Actor. He is best remembered as playing Cochise on the television series "Broken Arrow" and Klingon commander Kang on three separate "Star Trek" television series. Born to American parents in a small Syrian village, he came to the United States when he was two years old, residing first in Lowell, Massachusetts, before the family moved to California ten years later. His initial desire was to become a doctor, but he developed a passion for becoming a performer after he began taking acting classes in college to overcome his shyness. He attended Los Angeles City College and received a Bachelor of Arts Degree. During the 1950s, he appeared in several episodes of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents." It was the popular television series "Broken Arrow," which ran from 1956 to 1960, that soon elevated his profile and made him a household name. He was married briefly to actress Jean Bryon (1955 to 1956). He met actress Barbara Eden ("I Dream of Jeannie" television series) while making "Broken Arrow," and they married in 1958. He starred in his own ABC-TV series, "Law of the Plainsman," which ran from 1959 to 1960), playing an Apache Indian named Sam Buckhart who had been appointed as a U.S. Marshal. In 1961, he appeared as Carl in the episode "Night Visitors" of the NBC anthology series "The Barbara Stanwyck Show." He also played in the Biblical film epics "The Robe" (1953, as Judas Iscariot), "The Ten Commandments" (1956, as an uncredited taskmaster), and "The Greatest Story Ever Told" (1965, as Herod's commander). He also appeared as Belshazzar in the movie "Slaves of Babylon"(1953). In 1961, he appeared in the film "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea," co-starring Barbara Eden and Walter Pidgeon. He made occasional appearances on other television shows in the 1960s, including "Perry Mason," "The Fugitive," "Daniel Boone," "Lost in Space," "I Dream of Jeannie" which starred his then-wife, Barbara Eden, "The Time Tunnel," "Land of the Giants," and "The Road West." He divorced Barbara Eden in 1974 and married Beverly Kushida three years later. In 1979, he starred in the television miniseries "Centennial" as the great Native American leader Lame Beaver and played Killer Kane in the 1979 to 1980 season of "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century." He is one of seven actors to play the character of the villain Klingon commander Kang in three different "Star Trek" television series; the original series (episode "Day of the Dove"), "Deep Space Nine" (episode "Blood Oath") and "Voyager" (episode "Flashback"). He provided the voice of Mr. Freeze in the 1992 animated "Batman" television series. He retired from acting in 2001 and died at his home at the age of 91. He was the father of actor and bodybuilder Matthew Michael Ansara. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for both films and television.