Jack B . Sowards Jack B . Sowards was an American screenwriter who co - wrote the story and screenplay for . He later wrote the episode . Biography . Hailing from Texarkana , Arkansas , Sowards enlisted in the US Army following high school and participated in the during Soviet Russia ' s blockade of Berlin , Germany , in 1949 . He later enlisted in the Navy and , three years after that , he began serving in the Air Force as a chief mechanic on F - 86 fighter jets . Following his years of military service , his exploits as field worker took him to Hollywood , where he worked as a furniture mover and photographer . Through his friendship with actor , Sowards won the role of Iago in a stage production of William Shakespeare ' s " Othello " opposite Hopper and Michael Forest , for which he won rave reviews . Shortly thereafter , Hollywood producer / writer / director cast Sowards in the films " Hell Squad " ( 1958 ) and " Tank Commandos " ( 1959 ) . It was during this time that Sowards decided to become a Hollywood writer . Writing career . Sowards wrote primarily for television . In 1972 , Sowards received a Writers Guild of America ( WGA ) Award nomination ( shared with story writer Brett Huggins ) for a 1971 episode of the television series " The Bold Ones : The Lawyers " entitled " The Invasion of Kevin Ireland " . Among his other credits are eleven episodes of the classic NBC western series " Bonanza " ( including " A Matter of Faith " , which he wrote from a story by D . C . Fontana , and " Easy Come , Easy Go " , directed by Joseph Pevney , and many directed by Herschel Daugherty ) , several episodes of NBC ' s " The High Chaparral " ( starring Henry Darrow ) , and two episodes of " Barnaby Jones " ( a CBS series starring Lee Meriwether ) . Sowards was also a writer and story editor on the series " The Streets of San Francisco " , " Mickey Spillane ' s Mike Hammer " , and " B . L . Stryker " . Among his other writing credits is an episode William Shatner ' s series " T . J . Hooker " entitled " A Child Is Missing " which featured series regular James Darren , recurring player Richard Herd , and " High Chaparral " star ( and guest star ) Henry Darrow . In addition to his work on episodic television , Sowards also wrote a number of made - for - TV movies . Among these is the 1974 ABC Movies of the Week " Cry Panic " , directed by James Goldstone and featuring Jason Wingreen , and " Death Cruise " , directed by Ralph Senensky and starring Edward Laurence Albert . " Wrath of Khan " . In late 1980 , the executive producer of the second " Star Trek " film , Harve Bennett , hired Sowards – a self - confessed " Star Trek " fan – to turn Bennett ' s story outline into a script . Sowards had only a few months to complete his script before a writers ' strike was called in April of 1981 ; he had a first draft completed by late February ( followed by an updated draft delivered in early April ) . It was Sowards ' draft which convinced actor Leonard Nimoy to resume his role of Spock . Although Bennett ' s outline made no mention of Spock since Nimoy had already expressed disinterest in the project , Sowards persuaded Nimoy to sign on by having Spock die in the script . Although the final screenplay was a compilation of elements from various drafts as written by director Nicholas Meyer , much of Sowards contributions were retained in the final project , and indeed , he received sole screenwriting credit in the film . Death . Having been retired from screenwriting since the early 1990s , Sowards died in Valley Village , California from complications of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis , also known as Lou Gehrig ' s Disease . He was 78 years old . " Star Trek " award nominations . Sowards has earned two award nominations for his writing for " The Wrath of Khan " , his first and only feature film credit .