Patti Yasutake, a regular on Beef , who also played the role of Nurse Alyssa Ogawa on Star Trek: The Next Generation , died of cancer on Aug. 5, in Santa Monica. She was 70.
“Patti was my first client when I began over 30 years ago. We enjoyed every day we got to work together, and I will miss her spirit talent and tenacity but most of all her friendship,” her manager Kyle Fritz said. Yasutake portrayed George’s mother Fumi Nakai on Netflix’s Beef .
In the movies Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek Generations , the actress reprised her Star Trek role as Nurse Alyssa Ogawa. She got nominated at Independent Spirit Awards for best supporting actress in 1988’s The Wash . Yasutake’s major feature debut was in Ron Howard’s 1986 comedy Gung Ho .
Her list of TV credits also included shows like The Closer , Grey’s Anatomy , Bones , and movie credits including Drop Dead Gorgeous , Blind Spot and The Road to Galveston . She was born in Los Angeles, raised in Gardena and Inglewood and graduated UCLA with Honors in Theater. Yasutake is survived by siblings Linda Hayashi and Steve Yasutake.
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