# John Meredyth Lucas

John Meredyth Lucas (May 1, 1919 – October 19, 2002) was an American writer, director and producer, primarily for television.

## Career

Son of screenwriter Bess Meredyth and writer/director Wilfred Lucas, and the adopted son of director Michael Curtiz, Lucas grew up in Southern California, where he attended a number of schools, including Urban Military Academy, Pacific Military Academy, and Beverly Hills High School. After a failed attempt at college, he began his Hollywood career with a job as an apprentice script clerk at Warner Brothers.
He is best remembered for the work he did on Star Trek: The Original Series as a writer, producer and director. He wrote four of the episodes broadcast from 1967 to 1969: "The Changeling", "Patterns of Force", "Elaan of Troyius", and "That Which Survives". He also directed three of the episodes broadcast in 1968: "The Ultimate Computer", "The Enterprise Incident" and "Elaan of Troyius". The latter was the only episode in the original series to be directed by its writer. Lucas was credited as producer for the latter part of the second season (1967–1968).
He also wrote for Mannix, The Fugitive, The Silent Force, Harry O (David Janssen's 1970s series),The Six Million Dollar Man, and the television adaptations of Planet of the Apes and Logan's Run. Dark City (1950) and Peking Express (1951) were among his feature film writing credits. During 1959–1960 he worked in Australia on the TV series Whiplash, directing numerous episodes of the series (several of which were written by later Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry).
In 1951 he married Australian born actress Joan Winfield. Together they raised three children. After her death in 1978, he remarried. He died in Los Angeles on 19 October 2002 from leukemia. After his death in 2002, he was cremated and his ashes were later launched into space on a suborbital flight in 2007. They were subsequently launched on an orbital flight on August 2, 2008, however the rocket failed two minutes after launch.

## Star Trek episode credits

* 1967 – “Obsession” – (Producer)
* 1967 – "The Changeling" – (writer)
* 1967 – "Journey to Babel" – (producer)
* 1968 – "The Gamesters of Triskelion" – (producer)
* 1968 – "A Piece of the Action" – (producer)
* 1968 – "Patterns of Force" – (writer)
* 1968 – "The Ultimate Computer" – (director)
* 1968 – "The Enterprise Incident" – (director)
* 1968 – "Return to Tomorrow" – (producer)
* 1968 – "Elaan of Troyius" – (writer and director)
* 1969 – "That Which Survives" – (teleplay)

## Filmography
### Films

| Year | Film | Credit | Notes |
| 1943 | The Gorilla Man | Dialogue Director | |
| 1943 | Murder on the Waterfront | Dialogue Director | |
| 1943 | This Is the Army | Second Assistant Director | Uncredited |
| 1944 | The Last Ride | Dialogue Director | |
| 1947 | The Unsuspected | Dialogue Director | |
| 1950 | Dark City | Screenplay By | Co-wrote screenplay with "Larry Marcus", Based on the story "No Escape" by Larry Marcus |
| 1951 | Peking Express | Screenplay By | |
| 1951 | Red Mountain | Screenplay By | |
| 1952 | Captain Pirate | Screenplay By | Co-wrote screenplay with "Frank Burt" and "Robert Libott", Based on the novel "Captain Blood Returns" by "Rafael Sabatini" |
| 1953 | Tumbleweed | Screenplay By | Based on the novel "Three Were Thoroughbreds" by "Kenneth Perkins" |
| 1956 | The Scarlet Hour | Screenplay By | Co-wrote screenplay with "Alford Van Ronkel" and "Frank Tashlin", Based on the story "The Kiss Off" by Frank Tashlin |
| 1958 | The Sign Of Zorro | Screenplay By | |
| 1961 | The Last War | Screenplay By | English Dub (Uncredited) |
| 1962 | Gorath | Screenplay By | English Dub |
| 1965 | My Blood Runs Cold | Story By | |
| 1971 | City Beneath The Sea | Screenplay By | Based on a story by "Irwin Allen" |
| 1974 | Inferno in Paradise | Screenplay By | |
| 1980 | Farewell to the Planet of the Apes | Directed By | |
| 1984 | Yeshua | Written By, Directed By | Documentary, Co-Written and Co-Directed with "Ardon Albright" |
| 1984 | 3 Days | Directed By | Short |
| 1989 | The Magic Boy's Easter | Directed By | Short, Co-Directed with "Marc Daniels" |

