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On April 26, the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN) held its biggest fundraising event of the year, PanCAN PurpleStride, the ultimate walk to end pancreatic cancer.

Nicholas Nissen, MD, joined Star Trek actor and 21 year pancreatic cancer survivor, Kitty Swink, at PanCAN PurpleStride 2025 in Los Angeles with Lisa Niemi Swayze,

PanCAN PurpleStride took place nationwide in nearly 60 cities as survivors, supporters, celebrities and special guests walked in solidarity to raise awareness and much-needed funds for pancreatic cancer, one of the world’s deadliest forms of cancer. It is the number one way PanCAN raises funds to fuel its mission and the dollars raised change the lives of people facing pancreatic cancer and advance progress against the disease. Nearly 63,000 people across the country attended, raising nearly $16.5 million towards fighting the disease.

Pancreatic cancer remains the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States and is on track to become the second leading cause.

This past Saturday, April 26, the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN) held its biggest fundraising event of the year, PanCAN PurpleStride, the ultimate walk to end pancreatic cancer. Days of our Lives cast members created their own team to honor the legacy of the late Drake Hogestyn.

PanCAN PurpleStride

PanCAN PurpleStride took place nationwide in nearly 60 cities as survivors, supporters, celebrities, and special guests walked in solidarity to raise awareness and much-needed funds for pancreatic cancer, one of the world’s deadliest forms of cancer. It is the number one way PanCAN raises funds to fuel its mission, and the dollars raised change the lives of people facing pancreatic cancer and advance progress against the disease. Nearly 63,000 people attended across the country, raising nearly $16.5 million towards fighting the disease.

At PurpleStride Los Angeles, Daytime TV stars Martha Madison from Days and many of the Days’ cast members formed their own PurpleStride team,...

Numerous actors appeared in several of the series that followed Star Trek: The Original Series, among them Majel Barrett-Roddenberry, Jonathan Frakes, Vaughn Armstrong, Randy Oglesby, Steve Rankin, Tim Russ, Clint Howard, Armin Shimerman, and Lee Arenberg. And a few guest-starred in The Original Series And several of the shows that followed, including Barrett-Roddenberry, Howard, and the late Joseph Ruskin.

Ruskin’s direct association with Star Trek spanned from 1968 to 2001, as he appeared on Tos, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise, as well as two video games and the feature film, Star Trek: Insurrection. His first appearance, as Galt in the second-season Tos episode “The Gamesters of Triskelion,” was probably his most famous outing. He also played a Klingon, Tumek, in the DS9 installments “The House of Quark” and “Looking for par’Mach in All the Wrong Places,” a Cardassian in the DS9 hour “Improbable Cause,” a Vulcan in Voyager’s “Gravity,...

Star Trek actors Jonathan Frakes, Armin Shimerman, Kitty Swink, and John Billingsley, along with Juan Carlos Coto, brother of Manny Coto, the late Star Trek: Enterprise writer, showrunner, and executive producer, will once again join forces in support of PurpleStride Los Angeles. The annual walk, to be held on April 26, is part of a larger national effort called PanCAN PurpleStride, which aims to end pancreatic cancer and raise awareness of the disease. PanCAN stands for the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.

Pancreatic cancer has hit home for several of the Star Trek figures mentioned above. Swink is something of a miracle story, as she is a 21-year survivor of the frequently deadly disease. She guest starred in two Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episodes, playing Rozahn in “Sanctuary” and Luaran in “Tacking Into the Wind.” Fans also know her as a frequent convention attendee, with her table always next to that of DS9’s Quark,...

The current spate of California blazes has made the memorable Star Trek Generations line of dialogue, “They say time is the fire in which we burn” truer than ever. The line, spoken by Malcolm McDowell’s villainous character Soran and inspired by the Delmore Schwartz poem “Calmly We Walk through This April’s Day,” hits home now as Star Trek actors, including Denise Crosby and Kate Mulgrew, share the real-life toll of the disasters on them and their loved ones.

Crosby, who played Tasha Yar and Sela on Star Trek: The Next Generation, took to X, formerly Twitter, on January 8 to reveal that her Spanish cottage in Pacific Palisades, California, fell victim to the fires. “Yesterday morning I had a beautiful Spanish cottage that gave me endless joy, where I met my husband and raised my son,” she wrote. “The only house I’ve ever owned, with fruit trees I grew,...

