Bole Passes
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Star Trek director Cliff Bole has passed at the age of seventy-six.
Bole directed over forty episodes from three different Star Trek series.
Born in San Francisco, Bole began his career as a script clerk, advancing to script supervisor (McHale’s Navy in 1964), production supervisor and then director.
Most of Bole’s Trek work came on Star Trek: The Next Generation (twenty-five episodes, including The Best of Both Worlds), Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (seven episodes, including Equilibrium), and Star Trek: Voyager (ten episodes, including Tuvix).
The Bolians (The Next Generation: Conspiracy) were named for Bole.
Bole also directed episodes on shows such as T.J. Hooker, MacGyver, The Six Million Dollar Man, V, Fantasy Island, and Charlie’s Angels.
The cause of death was cancer, and his family has requested that those wishing to honor his memory do so by contributing to a cancer research organization. Bole is survived by his wife, Brenda, a daughter, two sons, and two grandsons.
Thanks to Ian S. for the tip!
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Oh no! Another Trek luminary leaves us. I hope his passing was peaceful, and my deepest condolences to his family.
But I still feel like a twenty-one old, how can this be? “Best of Both Worlds” Part I, original air date, was the episode that brought me back to TNG, after having given up somewhere in the first or second year. Then spent a wonderful summer failing classes (as usual) and catching up on season three, while waiting for Part II and a fall of season four that was just spectacular. Semi-switched to Physics shortly thereafter, inspired by the techno-babble. Tempus fugit, all I can say.
Thanks to Mr. Bole (and all others) for their contribution to my youth, and RIP.
He was my favorite Trek director. He will be missed. 🙁
He will be missed. Very sad. As an aside, why is this site afraid of the word ‘die’?
Yeah, I’ve wondered that too. I “passed” a kidney stone a few months ago but I’m still here.
Winrich Kolbe was always my favorite; sadly he’s gone too.
Cliff Bole was a student of mine when I was teaching flying in the early 1990s in Los Angeles. He was a gentleman and a vigorous, fun individual. I will miss Cliff, but his contributions to American culture will live on in his work.
That’s one of those facts that I’m not sure if I knew or not… if i did, it hits me as a surprise again.
TNG feels like just yesterday… it’s so sad to see these people die.
All the writing is done by T’Bonz, so she must prefer that term. I say die myself… but people have different preferences either personal or regional, nothing wrong with that.
It’s a shortening of “passed on” or “passed away”.