Gene Roddenberry

Eugene Wesley “Gene” Roddenberry, Sr. (August 19 1921 – October 24 1991) was an American television screenwriter, producer and futurist best known for creating the science‑fiction series *Star Trek*. He was born in El Paso, Texas, and raised in Los Angeles, California, where his father served as a police officer. During World War II he flew 89 combat missions with the United States Army Air Forces and worked as a commercial pilot after the war before joining the Los Angeles Police Department to support his family while beginning to write television scripts. As a freelance writer he contributed episodes to *Highway Patrol*, *Have Gun, Will Travel* and other series, then created and produced the show *The Lieutenant*. In 1964 Roddenberry created *Star Trek*, which premiered in 1966 and ran for three seasons before cancellation; syndication later increased its popularity. He continued to create, produce and consult on *Star Trekk* films and the television series *Star Trek: The Next Generation* until his death. Roddenberry received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and was inducted into both the Science Fiction Hall of Fame and the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences’ Hall of Fame, and he became one of the first people to have his ashes “buried” in outer space. The fictional universe he created has extended over more than four decades, encompassing six television series, 715 episodes and eleven films, with a twelfth film in development scheduled for release in 2012.