| RODDENBERRY |
Gene Roddenberry
AKA Eugene Wesley Roddenberry
Born: 19-Aug-1921
Birthplace: El Paso, TX
Died: 24-Oct-1991
Location of death: Santa Monica, CA
Cause of death: Heart Failure
Remains: Cremated, Launched into space
Gender: Male
Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Author
Level of fame: Famous
Executive summary: Creator of Star Trek
Writer/producer Gene Roddenberry is famed as the creator of the original Star Trek TV series (1966-
69) and for his involvement in much of its subsequent progeny, including such television series as
Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, and Star Trek:
Enterprise. He translated the original show onto the big screen in 1979 with Star Trek: The Motion
Picture, and played an advisory role in later Trek films. The Roddenberry legacy also included such
additions to English phraseology as "warp drive" as well as the massive fan phenomenon known as
Trekkies.
Born in El Paso, Texas on 21 August 1921 to Carolyn Goleman and Eugene Roddenberry, the
young Roddenberry spent his growing up years in Los Angeles, California (where his father had
moved to join the police force). As a teenager at Franklin High School he was a member of the
debate team, played guitar, and he developed an interest in writing. He was simultaneously
developing an avid interest in pulp fiction adventure stories and in similarly styled radio programs.
After high school, Roddenberry seemed determined to set out on his own adventure. He took
classes in police studies at Los Angeles City College, and in September of 1940 he obtained his
pilot's license. In July of the following year, as the U.S. trembled on the brink of World War II, he
enrolled in the Army Air Corps. But he was not immediately pressed into service. In fact it was not
until the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor that he was called up to active duty. He completed
training a Kelly Field, Texas and received his commission as a Second Lieutenant. He married his
high school sweetheart Eileen Rexroat, and was sent off to the Pacific.
After the war, Roddenberry's next adventures were piloting for Pan American World Airways (and
surviving a crash in the Syrian desert), and joining the LAPD. Although he was on the force from
1949 to 1956, most of Roddenberry's adventures here were limited to trading verbal volleys with a
hot tempered police chief and jotting down the stories of beat cops. Roddenberry was himself part
of the newspaper unit and spent most of his time crafting press releases, speeches, and otherwise
assisting the department's transition to big city police department (with public image to match).
Interestingly, another offshoot of this process was the department's representation in Jack Webb's
popular television drama Dragnet.
As the writer on the force (Roddenberry had actually tried to become a screen writer before joining
LAPD), he would help fellow officers draft their experiences into written outlines that could be
submitted to the show. He received half of their proceeds, amounting to $50 a pop, a handsome
augmentation to his $400/month salary. But more significant than the monetary gains, was the
impact on his skill as a screenwriter. Watching the televised version of the stories he helped outline
helped him understand how to develop a finished script. He also borrowed copies of these scripts
from Webb in order to learn about stage direction, the framing of a scene, and so on. Soon he was
again trying to write his own scripts.
Although he never actually wrote for Dragnet, Roddenberry did get his big break with another law
enforcement dramatization, Mr. District Attorney (under the pen name "Robert Wesley"). Soon he
was branching out to other venues as well, including Goodyear Theatre, Naked City, the Kaiser
Aluminum Hour, Four Star Theater, and others. Although he was able to handle his work for LAPD
while writing (even passing his sergeant's exam), the time inevitably came when he had to stop
being a cop who wrote and turn his full attention to being a screen writer.
Before developing the series that made him famous, Roddenberry worked on such shows as Have
Gun, Will Travel (winning the Writers Guild Award for his "Helen of Abiginian" episode), and he even
created and produced a show of his own: The Lieutenant, starring Gary Lockwood and Robert
Vaughn. Meanwhile, ideas were beginning to form in his mind for a new kind of series, Star Trek.
Despite it being a risky departure from anything done on television before (space adventures were
for kids), he was sure his idea was a hit, but he would still need someone to bankroll it.
Luckily for Roddenberry, and for Trek fans everywhere, CBS had given a huge wad of cash to I
Love Lucy demigoddess Lucille Ball in order to entice her to continue their mutually profitable
relationship. Lucy in turn invested the wad in Desilu Productions (co-owned with husband/co-star
Desi Arnaz). And it was through Desilu that the pilot for Star Trek would be produced.
Actually, Star Trek holds the distinction of having had two original pilots. The first, built around a
premise insisted on by the Network execs, bombed only to be replaced by a new version, infused
with the now familiar iconic elements –- Captain Kirk, the logical Mr. Spock, and a five year mission
to seek out new life and new civilizations…to boldly go where no man has gone before.
