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{{creator}}
Eugene Wesley "Gene" Roddenberry (August 19, 1921 - October 24, 1991) was a [[Yanks With Tanks|USAF bomber pilot]], ex-cop, freelance scriptwriter, and creator of possibly the single most influential franchise in the history of television, ''[[Star Trek:
Roddenberry had intended to be a commercial pilot after WWII, but upon discovering television correctly intuited that the new medium would be in need of writers. Already a published author of stories and poetry, he decided to change careers and enter into television writing.
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At a friend's suggestion he joined the Los Angeles Police Department to gather experience and perspectives of which he could make use. By the time he left the LAPD he had successfully sold scripts to many of the dramatic shows of the period, including ''[[Mr District Attorney]]'' (to which he made his first script sale, in 1953), ''Gruen Guild Playhouse'', ''Jane Wyman Presents The Fireside Theatre'', ''The Kaiser Aluminum Hour'', ''The Naked City'' and ''Chevron Hall of Stars'' (where he sold his first science fiction script, in 1956).
He later became the head writer for both ''[[Series/West Point|West Point]]'' and ''[[Have Gun Will Travel]]'', winning a Writers' Guild Award for an episode he penned for the latter show. While continuing to write freelance for other shows, Roddenberry moved into production, creating and producing the Marine Corps series ''The Lieutenant''. And after ''The Lieutenant'' came the creation that would carry him for most of the rest of his life: ''[[
Between the end of the original ''Star Trek'' and the first of the ''Star Trek'' movies, Roddenberry produced a number of films and television pilots, including the 1971 theatrical release ''[[Pretty Maids All In A Row]]'', ''Genesis II'' (1973) and ''[[The Questor Tapes]]'' (1974).
After 1979 and ''[[Star Trek: The Motion Picture
He was a well-respected man, but not always well-liked. He was stubbornly convinced that he always knew what was best for ''[[
'''Industry Positions:'''<br />Member of the Writers Guild Executive Council<br />Governor of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences<br />
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