Frank da Vinci

Birth name:	Frank James Vinci
Date of birth:	14 February 1933
Place of birth:	Chicago, Illinois, USA
Date of death:	4 June 2013
Place of death:	Palm Springs, California, USA
Roles:	Background actor; Stunt double Hand double; Voice actor; Stand-in
Character(s):	Brent; Vinci; Additional characters

Frank da Vinci (14 February 1933 – 4 June 2013; age 80) was a Chicago-born actor and stuntman who worked as Leonard Nimoy's stand-in and background and stunt performer on Star Trek: The Original Series. His nickname, according to William Blackburn, was "Buddy." The Star Trek Concordance and derivative works occasionally list him as "Bud da Vinci".

Da Vinci started out as a male model in his hometown, then moved to Hollywood, where he pursued a career in film. First, he worked as a tour guide at Warner Bros. and in the studio's publicity department. Here, he also met actor and dancer George B. Ellsworth, who became his life-long partner.

Da Vinci was a stand-in and double for Anthony Perkins in Alfred Hitchcock's classic Psycho, which was written by Joseph Stefano, based on a novel by Robert Bloch, and featured John Anderson in the cast. Da Vinci's silhouette can be seen in the famous shower murder scene. ^{(citation needed • edit)}

Da Vinci appeared (uncredited) in the 1964 The Man from U.N.C.L.E. episode "The Project Strigas Affair", which featured both William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy, and was directed by Joseph Sargent. A year later, he appeared in the episode "The Secret Sceptre Affair", which also featured Jack Donner and William Boyett, was directed by Marc Daniels, co-produced by Sam Rolfe, and had a musical score by Jerry Goldsmith. [1]^(X)

After Star Trek was cancelled, da Vinci continued to be Nimoy's stand-in for two seasons of Mission: Impossible. He appeared on screen in the first two parts of the three-part episode "The Falcon", as the uncredited character named Sebastian. For most of the two episodes Sebastian was disguised as Nimoy's character Paris (Nimoy actually applied the mask disguise on to da Vinci's face). The episodes also featured Lee Meriwether, Logan Ramsey, Jack Donner, Dick Dial, and Charles Picerni, and the voice of Robert C. Johnson.

In 1975, da Vinci had the silent bit role of the murder victim in the McMillan & Wife episode "The Deadly Cure" which also features John Schuck, Barbara Bosson, Vic Toyota, Robert Buckingham, Len Felber, and Gary Wright.

Da Vinci left acting in the 1970s. Along with Ellsworth, he owned and operated two gay night clubs in Los Angeles. He passed away due to renal failure on 4 June 2013. The same year, the Pepperdine University of Malibu founded the "Frank James 'Buddy' da Vinci and George B. Ellsworth Scholarship", awarded to applicants who empathize service and volunteerism dedicated to improving the mental and physical health of the LGBT community. [2]^(X)

Star Trek appearances

Brent
Star Trek: The Original Series
Recurring character
(uncredited)

Starbase 11 patient
TOS: "The Menagerie, Part I"
(uncredited)

Organian villager
TOS: "Errand of Mercy"
(uncredited)

Sarek's aide
TOS: "Journey to Babel"
(uncredited)

USS Defiant crewman
TOS: "The Tholian Web"
(uncredited)

Vinci
Star Trek: The Original Series
Recurring character
(uncredited)

Hand double for Michael Strong
TOS: "What Are Little Girls Made Of?"
(uncredited)

Eminian guard
TOS: "A Taste of Armageddon"
(uncredited)

Vulcan litter bearer
TOS: "Amok Time"
(uncredited)

Ekosian Reichsführer-SS
TOS: "Patterns of Force"
(uncredited)

Recurring roles

• TOS (as Brent):
  • "The Corbomite Maneuver" (TOS Season 1)
  • "Mudd's Women"
  • "The Man Trap"
  • "The Naked Time"
  • "Charlie X"
  • "The Galileo Seven"
  • "Court Martial"
  • "The Menagerie, Part I" (stock footage)
  • "The Menagerie, Part II"
  • "Shore Leave"
  • "The Squire of Gothos"
  • "Arena"
  • "The Alternative Factor"
  • "Tomorrow is Yesterday"
  • "The Return of the Archons"
  • "A Taste of Armageddon"
  • "Space Seed"
  • "This Side of Paradise"
  • "Errand of Mercy"
  • "The City on the Edge of Forever"
  • "Operation -- Annihilate!"
  • "Catspaw" (TOS Season 2)
  • "The Changeling"
  • "The Deadly Years"
  • "Bread and Circuses"
  • "The Gamesters of Triskelion"
  • "The Immunity Syndrome"
  • "A Piece of the Action"
  • "By Any Other Name"
  • "Return to Tomorrow"
  • "The Ultimate Computer"
  • "Spock's Brain" (TOS Season 3)
  • "Is There in Truth No Beauty?"
  • "The Tholian Web"
  • "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield"
  • "Whom Gods Destroy"
  • "The Lights of Zetar"
  • "The Mark of Gideon"
  • "The Way to Eden"
• TOS (as Vinci):
  • "Mudd's Women" (TOS Season 1)
  • "The Enemy Within" (scene deleted) [3]
  • "The Man Trap"
  • "Charlie X"
  • "Dagger of the Mind"
  • "The Conscience of the King"
  • "The Menagerie, Part I"
  • "This Side of Paradise"
  • "The Devil in the Dark"
  • "Operation -- Annihilate!"
  • "The Changeling" (TOS Season 2)
  • "The Trouble with Tribbles"
  • "Obsession"
  • "The Omega Glory"
  • "Elaan of Troyius" (TOS Season 3)
  • "And the Children Shall Lead"
  • "For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky"
  • "That Which Survives"
  • "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield"
• TOS (as voice actor):
  • "The Conscience of the King" as the voice of Jon Daily
  • "The Lights of Zetar" as the voice of a crewman

Stunts

• TOS:
  • "The Galileo Seven" as stunt double for Leonard Nimoy
  • "The Alternative Factor"
  • "Catspaw" as stunt double for Leonard Nimoy
  • "The Tholian Web" as stunt double for DeForest Kelley

External link

• Frank da Vinci at the Internet Movie Database