*SPOILER* Pike does not remain the captain.

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4 responses to “*SPOILER* Pike does not remain the captain.”

1. 

   Kevin Black

   June 6, 2013

   Yeah, dead by 1969.  I think I read somewhere that an injury sustained filming a Western in Italy or somewhere contributed to his decline, but I don’t think you can get a stroke by being kicked by a horse….?

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2. 

   Kevin Black

   June 6, 2013

   Ah, also from the IMDB page:

   While in Spain to film the Chicago Mafia story ¡Viva América! (1969), Hunter was injured in an on-set explosion, suffering facial lacerations from broken glass and powder burns. Later an old friend, a former British commando, accidentally hit him on the chin with a karate chop when Hunter, who knew judo, failed to defend himself in time, banging the back of his head against a door. Then, while on the plane with his wife returning to the United States, Hunter’s right arm suddenly became semi-paralyzed and he lost the power of speech, two signs of a stroke. He was taken directly off the plane upon landing, to a hospital in Los Angeles. He recovered and was released after a couple of weeks. Shortly after signing to co-star with Vince Edwards in The Desperados (1969), Hunter suffered another cerebral hemorrhage while on a short flight of steps in his living room, and collapsed, injuring his head in the fall. It was not known how long he had been unconscious when he was finally found. He died, without regaining consciousness, the following day after surgery to repair the skull fracture, at age 42.

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3. 

   Jennifer Douwes

   June 7, 2013

   That’s sad. Man he had bad luck.

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4. 

   Bill Testerman

   October 20, 2013

   Yeah, he had a really sad later life. I had heard elsewhere that it was not known why he fell down that flight of stairs. Some people say he had an alcohol problem too, so did that factor into it? Several years ago I saw a documentary about Hunter on the Entertainment channel, and in it his son said that he thinks his dad was murdered, although he didn’t give evidence for this on the show. It’s another mystery about Hunter, including exactly why he left Star Trek. I don’t think anyone has ever written a lengthy biography about him.

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