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Merritt Butrick
Born	Merritt R. Butrick (1959-09-03)September 3, 1959 Gainesville, Florida, U.S.
Died	March 17, 1989(1989-03-17) (aged 29) Hollywood, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1981–1989

Merritt R. Butrick (September 3, 1959 – March 17, 1989) was an Americanactor, known for his roles on the teen sitcomSquare Pegs (1982), in twoStar Trek feature films, and a variety of other acting roles in the 1980s.

Butrick was born inGainesville, Florida, and was an only child. He graduated in 1977 fromTamalpais High School inMill Valley, California.^[1] He attended theCalifornia Institute of the Arts for acting, but did not complete his degree.

His first screen role was as a rapist in two 1981 episodes of the police dramaHill Street Blues.

He was cast as John "Johnny Slash" Ulasewicz, a major supporting character in the teen sitcomSquare Pegs (1982), which received critical praise but was cancelled after 19 episodes (one season).^[2] The character was described by one critic as an "apparent (but never declared) gay student."^[3]

WhileSquare Pegs was in pre-broadcast production, Butrick was cast to playDavid Marcus, the son ofJames T. Kirk (William Shatner) and his former lover Carol Marcus (Bibi Besch), inStar Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982). He continued the role in the follow-up filmStar Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984), in which the character was killed. He later appeared as T'Jon, the captain of a cargo vessel rescued by the crew of theEnterprise in "Symbiosis" (1988), an episode ofStar Trek: The Next Generation.

Meanwhile, he appeared in the comedy filmZapped! (1982), the horror filmFright Night Part 2 (1988), and asBarbara Hershey's hillbilly son in the drama filmShy People (1987). He had a variety of guest roles on television series and television films.

He received critical praise fromTime magazine for his performance at the Los Angeles Theatre Center in the playKingfish, in which he played a ditzy, petulant muscle-boy prostitute. It was his last acting role.

Butrick died oftoxoplasmosis, complicated byAIDS, on March 17, 1989, at the age of 29.^[4][5] He has at least two panels dedicated to him as part of theNAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt, both referencing his role as David Marcus.^[6][7]

The 2008 release ofSquare Pegs on DVD included a featurette dedicated to Butrick in which his co-starsJami Gertz andSarah Jessica Parker, and series creatorAnne Beatts, paid tributes to and recounted anecdotes about Butrick.

Butrick'sStar Trek III co-starRobin Curtis offered similar praise on the DVD commentary for that film. DirectorNicholas Meyer, who had directed him inStar Trek II, included a scene inStar Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991), in which Captain Kirk puts a photograph of his murdered son on his desk.

• Merritt Butrick atIMDb
• Merritt Butrick atMemory Alpha
• Merritt Butrick fansite

• 1959 births
• 1989 deaths
• 20th-century American LGBTQ people
• 20th-century American male actors
• AIDS-related deaths in California
• American bisexual male actors
• American male film actors
• American male stage actors
• American male television actors
• California Institute of the Arts alumni
• LGBTQ people from Florida
• Male actors from Florida
• Male actors from Gainesville, Florida
• Tamalpais High School alumni

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