He was born in El Paso, Texas, on August 19, 1921, spent his boyhood in Los Angeles, studied three years of policemanship and then transferred his academic interest to aeronautical engineering and qualified for a pilot's license. Gene Roddenberry led a life as colorful and exciting as almost any high-adventure fiction. The show went outside television to win science fiction's coveted Hugo Award and then spawned an animated spin-off, as well as a series of feature films. Spock, Roddenberry unwittingly unleashed a phenomenon in which Star Trek enthusiasts became a veritable cult, numbering physicists, aerospace engineers, housewives, senators, children, teachers and intellectuals among its devotees (affectionately known as 'Trekkies,' and later, 'Trekkers'). He spoke on the subject at NASA meetings, the Smithsonian Institution, Library of Congress gatherings, and top universities.Īs creator of the beloved Starship Enterprise and its crew, which included the heroic Captain Kirk and the logical Vulcan, Mr. His papers and lectures earned him high professional regard as a visionary. While making Star Trek, Roddenberry's reputation as a futurist began to grow. As creator and producer of the original Star Trek television series, he launched a phenomenon without precedent in show business and attained a celebrity status unique among his peers.Īlthough Gene Roddenberry passed away October 24, 1991, his legacy remains as Star Trek: The Next Generation continues to flourish and grow in movie theaters, and three television series based upon Star Trek - Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, and now Enterprise - maintain his vision of the future. In September 1987, Star Trek: The Next Generation continued the legend that Gene Roddenberry began 25 years prior.

Star trek creator roddenberry