George Murdock

George Murdock, was an actor who portrayed "God" in and Admiral J.P. Hanson in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes  and.

In the pre-production of, director William Shatner had originally planned to cast Murdock for the role of Korrd, but when Charles Cooper read for the role, Murdock was recast for the role of 'God.' Shatner described the scenario as "a rather strange way of finding the right roles, but it worked out perfectly." (Captain's Log: William Shatner's Personal Account of the Making of Star Trek V: The Final Frontier)

Murdock is probably best known by fans for two recurring roles, as Lt. Ben Scanlon, the acerbic Internal Affairs officer on Barney Miller and the overstressed and bitter Dr. Salik on the original Battlestar Galactica.

He was one of several Star Trek stars to appear in the 1992 television movie Grand Tour: Disaster in Time. Others included Lori Lively, Nicholas Guest, Emilia Crow, Time Winters and Mimi Craven. Murdock died of cancer at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank on 30 April 2012. He was 81.