### Television

| Year | TV Series | Credit | Notes |
| 1953 | Mr. and Mrs. North | Writer | 2 episodes |
| 1954–55 | The Loretta Young Show | Writer | 3 episodes |
| 1954–55 | The Magical World of Disney | Writer | 2 episodes |
| 1954–55 | Medic | Writer, director | |
| 1955 | Stage 7 | Writer | 1 Episode: "The Legacy" |
| 1955–56 | Cavalcade of America | Writer, director | |
| 1955–56 | The Ford Television Theatre | Director | 6 episodes |
| 1956 | Celebrity Playhouse | Director | 2 episodes |
| 1956–57 | Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Director | 3 episodes |
| 1957 | Broken Arrow | Writer | 1 Episode: "Apache Massacre" |
| 1957 | Noah's Ark | Writer | 1 Episode: "The Intruder" |
| 1957 | Dragnet | Writer | 1 Episode: "The Big Blank" |
| 1957 | Code 3 | Director | 1 Episode: "Oil Well Incident" |
| 1957 | The George Sanders Mystery Theater | Director | 1 Episode: "Love Has No Alibi" |
| 1957 | The Court of Last Resort | Director | 1 Episode: "The Gordon Wallace Case" |
| 1957 | The Thin Man | Director | 1 Episode: "Come Back Darling Asta" |
| 1957–58 | Zorro | Writer, director | |
| 1958 | Flight | Writer | 3 episodes |
| 1959 | Cimarron City | Writer, director | |
| 1959–61 | The Lawless Years | Writer | 4 episodes |
| 1960 | Pony Express | Writer | 2 episodes |
| 1961 | Acapulco | Director | 1 Episode: "Bell's Half Acre" |
| 1961 | Bus Stop | Writer | 1 Episode: "The Covering Darkness" |
| 1961 | Whiplash | Director, Associate Producer | |
| 1963 | Burke's Law | Writer | 2 episodes |
| 1963 | Laramie | Writer | 1 Episode: "The Sometime Gambler" |
| 1964–66 | Ben Casey | Writer, director, producer | |
| 1965–80 | Insight | Writer, director, producer, Script Consultant | Multiple Episodes |
| 1966–67 | The Fugitive | Writer, director, Co-Producer | |
| 1967 | The Invaders | Director | 1 Episode: "The Betrayed" |
| 1967–69 | Star Trek: The Original Series | Writer, director, producer | |
| 1967–74 | Mannix | Writer, director | |
| 1970 | The Silent Force | Writer | 1 Episode: "Take As Directed For Death" |
| 1970–72 | Night Gallery | Director | 4 episodes |
| 1971 | Medical Center | Writer | 2 episodes |
| 1971–75 | Police Surgeon | Director | Multiple Episodes |
| 1973 | The Starlost | Writer | 1 Episode: "The Implant People"(Uncredited) |
| 1974 | Planet of the Apes | Director | 1 Episode: "Up Above the World So High" |
| 1975 | Swiss Family Robinson | Writer | 2 episodes |
| 1975–76 | Harry O | Writer | 5 episodes |
| 1976–78 | The Six Million Dollar Man | Writer, director | |
| 1977 | Kojak | Writer | 1 Episode: "Tears for All Who Love Her" |
| 1977 | Logan's Run | Writer | 1 Episode: "The Judas Goat" |
| 1977 | Rafferty | Writer | 2 episodes |
| 1978 | Fantasy Island | Writer | 1 Episode |
| 1980 | Beyond Westworld | Producer | 5 episodes |
| 1980 | This Is The Life | Director | 1 Episode: "Independence and '76" |
| 1981 | Nero Wolfe | Writer | 1 Episode: "To Catch a Dead Man" |