Star Trek Actor Aron Eisenberg Dies Aged 50

Aron Eisenberg talks at the fifth annual official Star Trek convention at the Las Vegas Hilton in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Aug. 18, 2006. Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Aron Eisenberg, an actor best known for portraying the Ferengi alien Nog on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, has passed away at 50.

Eisenberg’s wife, Malissa Longo, confirmed on September 21, 2019, that her husband had died.

Longo said in a post on social media that Eisenberg had earlier in the day been hospitalized in critical condition.

“He was an intelligent, humble, funny, empathetic soul,” Longo said in the post. “He sought to live his life with integrity and truth.”

She said her husband “made me (and still makes me) want to be the best human I can possibly be, because he always strove to be the best human he could be. His resilience and willingness to learn was and is an inspiration.”

No announcement has been made as to Eisenberg’s cause of death.

According to his IMDB entry, Eisenberg had 26 acting credits to his name, perhaps most notable his role in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. He appeared in over 40 episodes of the cult series, where he portrayed Nog, the first Ferengi to join the Starfleet crew.

Eisenberg once told Red Carpet News TV in an interview that it took about an hour and a half to apply all the makeup for Nog, which Wired magazine ranked the 51st most important character in the Star Trek universe, just after Captain Willard Decker.

Eisenberg also co-hosted a Star Trek themed podcast called The 7th Rule.

According to the official Star Trek website, Eisenberg underwent two kidney transplants.

“Quite miraculously, Eisenberg spent only four months on the waiting list before finding a match. That match? A friend named Beth Bernstein, who’d seen Eisenberg’s Facebook post about needing a new kidney, offered to donate one of hers to him, and was a match for Eisenberg. ‘She is just so incredibly selfless to give to me like this,’ Eisenberg told StarTrek.com in 2015, ‘that words cannot express my gratitude to her.’”

Tributes

Armin Shimerman, who played a Ferengi bartender on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, shared a tribute, saying that with Eisenberg’s death “the world has lost a great heart.”

Star Trek actor Chase Masterson, who portrayed Leeta on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, wrote, “We are aching and sorry more than words can ever say. Rest In Peace, @AronEisenberg. We will always love you and Nog.”

Robert Hewitt Wolfe, a writer on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, said in a tweet, “Aron dealt with health issues his whole life but never let that stop him from living it to the fullest. He was a talented actor and a wonderful person. He will be greatly missed.”

Author Damon Young wrote in a tweet, “Vale Aron Eisenberg, who gave Deep Space Nine’s Nog a rich humanity.”

The official Star Trek website shared their condolences.