Gene Roddenberry
Eugene Wesley Roddenberry (August 19, 1921 - October 24, 1991) is best known as the creator of the science fiction television series Star Trek.
He was married twice. He had two children by his first wife, Eileen Rexroat (to whom he was married 26 years) -- Dawn, and the late Darleen. His second marriage was to Majel Barrett, who played Nurse Christine Chapel in the original series, and is well known for her portrayal of Lwaxana Troi and the voice of the computer in the later three series.
Star Trek ran for three seasons. Although it was cancelled prematurely due to low ratings, the series gained wide popularity in syndication. This led to feature films and a spinoff television series in the 1980s, "Star Trek: The Next Generation". Roddenberry was deeply involved with creating and producing this new show, although his involvement lessened in seasons 2 and 3 due to deteriorating health. Over time, several more Star Trek television series were created.
Roddenberry only produced the first Star Trek film. Due to cost overruns and a problematic relation with the Paramount management, Roddenberry was ousted and replaced by Harve Bennett. He continued in an advisory capacity on several subsequent films.
Roddenberry's contributions to "Star Trek" are very controversial. Many writers on the show report that ideas they developed were later passed off by Roddenberry as his own. Other writers reported that Roddenberry publicly lied about their contributions to the show at Star Trek conventions. Roddenberry was confronted by said writers, and apologized to them, but went to on repeat his false claims. These issues are well documented, and have been discussed in a great many books and interviews, including Gene Roddenberry: The Myth and the Man Behind Star Trek by Joel Engel, books by Star Trek Producer Bob Justman, science-fiction convention talks by Star Trek writer Dorothy C. Fontana, and books and articles by Harlan Ellison. Roddenberry also frequently cast actresses in Star Trek with whom he was having affairs, including Majel Barrett (who played Nurse Chapel and the voice of the computer), and Nichelle Nichols (who played Uhura). Roddenberry's propensity for exaggerating his role in Star Trek is legendary and well known to scholars of the science-fiction community, and extremely well documented. At the time of Roddenberry's death, almost all of his former co-workers were so angry at Roddenberry that they refused to go to his funeral.
Supporters of Gene Roddenberry hold that a hagiography, Inside Trek: My Secret Life with Star Trek Creator Gene Roddenberry is a more accurate account of his life. It was written by Susan Sackett, his close associate for 17 years. This book is described as highly inaccurate by many of Roddenberry's former colleagues.
Before Star Trek, Roddenberry worked in westerns and tried to get other science fiction series off the ground, mostly without success. The Star Trek episode "Assignment: Earth" was meant to be the pilot for a spinoff series which never came to fruition. Since his death, two of his projects, Earth: Final Conflict and Andromeda, have become reality under the guidance of Majel Barrett.
Gene Roddenberry came out as a secular humanist in an interview in The Humanist, March/April 1991.
After his death, a lipstick-sized capsule of his ashes was sent into space to orbit the earth for six years (after which they burned up in the earth's atmosphere).
There is an asteroid named in his honor called 4659 Roddenberry.Star Trek
Other works
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