Aron Eisenberg (1969-2019)
September 22, 2019 7:53 AM Subscribe
Best known for playing Nog in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, actor Aron Eisenberg passed away at the age of 50.
As I believe that DS9 Trek is the BEST Trek, this saddens me deeply.
Aron was a wonderful guy, a delight to meet at conventions - he always had time for the fans.
Trek fandom is less without him.
50 is too damn young, kidney issues or not.
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posted by Bill Watches Movies Podcast at 7:58 AM on September 22, 2019 [25 favorites]
Aron was a wonderful guy, a delight to meet at conventions - he always had time for the fans.
Trek fandom is less without him.
50 is too damn young, kidney issues or not.
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posted by Bill Watches Movies Podcast at 7:58 AM on September 22, 2019 [25 favorites]
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posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 7:59 AM on September 22, 2019
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 7:59 AM on September 22, 2019
I was shocked when I saw this pop up on various Trek Facebook groups last night. Never met him, but saw him at a few conventions and he was always so fun and loving to fans.
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posted by Automocar at 8:01 AM on September 22, 2019 [1 favorite]
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posted by Automocar at 8:01 AM on September 22, 2019 [1 favorite]
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posted by Halloween Jack at 8:06 AM on September 22, 2019
posted by Halloween Jack at 8:06 AM on September 22, 2019
Condolences to all who cared for him.
In the documentary What We Left Behind - Looking Back at Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (spoiler for the last season of Deep Space Nine):
A loss. So young.
posted by brainwane at 8:06 AM on September 22, 2019 [14 favorites]
In the documentary What We Left Behind - Looking Back at Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (spoiler for the last season of Deep Space Nine):
he spoke about how moved he was when veterans approached him at cons, telling him that his portrayal of Nog's experience of disability spoke to them and helped them heal.
A loss. So young.
posted by brainwane at 8:06 AM on September 22, 2019 [14 favorites]
McCOY: He's really not dead. As long as we remember him.
posted by Fukiyama at 8:09 AM on September 22, 2019 [5 favorites]
posted by Fukiyama at 8:09 AM on September 22, 2019 [5 favorites]
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posted by Rufous-headed Towhee heehee at 8:10 AM on September 22, 2019
posted by Rufous-headed Towhee heehee at 8:10 AM on September 22, 2019
The disks made from his vacuum desiccated body should be worth at least 10 bars of latinum per disk on the Ferengi Futures Exchange.
posted by Rob Rockets at 8:50 AM on September 22, 2019 [37 favorites]
posted by Rob Rockets at 8:50 AM on September 22, 2019 [37 favorites]
Dammit. He was so great in that role.
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posted by allthinky at 8:53 AM on September 22, 2019 [1 favorite]
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posted by allthinky at 8:53 AM on September 22, 2019 [1 favorite]
Just re-watched his real breakout episode, the one where he asks Sisko to help him get into the Academy. One of the true MVPs of a show full of 'em.
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posted by CheesesOfBrazil at 9:08 AM on September 22, 2019 [6 favorites]
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posted by CheesesOfBrazil at 9:08 AM on September 22, 2019 [6 favorites]
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posted by agatha_magatha at 9:17 AM on September 22, 2019
posted by agatha_magatha at 9:17 AM on September 22, 2019
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posted by Silverstone at 9:34 AM on September 22, 2019
posted by Silverstone at 9:34 AM on September 22, 2019
I've just been watching DS9 for the first time lately, and this adds a real melancholy note to things.
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posted by tobascodagama at 9:34 AM on September 22, 2019 [2 favorites]
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posted by tobascodagama at 9:34 AM on September 22, 2019 [2 favorites]
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posted by VelveteenBabbitt at 9:49 AM on September 22, 2019
posted by VelveteenBabbitt at 9:49 AM on September 22, 2019
Warpspeed, Aron Eisenberg.
posted by briank at 9:56 AM on September 22, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by briank at 9:56 AM on September 22, 2019 [2 favorites]
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posted by Homo neanderthalensis at 9:58 AM on September 22, 2019
posted by Homo neanderthalensis at 9:58 AM on September 22, 2019
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posted by zengargoyle at 10:57 AM on September 22, 2019
posted by zengargoyle at 10:57 AM on September 22, 2019
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posted by cmfletcher at 11:24 AM on September 22, 2019
posted by cmfletcher at 11:24 AM on September 22, 2019
I came back to leave more than just a dot. Eisenberg's DS9 character, Nog, was a great example of how generous the series could be not only to its main characters but most of the supporting characters as well. Nog was in the first episode, but didn't even have a name; he was basically an apprentice thief who was used as a bargaining chip between Sisko and Quark, and for a while was mostly just Jake's somewhat abrasive friend. And then, his character arc began to rise, and he became the stand-in for everyone who not only wanted to have a better life than his parents did, but to defy everyone's low expectations of him. And Eisenberg delivered, being able to flip from Nog being ingratiating to furious to terrified in an eye-blink. It was highly unusual for the Trek franchise to devote an episode to supporting characters (the TNG episode "Lower Decks" is arguably an exception), but Eisenberg made it worthwhile in "It's Only a Paper Moon", which deals with the issue that brainwane mentions above in spoiler-space. And all this time dealing with some really major health problems.
