René Murat Auberjonois was born on June 1, 1940, in New York City. René was born into an already artistic family, which included his grandfather, a well-known Swiss painter, and his father Fernand, a writer. The Auberjonois family moved to Paris shortly after World War II, and it was there that René made an important career decision at the age of six. When his school put on a musical performance for the parents, little René was given the honor of conducting his classmates in a rendition of Do You Know the Muffin Man? When the performance was over, René took a bow, and, knowing that he was not the real conductor, imagined that he had been acting. He decided then and there that he wanted to be an actor. After leaving Paris, the Auberjonois family moved into an Artist's Colony in upstate New York. At an early age, René was surrounded by musicians, composers, and actors. Among his neighbors were Helen Hayes, Burgess Meredith and John Houseman, who would later become an important mentor. Houseman gave René his first theater job at the age of 16, as an apprentice at a theater in Stratford, Connecticut. René would later teach at Juilliard under Houseman. René attended Carnegie-Mellon University and studied theater completely, not only learning about acting but about the entire process of producing a play. After graduating from CMU, René acted with various theater companies, including San Francisco's American Conservatory Theater and Los Angeles' Mark Taper Forum. In 1969, he won a role in his first Broadway musical, Coco (with Katharine Hepburn), for which he won a Tony. Since then, René has acted in a variety of theater productions, films, and television presentations, including a rather famous stint as Clayton Endicott III on the comedy series Benson, not to mention 7 years on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine as Odo. René has also done dramatic readings of a variety of books on tape. René's most recent projects have included The Patriot, starring Mel Gibson, and Sally Hemings: An American Scandal. Look for him the fall of 2000 on NBC's Frasier, and ABC's The Practice.
Has two children, Tessa Auberjonois and Remy Auberjonois. Won Broadway's 1970 Tony Award as Best Supporting or Featured Actor (Musical) for "Coco." He was also nominated as Best Supporting or Featured Actor (Dramatic) in 1974 for "The Good Doctor," and as Best Actor (Featured Role - Musical) in 1985 for "Big River" and in 1990 for "City of Angels." His mother was Princess Laure of Murat. Graduate of Carnegie-Mellon University. Taught acting at Juilliard. On his mother's side, Rene is descended from Joachim Murat, King of Naples, and his wife Caroline Bonaparte, sister of the famous Napoleon. Tried changing his surname very early on to "Aubert" because casting directors were unable to pronounce "Auberjonois." When he discovered that his new name caused just as much trouble, he decided to keep the real one. Is one of only 32 actors or actresses to have starred in both the original Star Trek (up to and including Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country) and then in one of the spin offs. Son of Pulitzer Prize-nominated Swiss journalist and author Fernand Auberjonois (1910-2004). Grandson of well-known Swiss post-impressionist painter Rene Auberjonois (1872-1957). Has appeared in two different productions which featured a character named General Hammond: MASH and Stargate SG-1. Has appeared with Michael Dorn in five different productions: Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, Aladdin, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, The Savage Dragon and Captain Simian & The Space Monkeys. Both he and his Star Trek: Deep Space Nine co-star Colm Meaney appeared in 'Stargate', playing the leader of a human civilisation on another planet whose population lived under the surface. In both cases, the main characters of the series in question attempted to form an alliance and arrange an exchange of technology before learning that this civilisation could not be trusted. Auberjonois played Alar, leader of the Eurondans in the Stargate SG-1 episode 'The Other Side'; Meaney played Cowen, leader of the Genii in the Stargate: Atlantis episodes 'Underground' and 'The Storm'. Outside of the Star Trek cast, he is the oldest "Star Trek" cast member. Turned down the role of Bosley in Charlie's Angels. Turned down the role of Father Mulcahey in the TV series M*A*S*H. He had played the role in the 1969 motion picture version. Is mentioned in "Big Lou," the biography of actor Louis Edmonds, because he and Edmonds both starred in an avant garde Broadway play that flopped after just a few performances in the late 1960s. The play was called "Fire!", and it is covered in detail in "Big Lou." Appears in both Batman: The Animated Series and Batman Forever.