If this isn’t the last interview that Mr. He was in ill health, but on a good day a few months back his assistant called and said he could speak to me. It took me several weeks of old-school sleuthing to track him down earlier this year. Klamer had it for decades, and he sold it at auction for a small fortune a few years ago. Then, the prop was never seen again on the show and it seemed to disappear in a real-world context as well. Klamer’s prop really and truly helped convince NBC that Star Trek could deliver action in addition to thought-provoking ideas, and so they gambled on picking up the show. “The story of the phaser rifle fascinated me and I wanted to be sure we included it in TOS – A Celebration. A message from the co-authorĬo-author Ian Spelling had this to say about the chapter and Reuben Klamer: We previewed the book last month and today we have an exclusive chapter all about the iconic phaser rifle designed by legendary game designer Reuben Klamer, who passed away last week.

Today Hero Collector releases Star Trek – A Celebration, their new book looking at the making of Star Trek: The Original Series.