Next Generation actor dies of colon cancer

Veteran actor Alan Scarfe, known for his on-screen roles in Lethal Weapon 3 and Star Trek: The Next Generation, has died after a battle with colon cancer.

He was 77 years old.

The British-Canadian actor's obituary revealed that the star companion “passed away peacefully on April 28, 2024…at his home” in Longueuil, Quebec, Canada.

Scarfe was born in Harpenden, England in 1946 and studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art from 1964 to 1966. From there, he performed over 100 roles in theaters around the world.

He has tackled classic roles such as King Lear, Othello, Hamlet, Iago, Brutus, Cassius, Petruchio, Prospero, Cyrano de Bergerac, Doctor Faustus and many more.

The classically trained comedian was a fixture at the famed Stratford Festival in Ontario, Canada, where he performed for eight seasons in the 1970s.

It was there that he met actress Barbara March, who became his wife in 1979 and remained by his side until her death in 2019 at the age of 65.

The couple had a daughter, Antonia 'Tosia' Scarfe, founder of Scarfe Music.

The obituary states that the musician and her husband Austin took care of the ailing actor before his death.

The versatile star also had a son, director Jonathan Scarfe, 48, from a relationship with Canadian actress Sara Botsford, 72.

“I wanted to be a great classical actor in the long tradition of Burbage, Garrick, Kean, Booth, Olivier,” Scarfe said in a 2007 interview with The Sci-Fi World.

“Forty-five years ago, when I started, it was still possible to think in such a romantic and idealistic way.”

In addition to his stage credits and numerous accolades, the actor has made a name for himself in shows such as Babylon 5: The Lost Tales and Andromeda.

He played the role of Dr. Bradley Talmadge for three years in the time travel television series Seven Days from 1998 to 2001, and as Herman Waters in 1992's Lethal Weapon 3.

Scarfe has received numerous awards, including the prestigious Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in 1985 for his work in The Bay Boy.

He also won a Jessie Award in 2005 for his theater work, as well as the Austin Fantastic Fest Jury Prize in 2006 for The Hamster Cage, which was one of his final roles. The actor also won the Vancouver Film Critics Circle Honorary Lifetime Achievement Award.

Scarfe is survived by his children, two grandchildren and his brother.