Although the series found a permanent place in the heart of numerous television fans, it was axed
after only three seasons. Network executives were less impressed with its futuristic message (a
peaceful and united humanity, making the cosmos a better place through knowledge and
technology) than it's budget overruns ($8 an episode just for Mr. Spock's ear appliances). But
Roddenberry would have the last laugh. Not only did his series go on to earn its expenditures many
times over (in syndication), but it became the first television series to have an episode preserved in
the Smithsonian (which also houses an 11-foot model of the U.S.S. Enterprise).
After Star Trek's quasi-demise, Roddenberry went on to do other projects, including Pretty Maids
All in a Row, starring Rock Hudson, Angie Dickinson, and Telly Savalas; Genesis II; The Questor
Tapes; and the 1977 made for TV horror film Spectre. But none of these would ever have the
same fame or cultural impact as Star Trek. In a way, the series had been part of the
consciousness expansion of the 60s –- setting human dramas amidst the spectacle of strange new
life forms whose needs and goals sometimes resonated with and sometimes confounded human
expectations. And it had shown something that was still a radical new idea to many people in that
era: woman and racial/ethnic minorities working as equals with white males.
In fact, so radical was Roddenberry's original pitch for the show that it was rejected. The original
concept called for Majel Barrett (who later became Roddenberry's real life second wife) to play the
part of "Number Two", the second highest-ranking officer on the bridge. This was deemed too
shocking for mainstream America (and even the studio execs) and Barrett's role was rewritten as
the second string character Nurse Chapel. Lt. Uhuru (Nichelle Nichols) did make it into the final
version however, despite her being both a female officer and an African American. And although
she was often portrayed as a kind of advanced telephone operator for the Enterprise, it is worth
noting that she performed kissing scenes with white co-star William Shatner -- something that
would be taken for granted a mere decade later.
Roddenberry meanwhile was a humanist who believed that humankind had created most of it's
own problems and could, through applied intelligence, uncreate them. Roddenberry did not himself
invest much belief in God. But he did allow his characters, in the world of Star Trek, the dignity of
their own beliefs (a fact more obvious in the Next Generation era), and he stubbornly resisted the
effort of network execs to put a Christian chaplain on the crew of the Enterprise. It would be
ludicrous, he argued, to pretend that all other religions would have become obliterated by this point,
or that such a cosmopolitan people would impose one group's religion on all the rest of the crew.
It is worth noting that not all of the show's ideas belonged to Roddenberry, however. In fact, some
writers on the show have claimed that ideas that they themselves developed were later passed off
by Roddenberry as his own. Roddenberry was later confronted by these same writers, and
apologized to them, yet according to his critics, he continued to spout the same false claims. Other
scandalmongers have tried to make much out of an affair between Nichelle Nichols (Uhuru) and
Roddenberry, yet both freely admit the affair. Most interesting is the fact that Nichols has said that
their relationship may have helped her land a role on the show.
By the mid 70s (after the success of Star Wars), the Star Trek mythos had become so firmly
entrenched in American culture (NASA named its first space shuttle Enterprise in honor Captain
Kirk's vessel), and special effects technology had so advanced, that the public yearning for a new,
updated version of the original concept was finally catered to. In 1979 Star Trek: The Motion
Picture was released. Roddenberry's novelization of Star Trek: The Motion Picture (Pocket Books,
1979) sold close to a million copies and was ranked number one on national best seller lists for
many weeks.
In 1987 Star Trek: The Next Generation debuted to great success, further updating the original
Roddenberry concepts and replacing some of them with more mature ones. (The violent
machismo of Captain Kirk gave way to the erudite patience and panache of Picard.) On September
4, 1986, Gene Roddenberry's fans presented him with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the
first writer/producer to be so honored. Star Trek: The Next Generation, in its first year in
syndication, was awarded with the 1987 Peabody Award for the "Best of the Best."
Since then, the Trek cosmos has taken on a life of it's own, spawning a host of novels, television
series, and films -- not to mention a legion of fan sites on the web and Trek conventions -- and
Gene Roddenberry has left his fans to embark on a different kind of "final frontier." Roddenberry
died from heart failure on October 24, 1991. One year later, a container of his ashes were sent into
space about the space shuttle Columbia. Roddenberry's name now graces a crater on Mars and an
asteroid, 4659Roddenberry.
