Eugene Wesley "Gene" Roddenberry (August 19, 1921 – October 24, 1991) was an American television screenwriter, producer and futurist best remembered for creating the original Star Trek television series.[1] He was born in El Paso, Texas, but grew up in Los Angeles, California, where his father worked as a police officer. While at school, the young Roddenberry majored in police science and became interested in aeronautical engineering.
He obtained a pilot's license through the Civilian Pilot Training Program. Following his graduation, he signed up for the United States Army Air Corps and he enlisted after the attack on Pearl Harbor. He was commissioned on August 5, 1942, and was posted to the Pacific Theater of Operations where he joined the 394th Bomb Squadron, 5th Bombardment Group, of the Thirteenth Air Force. He flew Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress in an estimated 89 combat missions. After being rotated back to the United States he was promoted to Captain and became an air crash investigator. During his military career, he was involved in two plane crashes and was awarded both the Air Medal and the Distinguished Flying Cross.
Once a civilian, he began to fly long-haul routes for Pan American World Airways. He was involved in a further crash in June 1947, where the Clipper Eclipse crashed in the Syrian desert. After pulling injured passengers out of the burning plane, he led the party which sought help. After a further incident, he resigned from Pan-Am, seeking to write for television instead. However, he joined the Los Angeles Police Department, initially in the traffic division but transferred to the newspaper unit where he worked with Chief William H. Parker as a speech writer. He landed the role of technical adviser for a television version of Mr. District Attorney, which led to him writing scripts for the series under the pseudonym of "Robert Wesley". This led to a series of collaborations with Ziv Television Programs, and he resigned from the police on June 7, 1956, in order to take up a writing position on the staff of The West Point Story.
^Alexander (1995): p. 204
and 23 Related for: Early life and career of Gene Roddenberry information
Eugene Wesley "Gene" Roddenberry (August 19, 1921 – October 24, 1991) was an American television screenwriter, producer and futurist best remembered for...
Eugene Wesley "Gene" Roddenberry (August 19, 1921 – October 24, 1991) was an American television screenwriter, producer and futurist best remembered for...
Eugene Wesley Roddenberry Sr. (August 19, 1921 – October 24, 1991) was an American television screenwriter and producer who created the science fiction...
of Roddenberry Entertainment. He is the son of Star Trek creator GeneRoddenberryand Majel Barrett and is an executive producer on Star Trek: Discovery...
Nine), and the voice of most onboard computer interfaces throughout the series from 1966 to 2023. She married Star Trek creator GeneRoddenberry in 1969...
2023). "Julie Nimoy and David Knight On Star Trek's Leonard Nimoy and Making Films". Daily Star Trek News (Podcast). Roddenberry Podcasts. Retrieved 25...
"The Cage", during her romantic relationship with the series creator GeneRoddenberry. But following feedback from network executives, she was not in the...
(2016). "Chapter Five: GeneRoddenberry's Lost Universes". The Impossible Has Happened: The Lifeand Work ofGeneRoddenberry, Creator of Star Trek. London:...
Whitney first met Star Trek creator GeneRoddenberry when she was cast as the female lead "Sgt. Lilly Monroe" in Roddenberry's TV Pilot Police Story which was...
in Star Trek, Nichols was a guest actress on television producer GeneRoddenberry's first series The Lieutenant (1964) in the episode "To Set It Right"...
as a publicity assistant and commercial coordinator. In 1974, she began an association with Star Trek creator GeneRoddenberry, serving as his personal...
the original Star Trek series, and other music for that series. Courage was hired by Star Trek creator GeneRoddenberry to score the original series at...
""Science Fiction Hall of Fame to Induct Ed Emshwiller, Gene Roddenberry, Ridley Scott andGene Wolfe"". Archived from the original on October 14, 2007. Retrieved...
to be named Lt. Macha Hernandez, the Security Chief. GeneRoddenberry decided to switch them, and Macha Hernandez became Tasha Yar. Sirtis recalls that...
and by the end of the year, they only spoke through formal letters. After the departure of producer Gene L. Coon and the stepping back ofRoddenberry...
multicultural crew and one of the first black characters to be portrayed in a non-menial role on an American television series. GeneRoddenberry had intended...
(1968). The Making of Star Trek. Ballantine Books. p. 360. ISBN 978-0-345-23401-8. Whitfield, Stephen, andRoddenberry, Gene. The Making of Star Trek (New...
Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Enterprise, as well as several of the Star Trek films, and for ultimately succeeding GeneRoddenberry as head of the Star Trek...
inspiration for GeneRoddenberry, Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, among others. The film includes interviews with Pal's cast members, crew, and peers, as...
Krim Aldos in "The Siege", an early Season 2 episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Macht had been GeneRoddenberry's first choice to play Captain Jean-Luc...
character Vina in "The Cage" (1964), which was the first pilot ofGeneRoddenberry's new show, Star Trek. Two years later, Oliver's performance was reused...
and film actress. She is best known for her portrayal of the androgynous alien Da'an in GeneRoddenberry's Earth: Final Conflict. Parker was born and...
Global Information
United States
United States Army Air Forces
Captain