Star Trek is considering a 2-hour movie format for future projects, potentially exploring canceled series like Star Trek: Legacy. Jonathan Frakes suggests positive energy around the Section 31 movie opens up possibilities for more 2-hour Star Trek projects. Fans hope for a Star Trek: Legacy spinoff, but a potential streaming movie may have limitations in fully exploring its potential.

Jonathan Frakes suggests that the 2-hour format for Star Trek on Paramount+ is now "on the table", but could this mean Star Trek: Picard's proposed spinoff, Star Trek: Legacy, might become a 2-hour streaming movie? Star Trek: Picard season 3 was a huge success both critically and with audiences for reuniting and wrapping up the stories of the Star Trek: The Next Generation cast while setting up an exciting future for the USS Enterprise-g led by Captain Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan), However, despite passionate fan demand, there is no greenlight for...

Michael Dorn wanted to kill Quark, not Sneed, in Star Trek: Picard season 3, but Armin Shimerman shut down the idea. Michael and Armin are friends in real life, making the request to kill Quark surprising to him. Listen to TrekMovie's All Access Star Trek podcast to hear more from Shimerman, Kitty Swink, and Jonathan Frakes about this funny Trek tidbit.

Captain Worf (Michael Dorn) killed the Ferengi named Sneed (Aaron Stanford) in Star Trek: Picard season 3, but Armin Shimerman says it was Quark who Dorn wanted to kill instead. Dorn and Shimerman starred together in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine seasons 4-7. Although the Klingon warrior never liked the Ferengi bartender, in real life, Michael is good friends with Armin and his wife, Kitty Swink - which is why Dorn's request for Worf to murder Quark caught Shimerman off guard.

Appearing on TrekMovie's All Access Star Trek podcast to promote...

Virtual Trek Con 5 is an online convention that brings the Star Trek convention experience to fans on YouTube for free in February. The event features several days of events, games, live panels, and the 3rd annual LLAPy Awards, the only Star Trek awards show voted on by fans. The convention includes appearances from major Star Trek names such as Jonathan Frakes, Walter Koenig, Nana Visitor, and Denise Crosby, among others.

Virtual Trek Con 5, Star Trek's biggest online convention from the minds behind The 7th Rule podcast, is back in February with huge events and Star Trek guest stars. Star Trek conventions take place all over the world each year, with the biggest being August's annual Creation convention in Las Vegas, dubbed Stlv: Trek 2 Vegas this year. However, The 7th Rule's producers and co-hosts Cirroc Lofton of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Ryan T. Husk, with Malissa Longo and their team,...

Jonathan Frakes is not only a Star Trek legend who is doing career-best work portraying Captain William T. Riker in Star Trek: Picard season 3, but he is also a crusader for pancreatic cancer research.

On April 29th, Frakes will march in PanCAN PurpleStride, which is raising money for pancreatic cancer research. Frakes is part of Trek Against Pancreatic Cancer along with Star Trek colleagues Armin Shimerman, Kitty Swink, and John Billingsley. Trek Against Pancreatic Cancer is hoping to raise $90,000 for pancreatic cancer research, a cause that is very personal to Jonathan Frakes. You can register and donate to Trek Against Pancreatic Cancer here.

Related: Star Trek: Picard's 3 Massive Enterprise Reveals Explained

Screen Rant had the absolute pleasure to sit down with Jonathan Frakes to get the word out on PanCAN PurpleStride and Trek Against Pancreatic Cancer. Of course, we also discussed all things Star Trek, from the phenomenal success of...

Star Trek veteran Jonathan Frakes is teaming up with some other franchise luminaries to continue the fight against pancreatic cancer. Frakes, along with Armin Shimerman, who played Quark for seven seasons on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and Shimernan's wife Kitty Swink, who guest starred on DS9, are coming together to raise funds and awareness for pancreatic cancer research. Star Trek: Enterprise star John Billingsley is also joining the effort, dubbed Trek Against Pancreatic Cancer.

Fans can donate and register for associated events at PanCAN PurpleStride's website here. PurpleStride 2023 will take place in Los Angeles and 59 other communities around the United States on April 29th. Frakes has appealed to the generosity, empathy, and progressive thinking of Star Trek fans in his crusade against pancreatic cancer. This is the third time Frakes, Shimerman, and Swink's Trek Against Pancreatic Cancer will walk at PanCAN PurpleStride.

