![]() The first time was at Gatecon in 2016 where he (like his Goa’uld colleagues) had great fun at the System Lords photo session. I had the pleasure of meeting Cliff Simon several times and have fond memories of him. We grieve with Colette and the rest of your family. Sadly, this is probably the very last recording that Cliff Simon has ever done. He, as always, was happy to comply and let us know what was going on in his life. I asked Cliff to create a “shout-out” video for WormholeRiders. We were working on the early stages of another project. I spoke to Cliff last on Monday, the 8th. So, it was a shock to me and many of his friends and fans when we learned that he had been killed in a kite surfing accident at Topanga Beach, California on Tuesday, March 9th. He was just at the right height that he could reach down and slide his hand over the animal’s back as it rose over the surface of the water and then headed back down into the deep. A highlight of his life was kite surfing accidentally over a whale. Surfing, swimming, boating, were all his passions. ![]() He loved to test his limits to see how much he could do. He was also a bit of an adrenaline junky. He usually had a dog as a pet and would often volunteer for rescue organizations that would find homes for the various “Bully Dog Breeds” in the Los Angeles area. Nobody was unhappy when Cliff was in the room.Ĭliff loved animals. Cliff would be patient with that person and encourage them. There were times when a fan would approach him with apprehension, thinking he was like his Ba’al character. He never seemed to get tired, interacting with people from all over the world. He was interested in my ideas and made himself available whenever I needed him to be there.Ĭliff found time to spend with as many of his fans as he could. So, when he agreed to work with me on the creation of two audio C.D.s, I was quite surprised. When an opportunity presented itself, he took advantage of it, eagerly following in whatever direction it took him. When I first met Cliff Simon in 2008, he struck me as the kind of man who would grab life by the fistful. Tell us about an interaction you may have had with him, a happy memory, or let us know your favorite Ba’al episode or moment. So, in tribute to Cliff, leave a comment to this post. I knew Cliff Simon the professional but never really had the opportunity to get to know him personally as, clearly, many of you had over the course of numerous convention meet-ups and fan events. And I agreed that it was possible, not because I was humoring him, but because I sincerely wanted to write for his character again some day. I remember running into him in the production offices after wrap where he suggested that maybe, just maybe, the SGC hadn’t been successful in ferreting out all the Ba’al clones and that perhaps one clone had survived to live another day. His final appearance was in Stargate: Continuum, a time-tripping adventure that confirmed yet again his status as one of the Stargate franchise’s greatest villains. He ended up guesting in fifteen episodes, a few of my personal favorites being Ex Deus Machina (in which the former “god” takes up residence on Earth as a powerful business magnate) and Quest 1 and II (which featured him in fine roguish style, forming an unlikely alliance with the team only to end up getting decked by Samantha Carter). He also had style and, most importantly, a sense of humor – which was very much Cliff himself. And that’s one of the things I loved about Cliff’s Lord Ba’al. It was an impressive debut, but it wasn’t until the following year, in season 6’s Abyss, that Cliff truly gave life to the character in a delightfully nefarious guest appearance at turns commanding and comedic. The episodes were designed to showcase some potential new villains for the series, and Cliff not only seized the opportunity he devoured it. He imbued the character with confidence and color, a delectably wicked self-assuredness that made me an instant fan following his introductory appearance in SG-1’s fifth season two parter Summit/Last Stand. It’s no secret that Ba’al was one of my very favorite villains to write, and this was wholly attributable to Cliff’s masterful performance. Last night, news broke about the sudden passing of actor Cliff Simon who played the role of the system lord Ba’al over several seasons on Stargate.
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