Robert Sparr

Robert Tyrone "Bob" Sparr was a director for American television whose credits include the  Star Trek: The Original Series episode. He started out as an editor before becoming a director. He directed episodes of many other television shows throughout the 1950s and 1960s in addition to Star Trek, including Lawman, Cheyenne, 77 Sunset Strip, Bonanza, The Wild Wild West, Batman, Lassie, and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea.

Sparr directed Star Trek star DeForest Kelley in a 1960 episode of Lawman entitled "The Thimblerigger". Other Star Trek actors Sparr directed on this series include John Anderson, Paul Comi, Richard Evans, Joel Grey, Richard Hale, John Hoyt, Ken Lynch, Joan Marshall, Joseph Ruskin, William Schallert, Warren Stevens, Kenneth Tobey, and Ian Wolfe.

Sparr has directed several of his guest actors from "Shore Leave" in other shows. He directed both Oliver McGowan and Perry Lopez in the 1965 episode of The Wild Wild West entitled "The Night of the Feathered Fury" (along with George Murdock). He also worked with these two actors individually, directing McGowan in an episode Cheyenne and an episode of 77 Sunset Strip and directing Lopez in an episode of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. He also directed Bruce Mars, another "Shore Leave" guest star, in a different episode of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea.

The two 1967 episodes of Batman which Sparr directed featured Julie Newmar in her famous role as Catwoman and Stanley Adams as Captain Courageous. Sparr previously directed Adams in an episode of The Gallant Men. Some of the other Star Trek actors Sparr has worked with over the years include Lee Bergere (on Perry Mason), Anthony Caruso (on The Roaring 20's and The Wild Wild West), Henry Darrow (on The High Chapparal), Michael Dunn and Paul Fix (in the same episode of The Wild Wild West with Anthony Caruso), Roy Jenson (on The Wild Wild West), Jon Lormer and Bill Zuckert (in an episode of The Wild Wild West), Dick Miller (on The Roaring 20's), Julie Newmar (on Batman), Susan Oliver and Bill Quinn (in an episode of 77 Sunset Strip with George Murdock), Leslie Parrish and William Windom (in an episode of The Wild Wild West), Charles Seel (on Bronco), George D. Wallace (on 77 Sunset Strip), Richard Webb (on Cheyenne), and Grace Lee Whitney (on The Roaring 20's).

In addition to his television work, Sparr directed three feature films. His first film was the 1965 musical comedy A Swingin' Summer, which he also co-wrote and which featured Deep Space Nine actor William Wellman, Jr. Sparr then directed the 1968 western More Dead Than Alive, featuring George Sawaya. His last film, the 1969 thriller Once You Kiss a Stranger... (starring Whit Bissell), was released posthumously.

Sparr was killed in a plane crash in Colorado in 1969. TOS cameraman Jerry Finnerman was seriously injured in the crash, but he survived.