AKA Eugene Wesley Roddenberry
Born: 19-Aug-1921
Birthplace: El Paso, TX
Died: 24-Oct-1991
Location of death: Santa Monica, CA
Cause of death: Heart Failure
Remains: Cremated, Launched into space
Gender: Male
Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Author
Level of fame: Famous
Executive summary: Creator of Star Trek
Writer/producer Gene Roddenberry is famed as the creator of the original Star Trek TV series (1966-
69) and for his involvement in much of its subsequent progeny, including such television series as
Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, and Star Trek:
Enterprise. He translated the original show onto the big screen in 1979 with Star Trek: The Motion
Picture, and played an advisory role in later Trek films. The Roddenberry legacy also included such
additions to English phraseology as "warp drive" as well as the massive fan phenomenon known as
Trekkies.
Born in El Paso, Texas on 21 August 1921 to Carolyn Goleman and Eugene Roddenberry, the
young Roddenberry spent his growing up years in Los Angeles, California (where his father had
moved to join the police force). As a teenager at Franklin High School he was a member of the
debate team, played guitar, and he developed an interest in writing. He was simultaneously
developing an avid interest in pulp fiction adventure stories and in similarly styled radio programs.
After high school, Roddenberry seemed determined to set out on his own adventure. He took
classes in police studies at Los Angeles City College, and in September of 1940 he obtained his
pilot's license. In July of the following year, as the U.S. trembled on the brink of World War II, he
enrolled in the Army Air Corps. But he was not immediately pressed into service. In fact it was not
until the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor that he was called up to active duty. He completed
training a Kelly Field, Texas and received his commission as a Second Lieutenant. He married his
high school sweetheart Eileen Rexroat, and was sent off to the Pacific.
After the war, Roddenberry's next adventures were piloting for Pan American World Airways (and
surviving a crash in the Syrian desert), and joining the LAPD. Although he was on the force from
1949 to 1956, most of Roddenberry's adventures here were limited to trading verbal volleys with a
hot tempered police chief and jotting down the stories of beat cops. Roddenberry was himself part
of the newspaper unit and spent most of his time crafting press releases, speeches, and otherwise
assisting the department's transition to big city police department (with public image to match).
Interestingly, another offshoot of this process was the department's representation in Jack Webb's
popular television drama Dragnet.
As the writer on the force (Roddenberry had actually tried to become a screen writer before joining
LAPD), he would help fellow officers draft their experiences into written outlines that could be
submitted to the show. He received half of their proceeds, amounting to $50 a pop, a handsome
augmentation to his $400/month salary. But more significant than the monetary gains, was the
impact on his skill as a screenwriter. Watching the televised version of the stories he helped outline
helped him understand how to develop a finished script. He also borrowed copies of these scripts
from Webb in order to learn about stage direction, the framing of a scene, and so on. Soon he was
again trying to write his own scripts.
Although he never actually wrote for Dragnet, Roddenberry did get his big break with another law
enforcement dramatization, Mr. District Attorney (under the pen name "Robert Wesley"). Soon he
was branching out to other venues as well, including Goodyear Theatre, Naked City, the Kaiser
Aluminum Hour, Four Star Theater, and others. Although he was able to handle his work for LAPD
while writing (even passing his sergeant's exam), the time inevitably came when he had to stop
being a cop who wrote and turn his full attention to being a screen writer.
Before developing the series that made him famous, Roddenberry worked on such shows as Have
Gun, Will Travel (winning the Writers Guild Award for his "Helen of Abiginian" episode), and he even
created and produced a show of his own: The Lieutenant, starring Gary Lockwood and Robert
Vaughn. Meanwhile, ideas were beginning to form in his mind for a new kind of series, Star Trek.
Despite it being a risky departure from anything done on television before (space adventures were
for kids), he was sure his idea was a hit, but he would still need someone to bankroll it.
Luckily for Roddenberry, and for Trek fans everywhere, CBS had given a huge wad of cash to I
Love Lucy demigoddess Lucille Ball in order to entice her to continue their mutually profitable
relationship. Lucy in turn invested the wad in Desilu Productions (co-owned with husband/co-star
Desi Arnaz). And it was through Desilu that the pilot for Star Trek would be produced.
Actually, Star Trek holds the distinction of having had two original pilots. The first, built around a
premise insisted on by the Network execs, bombed only to be replaced by a new version, infused
with the now familiar iconic elements –- Captain Kirk, the logical Mr. Spock, and a five year mission
to seek out new life and new civilizations…to boldly go where no man has gone before.
