Bruce Mars (born October 23, 1935), also known as Brother Paramananda,
is a monk of the Self-Realization Fellowship in Los Angeles,
California, and a former actor.After working on some off-Broadway
productions in New York City, Mars moved to Los Angeles to pursue his
acting career. He gained a guest role on Rawhide, where he met casting
director Joe D'Agosta. Mars later contacted D'Agosta after the casting
director moved on to work on Star Trek, and was brought in to audition
for the role of Junior Navigations Officer Dave Bailey in episode "The
Corbomite Maneuver", alongside five other actors. Anthony Call was
cast instead, but Mars also appeared in the background as Crewman #1.
D'Agosta kept Mars in mind for a bigger part, and when casting was
underway for "Shore Leave", he suggested to Mars that he should come
in for a further audition for the part of Finnegan. Mars later said he
felt like he had "nailed this baby" and was offered the role in
person. Based on the success of this, he was brought back for a third
occasion to play a 20th-century police officer in the episode
"Assignment: Earth".Outside of Star Trek, he appeared in the Voyage to
the Bottom of the Sea episodes "Killers of the Deep" and "The
Abominable Snowman".Mars quit the acting profession to become a monk
with the Self-Realization Fellowship in Los Angeles and eventually
took the name Brother Paramananda. He said in an interview with the
Los Angeles Times in 2004 about his spiritual awakening, "The words
'karma' and 'reincarnation' are being thrown around everywhere, even
in sports - at some TV basketball game, a guy tried a shot and
couldn't make it, and the radio announcer said it was his karma. I
went the whole hog and became a monk and walked away. Nowadays people
don't have to run away to meditate. There are doctors, lawyers, a
mother with three children - anyone can do it. There's more
acceptance." During his time at the Fellowship, he conversed with
Elvis Presley on several occasions, who on one occasion said to
Paramananda, "Man, you made the right choice. People don't know my
life or that I sometimes cry myself to sleep because I don't know
God."
is a monk of the Self-Realization Fellowship in Los Angeles,
California, and a former actor.After working on some off-Broadway
productions in New York City, Mars moved to Los Angeles to pursue his
acting career. He gained a guest role on Rawhide, where he met casting
director Joe D'Agosta. Mars later contacted D'Agosta after the casting
director moved on to work on Star Trek, and was brought in to audition
for the role of Junior Navigations Officer Dave Bailey in episode "The
Corbomite Maneuver", alongside five other actors. Anthony Call was
cast instead, but Mars also appeared in the background as Crewman #1.
D'Agosta kept Mars in mind for a bigger part, and when casting was
underway for "Shore Leave", he suggested to Mars that he should come
in for a further audition for the part of Finnegan. Mars later said he
felt like he had "nailed this baby" and was offered the role in
person. Based on the success of this, he was brought back for a third
occasion to play a 20th-century police officer in the episode
"Assignment: Earth".Outside of Star Trek, he appeared in the Voyage to
the Bottom of the Sea episodes "Killers of the Deep" and "The
Abominable Snowman".Mars quit the acting profession to become a monk
with the Self-Realization Fellowship in Los Angeles and eventually
took the name Brother Paramananda. He said in an interview with the
Los Angeles Times in 2004 about his spiritual awakening, "The words
'karma' and 'reincarnation' are being thrown around everywhere, even
in sports - at some TV basketball game, a guy tried a shot and
couldn't make it, and the radio announcer said it was his karma. I
went the whole hog and became a monk and walked away. Nowadays people
don't have to run away to meditate. There are doctors, lawyers, a
mother with three children - anyone can do it. There's more
acceptance." During his time at the Fellowship, he conversed with
Elvis Presley on several occasions, who on one occasion said to
Paramananda, "Man, you made the right choice. People don't know my
life or that I sometimes cry myself to sleep because I don't know
God."
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