Co-Editor-in-Chief, TV
'Beef' and 'Star Trek' actress Patti Yasutake dies at 70 #actress #startrek #deceased #usa
Patti Yasutake, best known for her roles in Beef and Star Trek: The Next Generation, died peacefully on Aug. 5 surrounded by friends and family after a long battle with cancer, her manager and friend Kyle Fritz told Deadline. She was 70.
Born and raised in Gardena and Inglewood, Yasutake was born and raised in Los Angeles and graduated cum laude from UCLA with a degree in theater. She began her career at East West Players, where she worked onstage, on staff, and on the board with the company’s co-founder, Japanese-American acting icon Mako, for six years, performing in more than a dozen shows.
Yasutake made her major feature film debut in Ron Howard's 1986 comedy Gung Ho as Umeki, a displaced Japanese woman earnestly trying to Americanize. She reprised her character in the ABC comedy series that was based on the film.
