Winrich Kolbe, director of nearly fifty segments of the 1980s-1990s Star Trek series, including the two-part final episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, has died at the age of 71. Kolbe, who retired from directing in 2003, had left a teaching post at the Savannah College of Art and Design in 2007, apparently due to illness. His death, noted in the memoriam column of the November DGA Monthly, was not reported by any major news source or Star Trek fan outlet. A family member, reached by telephone on Tuesday, confirmed that Kolbe died in late September but could provide few other details.
TV directors get so little recognition often. I had not idea who this man was but I was apparently familiar with a lot of his work. And the two-part Star Trek: The Next Generation finale is certainly one of the best TNG episodes.