Historical Figure
Gene Roddenberry
1921–1991
American screenwriter and producer (1921–1991)
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Biography
Eugene Wesley Roddenberry Sr. was an American television screenwriter and producer who created the science fiction series and fictional universe Star Trek. Born in El Paso, Texas, Roddenberry grew up in Los Angeles, where his father was a police officer. Roddenberry flew 89 combat missions in the Army Air Forces during World War II and worked as a commercial pilot after the war. Later, he joined the Los Angeles Police Department and began to write for television.
In Their Own Words (5)
I condemn false prophets, I condemn the effort to take away the power of rational decision, to drain people of their free will — and a hell of a lot of money in the bargain. Religions vary in their degree of idiocy, but I reject them all. For most people, religion is nothing more than a substitute for a malfunctioning brain.
As quoted in In His Name (2010) by E. Christopher Reyes, p. 39 , 2010
The glory of creation is in its infinite diversity.
As quoted in Draper's Book of Quotations for the Christian World (1992) by Edythe Draper , 1992
He was a chiseler who wanted a cut of outside money his cast earned, demanded to be called 'master,' and prohibited poor Nimoy from using a company pencil.
William Shatner, "Shatner: Roddenberry Was A Chiseler" TrekMovie.com, June 2, 2008 , 2008
We must question the story logic of having an all-knowing all-powerful God, who creates faulty Humans, and then blames them for his own mistakes.
As quoted in Can A Smart Person Believe in God? (2004) by Michael Guillen, Ch. 7 : Hope Springs Eternal, p. 90 , 2004
I think God is as much a basic ingredient in the universe as neutrons and positrons . . . God is, for lack of a better term, clout. This is the prime force, when we look around the universe.
"Teaching Toward the 24th Century: Star Trek as Social Curriculum", Karen Anijar, 2004, p.38; quoted in Sweeney, 1995:8 , 2004
Timeline
The story of Gene Roddenberry, told in moments.
Pitches Star Trek to NBC as "Wagon Train to the Stars." The first pilot, "The Cage," is rejected for being "too cerebral." He rewrites it. The second pilot is accepted. The show will depict a multiracial crew on a starship in the 23rd century.
Star Trek premieres on NBC. A Russian, a Japanese helmsman, a Black woman, and a Vulcan share the bridge. In 1968, Nichelle Nichols and William Shatner perform one of television's first interracial kisses.
NBC cancels Star Trek after three seasons. Ratings are low. But syndication brings it to a new audience. By the mid-1970s, conventions draw thousands. NASA names its first space shuttle Enterprise after a write-in campaign.
Star Trek: The Next Generation premieres in first-run syndication. It runs seven seasons and spawns four films. Roddenberry is involved in the first season but his health declines rapidly.
Dies at Santa Monica at 70. His ashes are among the first to be sent into orbit, aboard a 1997 Pegasus rocket. They re-enter the atmosphere and are lost over the Pacific.
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