Mickey Cottrell, the veteran Hollywood publicist who championed independent films and also appeared in Star Trek and My Own Private Idaho, died January 1, 2024, at age 79.
Mickey Cottrell, the veteran Hollywood publicist who helped champion independent films and occasionally appeared on screen, died January 1, 2024, at age 79. He died at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, according to reports confirmed by his friend Ian Birnie and his sister, Suzy Cottrell.
Cottrell was recognizable to genre audiences for two small but memorable Star Trek appearances: he played Alrik in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Dumah in Star Trek: Voyager. His principal career, however, was behind the scenes. For decades, he represented filmmakers and independent movies, including several important works by Gus Van Sant.
Mickey Cottrell’s Star Trek roles
Cottrell appeared in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “The Perfect Mate,” playing the alien character Alrik. He later appeared as Dumah in the Star Trek: Voyager episode “The Raven.” These were guest appearances rather than recurring or regular roles, but they form a notable part of his screen résumé.
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Viewers exploring his television work can look for the Star Trek: The Next Generation DVD, particularly the release containing “The Perfect Mate.” The episode is best known for its central story involving Kamala, a metamorph destined to become a political gift, but Cottrell’s credit places him among the episode’s supporting alien characters.
His acting career included My Own Private Idaho
Cottrell’s most prominent film acting credit was Daddy Carroll in Gus Van Sant’s 1991 drama My Own Private Idaho. The film starred River Phoenix and Keanu Reeves and became one of Van Sant’s defining early features. Cottrell’s professional connection to Van Sant extended beyond acting: he also handled publicity for several of the director’s films.
Readers interested in that part of his career can explore My Own Private Idaho DVD or Blu-ray as a way of revisiting Cottrell’s credited performance and Van Sant’s filmmaking. The home-video title is mentioned here as a viewing option, not as a product endorsed by Cottrell.
His other reported acting credits included Drugstore Cowboy, another Gus Van Sant film; Tim Burton’s Ed Wood; Speechless; Volcano; Apt Pupil; Hellraiser: Bloodline; Shortbus; Jolene; and I Do. These were generally small character parts rather than leading roles. He also received producer credits for Chain of Desire and Shelf Life.
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Cottrell built his reputation as an energetic and deeply knowledgeable film publicist. His clients and publicity campaigns included Van Sant’s Drugstore Cowboy, My Own Private Idaho, and Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, as well as Percy Adlon’s Bagdad Cafe, Earth Girls Are Easy, Phillip Noyce’s Dead Calm, Tarnation, Ballets Russes, The Price of Sugar, Skin, Bill Cunningham New York, Angelina Jolie’s Salt, and Tab Hunter Confidential.
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Obituary coverage described Cottrell as saying that the films and artists he represented had earned eight Sundance jury prizes and three Oscars. That figure should be understood as a claim attributed to Cottrell and reported by the obituaries, rather than as an independently audited industry tally.
From theater work to film publicity
Cottrell was born Richard Edward Cottrell on September 4, 1944. Available obituary reporting says he attended Catholic High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, and the University of Arkansas. He worked at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis before moving into theater management and projection work at Los Angeles’ Loyola Theatre.
His reported publicity career included a period with Landmark Theatres from approximately 1982 to 1984, followed by about three years at Josh Baran & Associates. In 1989, he co-founded Cottrell and Lindeman Associates with Doug Lindemann. He later operated Mickey Cottrell Film Publicity, beginning in 2002, and Inclusive PR, which began in 2004.
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A surviving contemporary film press kit identifies Cottrell as part of Inclusive PR and supports the account that he remained active in independent-film publicity during the late 2000s and early 2010s. His work put him in regular contact with filmmakers, actors, journalists, distributors, and festival audiences at a time when personal advocacy could significantly affect the visibility of a small film.
A familiar presence at Sundance and beyond
Friends and colleagues remembered Cottrell as a colorful and generous presence at film festivals, especially Sundance. He was described as a mentor, raconteur, advocate for independent filmmakers, and authority on gay Hollywood history. Those descriptions reflect recollections from people who knew him rather than an objective ranking, but they help explain why his influence extended beyond the publicity campaigns listed in his credits.
His sister Suzy remembered him as energetic, entertaining, and exceptionally knowledgeable about movies and character actors. That combination of enthusiasm and institutional memory made him a distinctive figure in a film culture that often depends on personal relationships as much as formal publicity.
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Stroke, Parkinson’s disease and final years
Reports said Cottrell suffered a major stroke in 2016 and later returned to Arkansas for a period of recovery. He was living at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital before his death.
Family-related reporting also said that he had been living with Parkinson’s disease in his final years. The available accounts distinguish that information from the 2016 stroke and do not establish Parkinson’s disease as a formal cause of death. Cottrell died on January 1, 2024; the reporting reviewed for this obituary does not provide a more specific official cause.
Cottrell’s legacy is therefore dual but not evenly divided: he was an occasional actor whose credits included two Star Trek episodes and Daddy Carroll in My Own Private Idaho, but he was chiefly a publicist who spent much of his life helping independent filmmakers find an audience. His name may appear briefly in a cast list, yet his professional reach was considerably larger than those screen appearances suggest.
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Frequently Asked Questions
When did Mickey Cottrell die?
Mickey Cottrell died on January 1, 2024, at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles. He was 79.
Who did Mickey Cottrell play on Star Trek?
Cottrell played Alrik in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “The Perfect Mate” and Dumah in the Star Trek: Voyager episode “The Raven.”
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His best-known film role was Daddy Carroll in Gus Van Sant’s 1991 film My Own Private Idaho. He also appeared in Drugstore Cowboy, Ed Wood, Speechless, Volcano, Apt Pupil and other films.
What was Mickey Cottrell best known for?
Cottrell was principally a Hollywood publicist. He represented independent filmmakers and films including several Gus Van Sant projects, Bagdad Cafe, Tarnation, Bill Cunningham New York and Tab Hunter Confidential.
The Bottom Line
Mickey Cottrell died January 1, 2024, at 79. Though viewers may know him as Alrik from Star Trek: The Next Generation, Dumah from Star Trek: Voyager, or Daddy Carroll in My Own Private Idaho, his lasting contribution was his decades of work publicizing and advocating for independent film.
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