Although the series found a permanent place in the heart of numerous television fans, it was axed
after only three seasons. Network executives were less impressed with its futuristic message (a
peaceful and united humanity, making the cosmos a better place through knowledge and
technology) than it's budget overruns ($8 an episode just for Mr. Spock's ear appliances). But
Roddenberry would have the last laugh. Not only did his series go on to earn its expenditures many
times over (in syndication), but it became the first television series to have an episode preserved in
the Smithsonian (which also houses an 11-foot model of the U.S.S. Enterprise).
After Star Trek's quasi-demise, Roddenberry went on to do other projects, including Pretty Maids
All in a Row, starring Rock Hudson, Angie Dickinson, and Telly Savalas; Genesis II; The Questor
Tapes; and the 1977 made for TV horror film Spectre. But none of these would ever have the
same fame or cultural impact as Star Trek. In a way, the series had been part of the
consciousness expansion of the 60s –- setting human dramas amidst the spectacle of strange new
life forms whose needs and goals sometimes resonated with and sometimes confounded human
expectations. And it had shown something that was still a radical new idea to many people in that
era: woman and racial/ethnic minorities working as equals with white males.
In fact, so radical was Roddenberry's original pitch for the show that it was rejected. The original
concept called for Majel Barrett (who later became Roddenberry's real life second wife) to play the
part of "Number Two", the second highest-ranking officer on the bridge. This was deemed too
shocking for mainstream America (and even the studio execs) and Barrett's role was rewritten as
the second string character Nurse Chapel. Lt. Uhuru (Nichelle Nichols) did make it into the final
version however, despite her being both a female officer and an African American. And although
she was often portrayed as a kind of advanced telephone operator for the Enterprise, it is worth
noting that she performed kissing scenes with white co-star William Shatner -- something that
would be taken for granted a mere decade later.
Roddenberry meanwhile was a humanist who believed that humankind had created most of it's
own problems and could, through applied intelligence, uncreate them. Roddenberry did not himself
invest much belief in God. But he did allow his characters, in the world of Star Trek, the dignity of
their own beliefs (a fact more obvious in the Next Generation era), and he stubbornly resisted the
effort of network execs to put a Christian chaplain on the crew of the Enterprise. It would be
ludicrous, he argued, to pretend that all other religions would have become obliterated by this point,
or that such a cosmopolitan people would impose one group's religion on all the rest of the crew.
It is worth noting that not all of the show's ideas belonged to Roddenberry, however. In fact, some
writers on the show have claimed that ideas that they themselves developed were later passed off
by Roddenberry as his own. Roddenberry was later confronted by these same writers, and
apologized to them, yet according to his critics, he continued to spout the same false claims. Other
scandalmongers have tried to make much out of an affair between Nichelle Nichols (Uhuru) and
Roddenberry, yet both freely admit the affair. Most interesting is the fact that Nichols has said that
their relationship may have helped her land a role on the show.
By the mid 70s (after the success of Star Wars), the Star Trek mythos had become so firmly
entrenched in American culture (NASA named its first space shuttle Enterprise in honor Captain
Kirk's vessel), and special effects technology had so advanced, that the public yearning for a new,
updated version of the original concept was finally catered to. In 1979 Star Trek: The Motion
Picture was released. Roddenberry's novelization of Star Trek: The Motion Picture (Pocket Books,
1979) sold close to a million copies and was ranked number one on national best seller lists for
many weeks.
In 1987 Star Trek: The Next Generation debuted to great success, further updating the original
Roddenberry concepts and replacing some of them with more mature ones. (The violent
machismo of Captain Kirk gave way to the erudite patience and panache of Picard.) On September
4, 1986, Gene Roddenberry's fans presented him with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the
first writer/producer to be so honored. Star Trek: The Next Generation, in its first year in
syndication, was awarded with the 1987 Peabody Award for the "Best of the Best."
Since then, the Trek cosmos has taken on a life of it's own, spawning a host of novels, television
series, and films -- not to mention a legion of fan sites on the web and Trek conventions -- and
Gene Roddenberry has left his fans to embark on a different kind of "final frontier." Roddenberry
died from heart failure on October 24, 1991. One year later, a container of his ashes were sent into
space about the space shuttle Columbia. Roddenberry's name now graces a crater on Mars and an
asteroid, 4659Roddenberry.
