Charlene Polite

Charlene Polite was the actress who portrayed Vanna in the Star Trek episode.

She was born in Ohio and attended Youngstown University in the mid-1960s. While there, she met and married writer Frank Polite. After graduating, Charlene Polite acted in regional theater, including the Pittsburgh Playhouse in Pennsylvania and the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, California.

Polite had an uncredited role in the acclaimed 1968 action film Bullitt, which also featured fellow Star Trek guest stars Ed Peck and Vic Tayback. Her only credited film role was in the 1974 drama Memory of Us, which starred Ellen Geer.

Polite's appearance on Star Trek was her first television work. She subsequently guest-starred on such television series as Hawaii Five-O (in an episode directed by Michael O'Herlihy) and The Mod Squad (on which Tige Andrews and Clarence Williams III were regulars). She also appeared in the 1971 TV movie Love Hate Love, as did Stanley Adams.

Little is known of Polite after her television career ended in 1976 except that she had a second marriage. She died of cancer on 21 June 1999 at the age of 55. 

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Charlene Polite