Godspeed, Aron. When you stand in front of the Blessed Exchequer in the Divine Treasury, your books will be in the black.
🖖
posted by Halloween Jack at 11:42 AM on September 22, 2019 [41 favorites]
Godspeed, Aron. When you stand in front of the Blessed Exchequer in the Divine Treasury, your books will be in the black.
🖖
posted by Halloween Jack at 11:42 AM on September 22, 2019 [41 favorites]
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posted by sugar and confetti at 12:05 PM on September 22, 2019
posted by sugar and confetti at 12:05 PM on September 22, 2019
He was at my home con earlier this year. He was unfailingly kind to all of my team that he came into contact with, asking the volunteers for their names, and remembering those names later, asking people about themselves, and offering selfies to those who he discovered in conversation were DS9 fans.
Meeting him enhanced my enjoyment of his work. My team are mourning him today.
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posted by Vigilant at 12:10 PM on September 22, 2019 [12 favorites]
Meeting him enhanced my enjoyment of his work. My team are mourning him today.
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posted by Vigilant at 12:10 PM on September 22, 2019 [12 favorites]
If you haven't seen that old Tumblr post about Captain Nog, it might make you a bit misty today.
posted by showbiz_liz at 12:23 PM on September 22, 2019 [28 favorites]
posted by showbiz_liz at 12:23 PM on September 22, 2019 [28 favorites]
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posted by JawnBigboote at 12:33 PM on September 22, 2019
posted by JawnBigboote at 12:33 PM on September 22, 2019
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posted by dipping_sauce at 12:46 PM on September 22, 2019
posted by dipping_sauce at 12:46 PM on September 22, 2019
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posted by confluency at 12:57 PM on September 22, 2019
posted by confluency at 12:57 PM on September 22, 2019
May he clear his accounts, and may the Blessed Exchequer welcome him to his Celestial Counting House.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 12:58 PM on September 22, 2019 [8 favorites]
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 12:58 PM on September 22, 2019 [8 favorites]
I just imdb'd him literally yesterday to check whether a character in Voyager was the same actor as Nog. I could just tell from his voice. Yes, Nog on DS9 was inspiring.
posted by hypnogogue at 1:01 PM on September 22, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by hypnogogue at 1:01 PM on September 22, 2019 [2 favorites]
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posted by Nat "King" Cole Porter Wagoner at 1:42 PM on September 22, 2019
posted by Nat "King" Cole Porter Wagoner at 1:42 PM on September 22, 2019
Fans have been holding vigils for Eisenberg in Star Trek Online.
posted by riruro at 2:22 PM on September 22, 2019 [6 favorites]
posted by riruro at 2:22 PM on September 22, 2019 [6 favorites]
I'll never get those stem bolts.
🔩
posted by clavdivs at 2:28 PM on September 22, 2019 [14 favorites]
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posted by clavdivs at 2:28 PM on September 22, 2019 [14 favorites]
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posted by Secret Sparrow at 2:52 PM on September 22, 2019
posted by Secret Sparrow at 2:52 PM on September 22, 2019
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posted by northtwilight at 3:28 PM on September 22, 2019
posted by northtwilight at 3:28 PM on September 22, 2019
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posted by The Great Big Mulp at 4:11 PM on September 22, 2019
posted by The Great Big Mulp at 4:11 PM on September 22, 2019
Oh, sweetie. By all accounts he was one of the nicest folks on the trek con circuit in a group with lots of kindness to go around. I didn't realize his age - I thought I'd pretty much grown up alongside him with DS9, but I guess he was older than me. Much too young regardless.
posted by Mizu at 4:18 PM on September 22, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by Mizu at 4:18 PM on September 22, 2019 [2 favorites]
I wanted stories about Captain Nog on Picard, dammit. Yes, Nog will live on in fan-fic, but it's not the same thing.
May the Great River bear him to where he is needed.