How Pancreatic Cancer Has Affected The Star Trek...

Today, the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN) announced that Jonathan Frakes, Armin Shimerman (“Deep Space Nine”) and Kitty Swink – a 19-year pancreatic cancer survivor (“Deep Space Nine”) – are reuniting team “Trek Against Pancreatic Cancer” for PanCAN PurpleStride, the ultimate walk to end pancreatic cancer.

Star Trek's Jonathan Frakes, Kitty Swink and Armin Shimerman have come together to fundraise for PanCAN PurpleStride

The event takes place on Saturday, April 29, 2023, in Los Angeles and in 59 other communities nationwide. The team is calling on their fans and everyone across the country to join them in the fight to end the disease. PanCAN PurpleStride is the number one way PanCAN raises funds to fuel its mission and the dollars raised change the lives of people facing pancreatic cancer and advance progress against the disease.

This is the third year in a row that Frakes, Shimerman, and Swink have participated in PanCAN PurpleStride. The...

The Antaeus Company, one of Los Angeles' preeminent theaters, has been undergoing upheaval for the past two weeks, as a group of company members has ousted its artistic director from office. At the end of June, Jeanie Hackett was voted out of her leadership position after eight years and given the afternoon to clear her belongings from her desk at the theater in North Hollywood. Whether this giant of a company will retain its earthly footing is now in the hands of its new leadership. Company members Kitty Swink and Bill Brochtrup, who had been the associate artistic directors, are serving as co–artistic directors.In its 20-year history, the classical theater ensemble has attracted some of the city's great talents to its ranks. Many of its actors are well known onscreen and in theaters nationwide, and some of the city's finest directors and designers have given their artistry to Antaeus productions.

Jonathan Frakes is best known for playing Commander William T. Riker on Star Trek: The Next Generation. During his seven seasons, he directed several episodes and went on to helm episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Enterprise, Star Trek: Voyager, Diagnosis: Murder, and Roswell.

For TV, Frakes has also directed two Librarian movies with Noah Wylie and Bob Newhart -- Return to King Solomon's Mines and The Curse of the Judas Chalice. On the big screen, he's done Star Trek: Insurrection, Star Trek: First Contact, Thunderbirds, and Clockstoppers.

Frakes' most recent project is TNT's Leverage that features the talents of Timothy Hutton, Gina Bellman, Christian Kane, Beth Riesgraf, and Aldis Hodge. It's a Star Trek reunion with Brent Spiner, Armin Shimerman, and Kitty Swink guest starring.

In this audio interview, Frakes talks about directing his second episode of Leverage, the Next Generation cast's upcoming appearance on Family Guy,...

When Star Trek's Jonathan Frakes signed on to direct an episode of TNT's Leverage, he agreed to helm one of the drama's most complex episodes yet: one where Timothy Huttons team of cons for good causes help upset an attempt to rig a trial.

But Frakes also beamed in a few friends to turn the set into a mini-Star Trek convention, recruiting The Next Generation's Brent Spiner and Deep Space Nine's Armin Shimmerman and Kitty Swink for key roles.

The once-and-perhaps future Commander Riker also hinted about the possibility of getting involved with J.J. Abrams' reboot of the Star Trek franchise, and his acting role on the soon-to-be scheduled Fox drama Persons Unknown, from The Usual Suspects and Valkyrie writer Christopher McQuarrie. And intelligent guy that he is, he took a moment to praise his wife, Genie Francis, for her recent performance in the Hallmark Channel's...

Over 130 stars have weighed in on the SAG strike authorization, coming out firmly against. Citing the economy, the A-listers “strongly” urged SAG members not to authorize a strike, and instead “take the high road … unite with our brothers and sisters in the entertainment community and … three years down the line … make a great deal” when all the union contracts expire roughly simultaneously.

Finally, we’re hearing from the A-listers, and it may be enough to pull SAG back from the brink. Meanwhile SAG Board members in NY and Chicago came out against the authorization over the weekend.

In addition, SAG President Alan Rosenberg was forced to cancel the emergency in-person National Board meeting he had scheduled for this Friday, after SAG activists pointed out in the strongest terms that Rosenberg had no right under the SAG constitution or state law to require that the meeting be in person, rather than by videoconference.