Early life and career of Gene Roddenberry
American television screenwriter, producer (1921–1991) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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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.
Gene Roddenberry | |
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Born | Eugene Wesley Roddenberry (1921-08-19)August 19, 1921 El Paso, Texas, U.S. |
Died | October 24, 1991(1991-10-24) (aged 70) Santa Monica, California, U.S. |
Alma mater | Los Angeles City College |
Spouse(s) | Eileen-Anita Rexroat (1942–1969) Majel Barrett (1969–his death, 1991) |
Children | 3, including Rod Roddenberry |
Military career | |
Allegiance | United States |
Service/ | United States Army Air Forces |
Years of service | 1941–1945 |
Rank | Captain |
Unit | 394th Bombardment Squadron |
Battles/wars | World War II |
Awards | Air Medal Distinguished Flying Cross |
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.