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George Samuel Kirk

From Memory Alpha, the free Star Trek reference

"Sam" Kirk, dead on Deneva

Gender: Male
Species: Human
Affiliation: United Federation of Planets
Occupation: Research biologist
Status: Deceased
Died: 2267
Father: George Kirk
Mother: Winona Kirk
Sibling(s): James T. Kirk
Spouse(s): Aurelan Kirk
Children: Peter Kirk
Two other sons
Played by: William Shatner
You may be looking for George Kirk, father of James and George.

George Samuel Kirk was the brother of Starfleet captain James T. Kirk. He was usually called George, but his brother always called him Sam.

In 2265, Sam Kirk saw his brother off when the latter began his five-year mission of exploration in command of the USS Enterprise. Also saying farewell was Sam's wife, Aurelan and their three sons. On this occasion Sam mentioned that he wished to be transferred to the Earth Colony II research station. (TOS: "What Are Little Girls Made Of?")

Sam was a research biologist living with his family on Deneva the following year, when vessels from Ingraham B arrived carrying neural parasites. Many of the colonists, including Sam, were attacked and infiltrated by the parasites. Resisting the parasites' control was excruciatingly painful, but in early 2267, eight months after the Ingraham B vessels arrived, Aurelan managed to break the long communication blackout and get a brief distress call out to the Enterprise. By the time the ship arrived, Sam was dead; his wife died soon after. Their son, Peter, lived and was ultimately freed of the parasites. (TOS: "Operation -- Annihilate!")

Sam's private transmitter was designated GSK 783. (TOS: "Operation -- Annihilate!")

[edit] Appendices

[edit] Background

The corpse of George Samuel Kirk was portrayed by William Shatner with a mustache. This was the only time that Shatner portrayed a character other than James T. Kirk (or Kirk's body being invaded or mimicked by another being).

It is unknown what happened to Sam's two unnamed children; they were not on Deneva at the time of the neural parasites' infiltration. Based on McCoy's comments to Kirk that Peter was the last surviving member of George's family, it appears they died prior to the episode.

George Samuel Kirk was to appear in 2009's Star Trek, where he would have been played by Spencer Daniels. Scenes featuring Daniels as Sam Kirk were filmed, but the character was entirely cut from the final release. The one remaining scene of Daniels playing Sam Kirk, in which Jim Kirk calls out to him as he's driving past him in their step-father's corvette, was altered to change the name of Daniels' character to "Johnny", apparently a friend of Jim's.

[edit] Apocrypha

According to the last chapter of Star Trek: Enterprise novel Last Full Measure, set in 2238, George Samuel Kirk's birthdate takes place on August 12, which is also when Federation Day is celebrated. However, according to "Echoes of Yesterday" in TOS Special 3, George's birthdate was September 7, 2229, and his death took place on April 13, 2267. ("Operation – Annihilate!" originally aired on April 13, 1967)

In a deleted scene in Star Trek (also found in the film's novelization), George, who of the two brothers is treated far more cruelly by their stepfather, is running away from home before Jim decides to take the Corvette — which had once belonged to their father.

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