Star Trek and Mission: Impossible star Tom Troupe has died aged 97, his family confirmed on Sunday. 

The actor passed away at his home in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California from natural causes on July 20 – just five days after his birthday.

He is survived by his son Christopher Troupe, daughter-in-law Becky Coulter, granddaughter Ashley Troupe and several nieces and nephews.

Troupe was married to Sixteen Candles actress Carole Cook from 1964 until her death from heart failure at the age of 98 in 2023.

Instead of flowers, requests for donations have been made to either the Entertainment Community Fund or the Pasadena Humane Society.

The actor was born on July 15, 1928, in North Kansas City, Missouri.

Star Trek and Mission: Impossible star Tom Troupe has died aged 97, his family have confirmed

Some of his most notable acting credits included playing David Day in the Mission: Impossible TV series in 1967 (pictured)

He moved to New York in 1948, and studied at the Herbert Berghof Studio in Manhattan in the early 1950s, after he was given a scholarship from the late Reversal of Fortune actress-and-teacher, Uta Hagen.

Troupe served in the Korean War – which was fought from 1950 until 1953 – and was awarded a Bronze Star for his service.

He married his first wife Sally Singer on June 5, 1955. The couple welcomed son Christopher before divorcing in 1962. 

Singer, who passed away on January 29, 2012, in La Jolla, California, was an established screen actor in her own right with roles in Fanny Hill Meets Lady Chatterley, Robert Montgomery Presents , and Have Gun – Will Travel.  

After serving in the war, Troupe returned to New York and made his Broadway debut as Peter van Daan in 1957’s The Diary of Anne Frank, which also starred Joseph Schildkraut and Gusti Huber.

The following year, Troupe moved to Los Angeles, California, where he landed dozens of top film and TV acting jobs during the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.

Some of his most notable acting credits included playing David Day in the Mission: Impossible TV series, as well as being cast as Lieutenant Matthew Harold in the Star Trek TV series, both in 1967.

Troupe also appeared in The Fugitive, The Wild, Wild West, Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, Cagney and Lacey, CHiPs, Knots Landing and Murder She Wrote. 

Troupe was famously cast as Lieutenant Matthew Harold in the Star Trek TV series, also in 1967 (pictured)

He was married to Sixteen Candles actress Carole Cook from 1964 until her death from heart failure at the age of 98 in 2023 (pictured together in 2016)

The actor passed away at his home in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles , California from natural causes on July 20 – just five days after his birthday (pictured in 1978)

Further credits include Cheers, The Big Fisherman, The Devil’s Brigade, Kelly’s Heroes, Summer School and My Own Private Idaho.

On stage, he co-starred alongside Carole – who along with Troupe was honoured with the 2002 Los Angeles Ovation Award for Career Achievement – in The Lion in Winter, Fathers Day and The Gin Game.

He also co-wrote a one-actor play called The Diary of a Madman. 

Troupe also co-founded The Faculty, a Los Angeles-based acting school, alongside Charles Nelson Reilly, Lu Leonard, John Erman, and Dom DeLuise.