career. He starred in a few TV shows, beginning with Benson in 1980-1986, as Clayton Runnymede Endicott III, the refined chief of staff. On Deep Space Nine he was Odo, a shapeshifting Changeling and space station head of security, through seven seasons in 1993-1999.

Hailing from New York City, Auberjonois was born on June 1, 1940. After graduating from Carnegie Institute of Technology in 1962 he performed with multiple theater companies, landing three roles on Broadway in ’68. Throughout his Broadway career, he was nominated for Tony awards three times for performances in The Good Doctor, Big River, and City of Angels.

After a few uncredited roles, his onscreen career began with Father John Mulcahy, the chaplain and straight man to the comedic doctors in the 1970 MASH movie. This was followed by guest starring TV appearances on Mod Squad, The Jeffersons, and The Bob Newhart Show. He was in The Hindenburg, the 1976 King Kong, and more TV guest spots on Starsky and Hutch, The Rockford Files, Wonder Woman, and Charlie’s Angels.

Auberjonois began the ’80s by starring in Where the Buffalo Roam and provided several voices on the animated The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang. While he was on Benson, Auberjonois loaned his voice to The Jetsons, The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians, and Jonny Quest. In the late ’80s he did voice acting for Snorks, The Further Adventures of SuperTed, and as Louis in The Little Mermaid.

Along with starring in Deep Space Nine, Auberjonois’ ’90s work included Matlock, Batman Forever as Dr. Burton, the Richie Rich TV series, Tracey Takes On…, and Inspector Gadget. He starred in The Patriot in 2000, and voiced in The Legend of Tarzan, Justice League, and Avatar: The Last Airbender.

From 2004 to 2008 he starred in Boston Legal as Paul Lewiston and continued doing TV guest spots on Criminal Minds, Grey’s Anatomy, and Madam Secretary. He also did voice work in video games for Uncharted and Fallout series, among others. In 2019 he completed four film roles, including Windows on the World and Raising Buchanan.