Kermit Murdock

Kermit Murdock was the actor who appeared in the Star Trek: The Original Series episode, playing the prosecutor in Sarpeidon's past.

Among the other television series on which he has appeared include The Defenders, The Nurses, The Mod Squad, Mary Tyler Moore, and Kung Fu. He was also a regular on the long-running soap opera The Edge of Night, playing "Judge Nelson R. Ramsey" from 1965 through 1968.

In 1969, he appeared in the made-for-TV movie The World Is Watching, co-starring fellow TOS guest actor Steve Ihnat. Two years later, he appeared in the TV movie The Priest Killer with Anthony Zerbe and Peter Brocco, and in 1974, he appeared with Keith Carradine, Ed Lauter, and Fionnula Flanagan in The Godchild, a TV Western movie. In 1976, he co-starred with Star Trek alumni John de Lancie, Cliff DeYoung, Richard Herd, and Bill Quinn in the TV mini-series Captains and the Kings.

Murdock has only a few films to his credit, all of which are widely acclaimed classics. He made his film debut in the 1967 Oscar-winning drama In the Heat of the Night, which also featured Clegg Hoyt, Alan Oppenheimer, and William Schallert in the cast. This was followed by a role in 1970's On a Clear Day You Can See Forever. In 1971, he made his final film appearance with a supporting role in the 1971 science fiction classic The Andromeda Strain, directed by Robert Wise.

Murdock passed away in New Jersey at the age of 72.