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posted by dannyboybell at 4:27 PM on September 22, 2019 [3 favorites]
May the Great River bear him to where he is needed.
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posted by dannyboybell at 4:27 PM on September 22, 2019 [3 favorites]
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posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 4:35 PM on September 22, 2019
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 4:35 PM on September 22, 2019
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posted by Faint of Butt at 5:52 PM on September 22, 2019
posted by Faint of Butt at 5:52 PM on September 22, 2019
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posted by ourobouros at 6:38 PM on September 22, 2019
posted by ourobouros at 6:38 PM on September 22, 2019
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posted by double bubble at 7:35 PM on September 22, 2019
posted by double bubble at 7:35 PM on September 22, 2019
I was so sad to hear about this. From my Trek Tumblr:
Deep Space 9′s Nog is a wonderfully and surprisingly complex character, one of Trek’s best, because he represents what Trek at its heart is all about: the breaking of stereotype, developing of cross-cultural relationships, striving for achievement, and coping with loss and setbacks to emerge on the other side, changed but resolute. Eisenberg’s wonderful performance, which skillfully developed Nog’s nuance and charm over seven seasons, was inspiring and heartfelt.
This is a loss, for sure. My best wishes for everyone in coping.
To absent friends.
posted by ilana at 8:29 PM on September 22, 2019 [9 favorites]
Deep Space 9′s Nog is a wonderfully and surprisingly complex character, one of Trek’s best, because he represents what Trek at its heart is all about: the breaking of stereotype, developing of cross-cultural relationships, striving for achievement, and coping with loss and setbacks to emerge on the other side, changed but resolute. Eisenberg’s wonderful performance, which skillfully developed Nog’s nuance and charm over seven seasons, was inspiring and heartfelt.
This is a loss, for sure. My best wishes for everyone in coping.
To absent friends.
posted by ilana at 8:29 PM on September 22, 2019 [9 favorites]
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posted by UltraMorgnus at 9:12 PM on September 22, 2019
posted by UltraMorgnus at 9:12 PM on September 22, 2019
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posted by DevilsAdvocate at 10:01 PM on September 22, 2019
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 10:01 PM on September 22, 2019
Please tell me there is fanfic of Captain Nog and the USS Jury Rig! I have never seen DS9 (something I might have to rectify) and I don’t usually read fanfiction.. but I would read the everloving heck out of that.
Dogspeed, Captain Nog
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posted by Philby at 1:37 AM on September 23, 2019
Dogspeed, Captain Nog
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posted by Philby at 1:37 AM on September 23, 2019
Damn. My friend just saw him at the Comic-Con DS9 event, like six weeks ago. She took video of the panel and he seemed fine, very cheerful and friendly, although his skin was so tan she actually assumed he was black. In hindsight I wonder if that was a manifestation of his kidney issues. I've heard it can affect skin pigmentation. Poor guy. He really was so damn good on that show. He had more talent than the part initially called for, and the show's creators were smart enough to pick up on that and they wrote him scripts that gave him a chance to shine. In a show filled with compelling characters, Nog stood out.
posted by Ursula Hitler at 2:39 AM on September 23, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by Ursula Hitler at 2:39 AM on September 23, 2019 [2 favorites]
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posted by Ten Cold Hot Dogs at 5:18 AM on September 23, 2019
posted by Ten Cold Hot Dogs at 5:18 AM on September 23, 2019
I tried out Star Trek Online a few weeks ago, and when Captain Nog showed up to team up with my ship, the big ass smile I got on my face is hopefully a tribute Eisenberg would have appreciated.
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posted by MCMikeNamara at 8:48 AM on September 23, 2019 [4 favorites]
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posted by MCMikeNamara at 8:48 AM on September 23, 2019 [4 favorites]
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posted by mmascolino at 11:35 AM on September 23, 2019
posted by mmascolino at 11:35 AM on September 23, 2019
Aron's son is hosting a memorial in World of Warcraft this Sunday (Sept. 29) at 7pm PST. (post on r/startrek, worth reading for his son's memories even if you don't play WoW)
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 4:27 AM on September 25, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 4:27 AM on September 25, 2019 [1 favorite]
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posted by sharp pointy objects at 3:57 PM on September 26, 2019
posted by sharp pointy objects at 3:57 PM on September 26, 2019
In honor of the passing of his friend Aron Eisenberg, Wil Wheaton does this: So I’m Finally watching Deep Space Nine for the First Time.
posted by ZeusHumms at 11:15 PM on September 28, 2019
posted by ZeusHumms at 11:15 PM on September 28, 2019
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posted by KTamas at 7:54 AM on September 22, 2019 [4 favorites]