Klingon Original Mask (René Auberjonois)

Collections

Klingon Original Mask (René Auberjonois)

This is the original Klingon Mask from Colonel West (René Auberjonois) in the movie Star Trek VI The Undiscover Country. This latex head has been completely painted and airbrushed with hair attached behind the forehead ridges and braded at the back of the head. Facial hair has been added for eyebrows and a two part beard. Measures approx. 12 x 7 x 11 ½ inches.

In the movie Colonel West presented Operation Retrieve, the plan to infiltrate Klingon space and rescue James Kirk and Leonard McCoy, to the Federation President after the two Starfleet officers were convicted of the assassination of Klingon Chancellor Gorkon. The president overruled the plan, however, choosing to respect interstellar law in the matter.

Later, at the Khitomer Conference being held near the Romulan border, West disguised himself as a Klingon and attempted to assassinate the Federation President. Taking position behind a large window and taking aim at the president with a sniper rifle, West prepared to fire, but missed at the last instant as Captain Kirk pushed the president out of the way. After Captain Spock announced that another conspirator, Lieutenant Valeris, was in custody, West took aim at Valeris, intending to eliminate her to prevent her from testifying, but was stopped when Scotty burst through the door, shooting him with a phaser. West was thrown through the glass and fell to the ground, dying on impact. Examining the body, Colonel Worf noticed that West's blood was not Klingon, and unmasked him, revealing West's role in the conspiracy. The original mask that we present here is the revealing mask used in that particular scene.

West never actually appeared in the theatrical version of Star Trek VI since his scenes were deleted. However, he can be seen on the VHS and DVD releases of the movie, but is not listed in the cast credits at the end of VHS or DVD. In 2009, The Undiscovered Country was re-released on DVD, omitting the West scenes as it was the first DVD release of the theatrical cut. The theatrical cut is also the only version released to date on Blu-ray.

Makeup artist Richard Snell was in charge of the principal Klingon actor's appliances. The designs for the foreheads came from Snell's own ideas and co-workers, but the actors were also allowed input into their character's appearances.

Please check bellow the video interview of make up artist Richard Snell and his work on Star Trek VI Klingon.