“Open the Iris!”

Don Davis who played Maj. Gen. George Hammond on Stargate SG-1 died June 29 of a heart attack, he was 65.

Davis’ final Stargate appearance is in Stargate: Continuum (pre-order the DVD here), the upcoming straight-to-DVD movie. He will also appear in the films Vipers, Woodshop and Far Cry. Back in the day he had stints in MacGuyver, X-Files and Twin Peaks.

He was one of my favorite characters on the show because he was a no-nonsense, humanistic leader with compassion and only went ‘by the book’ 98% of the time which showed he was amenable to innovation and having to break the rules once in a while to get shit done.

Here’s the SG1 Season-1 Profile of General Hammond.

I guess it’s a good thing I’m going to the Star Trek convention in a month and get one last shot at the ST: The Experience at the Hilton in Vegas.

This just came in through open channels, originating from Operations manager and director of marketing Chad Boutte at Hilton:

“Hailing frequencies open. We’d like to thank all the fans and friends of Star Trek, whose constant and amazing support we’ve enjoyed throughout our tenure at the Las Vegas Hilton. As we boldly go into the futures that await, know that we take your love of ‘Star Trek: The Experience’ with us. We share the memories of time spent in the most unique place in the Galaxy, and we carry those memories into our futures with us. Live long and prosper. Hailing frequencies closed.”

The show will end its run at the Las Vegas Hilton on Sept 1 2008.

Bummer. I wonder if this will move on to another location on the strip or just go away? I hope it’s not a sign the franchise is fading away.