Gene Roddenberry |
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![]() Roddenberry in 1976 |
| Born | Eugene Wesley Roddenberry
(1921-08-19)August 19, 1921
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| Died | October 24, 1991(1991-10-24) (aged 70)
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| Occupation(s) | Television producer and writer |
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| Spouse(s) | Eileen-Anita Rexroat (1942–1969)
Majel Barrett (1969–1991) |
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Eugene Wesley "Gene" Roddenberry (August 19, 1921 – October 24, 1991) was an American screenwriter and producer. He is best known as the creator and executive producer of Star Trek and of Star Trek: The Next Generation. He was sometimes called the "Great Bird of the Galaxy" because he helped start Star Trek. [1] He was one of the first people to have his ashes "buried" in space. [2]
Personal life
Gene Roddenberry was born in El Paso, Texas in 1921. His parents were Eugene Edward Roddenberry and Caroline Glen. He grew up in Los Angeles, California, where his father worked in the police. He became interested in engineering and got a pilot's license. In 1941, he joined the United States Army Air Force. He flew many combat missions as a bomber pilot and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and Air Medal. [3]
After he left the military, he became an airline pilot with Pan American World Airways. He then stopped flying in 1949 so he could write television shows. While writing he also worked in the police so he could provide for (look after) his family. In 1956, he quit his job as a policeman to write full time.
Roddenberry was married twice and had three children. He married Eileen Rexroat first, and they were married for 27 years. They had two daughters, Darlene (1947-1995) and Dawn (1953-). In the 1960s, he also started romantically seeing Nichelle Nichols [4] and Majel Barrett (1932-2008). He divorced Rexroat and married Barrett in Japan in a traditional Shinto ceremony on August 6, 1969. They had a son, Eugene Wesley, Jr. Roddenberry's marriage to Barrett lasted until his death in 1991.
He died in 1991 of heart failure. He was 70 years old. In 1992, some of his ashes were sent into space on board the Space Shuttle Columbia. In January 2024 some more of his ashes were sent into space along with other Star Trek people. [5]
Sources
