Two guest stars who made brief but memorable appearances in Star Trek have recently passed away.

Ron Taylor was an actor-singer-writer who appeared in two episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine as the space station's singing Klingon chef ("Playing God" and "Melora"). A vocalist from Galveston, Texas, Taylor toured the country with his blues band The Nervis Bros., and had performed with such recording luminaries as Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen, Sheila E., Etta James and many others. He was the original voice of Audrey II, the killer plant in the Broadway version of "Little Shop of Horrors," and also lent his voice to the character of "Bleeding Gums Murphy" on The Simpsons (the Fox show did a tribute to him Sunday night). He made guest appearances in 20 movies and numerous TV shows. Taylor died Wednesday, January 15, apparently of cardiac arrest, at the age of 49.

Benjamin Lum was a character actor who appeared in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Naked Now." Lum played assistant chief engineer Jim Shimoda, who removed and played with a bunch of isolinear chips after being infected with the Psi 2000 virus. Lum was a prominent actor in his native Hawaii before relocating to Los Angeles, where he became an active member of the East West Players. He appeared in TV shows ranging from MacGyver and ER to Seinfeld and Married... with Children. His film credits included "Another 48 HRS," "Black Rain" and "Firetrap." Lum died January 1, of cancer, at the age of 48.