Sad news to report today: Barry Dennen passed away yesterday at the age of 79. Mr. Dennen was best known to film fans as Pontius Pilate in Jesus Christ Superstar and for a small role in The Shining... but Wing Commander fans will likely remember him first as the voice of Chancellor Melek in Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom. Melek appears during the game's Pasqual series, teaming up with Colonel Blair and the crew of the Intrepid for a three-mission storyline that has the player fight alongside the Kilrathi for the first time. Dennen replaced Tim Curry in the role, who voiced Melek in the previous game; special effects expert Christopher Bergschneider performed the Melek creature in the game. While the revised look for the physical Kilrathi did not recieve high marks from Wing Commander fans, Dennen's expert voicework was above reproach. Lines like "you are suggesting high-tech payback?" remain familiar favorites today. You can view all of Dennen's scenes from the game in our Holovid index here. His full obituary is online here.
Follow or Contact Us