American television writer and producer who created Star Trek, produced The Original Series and launched The Next Generation two decades later.
Gene Roddenberry (1921–1991) was an American screenwriter and producer who created Star Trek. A former military pilot and Los Angeles police officer, he turned to television writing in the 1950s and created the series The Lieutenant before developing his idea for a science fiction drama set aboard a starship.
Roddenberry wrote the first pilot, The Cage, which NBC rejected while taking the unusual step of ordering a second pilot. The series premiered in 1966 and ran for three seasons, with Roddenberry as producer and later executive producer. He also wrote The Omega Glory, co-wrote Bread and Circuses with Gene L. Coon and supplied the story for Turnabout Intruder. He produced Star Trek: The Motion Picture in 1979 and served as executive consultant on the later films.
In 1987 he created Star Trek: The Next Generation and co-wrote its premiere, Encounter at Farpoint, with D.C. Fontana. His other projects included the television films Genesis II and The Questor Tapes. He died in 1991, shortly after the release of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, and remains closely identified with the optimistic future the franchise portrays.