American casting director who cast the original Star Trek from its pilots onwards, finding many of the guest actors and supporting players of the three seasons.
Joseph D'Agosta had worked with Gene Roddenberry on The Lieutenant, and Roddenberry turned to him when casting began for the first Star Trek pilot, The Cage. He went on to serve as casting director of the series itself at Desilu and then Paramount.
Besides helping to assemble the regular company, he was responsible for the weekly flow of guest performers, drawing on a pool of dependable character actors and bringing in many players who became closely associated with the series through repeated appearances in different roles.
D'Agosta later held senior casting posts in American television. His work on Star Trek is described in most histories of the production, including Herbert Solow and Robert Justman's memoir of the series.