Gene Roddenberry
(August 19, 1921 – October 24, 1991)
Eugene Wesley Roddenberry was a television screenwriter and producer. He is best known for creating the Star Trek TV series and thus the Star Trek SF franchise. Born in El Paso, Texas, Roddenberry grew up in Los Angeles, where his father worked as a police officer. Trekkies call him The Great Bird of the Galaxy.
Roddenberry flew 89 combat missions in the U. S. Air Force during World War II. He worked as a commercial pilot after the war. Later, he followed in his father's footsteps and joined the Los Angeles Police Department.
As a freelance writer, Roddenberry wrote scripts for Highway Patrol, Have Gun Will Travel, and other series, before creating and producing his own television series, The Lieutenant.
In 1964, Roddenberry created Star Trek, which premiered in 1966 and ran for three seasons before being canceled. Syndication of Star Trek episodes led to increasing popularity, and Roddenberry continued to produce and consult on the Star Trek spin-off films, and the new TV series, Star Trek: The Next Generation.
In 1942, Roddenberry married Eileen Rexroat. They had two daughters. Twenty-seven years after his first marriage, Roddenberry divorced his first wife and married actress Majel Barrett (Nurse Christine Chapel in the original Star Trek series) in Japan on August 6, 1969. They had one child together.
Awards, Honors and GoHships:
He was the first TV writer with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and was later inducted into both the Science Fiction Hall of Fame and the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame. He also received several other genre awards, including two Hugos. He was a GoH at 2BeContinued 2.
Entry in The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction
| Person | 1921—1991 |
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