Patty Yasutake, best known for playing Nurse Alyssa Ogawa on Star Trek Generations, has died at the age of 70 after a long struggle with a rare form of T-cell lymphoma. Her longtime manager Kyle Fritz told publications like People and The Hollywood Reporter that she died on Monday, August 5, at UCLA Santa Monica Medical Center.
“Patty was my first client when I started 30 years ago,” he said in a statement to THR. “We enjoyed every day of working together and I will miss her spirit, talent and tenacity, but most of all her friendship.”
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Born in LA on September 6, 1953, Yasutake grew up in Gardena and Inglewood. She earned a degree in theater from UCLA and never stopped acting. She began her career with the theater company East West Players, where she worked with Oscar-nominated Japanese American actor Mako, who later became her co-star in The Wash for six years.
Yasutake later became a theater director and helped develop and stage world premieres for East West Players (Dawball), Richmond Shepherd Theatre (The Single Man) and Ensemble Studio Theatre (Father, I Must Have Rice). She also directed workshop productions at the Mark Taper Forum, Arizona Theatre Company, LA Theatre Center and the Geffen Playhouse.
Yasutake’s Hollywood career includes a memorable role in Ron Howard’s 1986 comedy film Gung Ho, an ABC spinoff of the film that lasted just nine episodes between 1986 and 1987, Drop Dead Gorgeous, Blind Spot, Road to Galveston, etc.
Most recently, Yasutake appeared as Fumi Nakai in the hit Netflix limited series Beef, which won the award for Best Limited Series at the 2024 Golden Globes.
Yasutake’s survivors include her siblings Linda and Steven. A memorial service for the late actress will be held at East West Players on Aug. 25 from 1 to 3 p.m. Donations may be made to the theater company in her memory.
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