David Gerrold

David Gerrold is a Star Trek writer and fan.
==About==
"David Gerrold... received his B.A. from San Fernando Valley State College in 1967, and has worked in a toy store, in a 'dirty book store,' and as a television producer. He got his start in television with the sale of his script, 'The Trouble with Tribbles.' Since that time, he has written and co-written several other scripts for Star Trek... He has written two books on the series, The Trouble with Tribbles and The World of Star Trek, the latter of which is being re-released in connection with Star Trek III [The Search for Spock] as this fanzine goes to press." [1984] from Sensor Readings #1 (1984)
Gerrold is also credited with co-writing the story from which the TOS episode "The Cloud Minders" was adapted by Margaret Armen, and two episodes of Star Trek: The Animated Series, "More Tribbles, More Troubles" and "Bem".
He worked on the early planning of Star Trek: The Next Generation, but quit early in the first season. He describes this experience and his work with Gene Roddenberry in an open letter reprinted with permission at StarTrekdom and dated July 19, 2007. He also talks about it in the 2015 film Chaos On The Bridge.
==Gerrold and Tribbles==
Gerrold wrote the script for one of the most popular Star Trek: TOS episodes, "The Trouble With Tribbles."
Gerrold himself had a complicated relationship with tribbles.
In 1969, Gerrold wrote: "... there are too many fans who have not realized that Star Trek is a broken promise, a vision of things that will never be. These are the rabid little trekkees who get excited at seeing a real tribble (damn it, it's only a powder puff!)." from The Awful Offal
In either a crafty marketing move with Paramount, or a reflection of Paramount not covering all its bases (possibly both), David Gerrold temporarily got over this disdain and personally sold a lot of tribbles. From a 1972 ad in Star-Borne: 
In 1973, Gerrold hawked his tribbles via a letter and flyer sent to, and printed in, Metamorphosis #1: 
In 1973, Gerrold also combined his tribble sales with yet another fan campaign, this one for Star Trek: The Animated Series, and by proxy, the possibility of a Star Trek movie."If the animated Star Trek does well enough, perhaps Paramount can be convinced to bring back the live series -- or even a movie! From an extensive flyer by Gerrold: 
In 1974, a fan, Cara Sherman wrote: 
In 2016, Gerrold explained that tribbles had their part of making him decide to stop going to cons: 
===Art and Ads Starring Tribbles!===
File:Eq1973programbook-2.jpg|a 1973 ad for tribbles, this one in the Equicon final program book,
File:Equicon1973-3-3prog.jpg|from the third 1973 Equicon progress report, another ad for tribbles
File:Eq1973programbook-6.jpg|some 1969 fan art portraying Gerrold and a little friend, artist is George Barr; illo was printed in the first edition of Star Trek Concordance (1969), and reprinted in the Equicon program book (1973)
File:comiccor6.jpg| a bit of David Gerrold from Satire Trek Comicordance, parody of the George Barr illo
File:gerroldflyer1.jpg|1973 flyer by Gerrold, plugging the new Star Trek animated series
File:gerroldflyer2.jpg|1973 flyer by Gerrold, Tribbles on clearance, and hey, even if you don't buy stuff, write some letters (buying stuff is better though)
File:Monolith3-1.jpg|a 1973 ad for Gerrold's wares, printed in the zine Monolith #3
File:ebayTribble.png|David Gerrold screen-used Tribble, sold with his personal Letter of Authenticity (2002), episode scripts and paperback book
==Gerrold and Fandom: Sometimes Complicated==
Gerrold is known as the writer of the extremely popular Star Trek: TOS episode 'The Trouble with Tribbles," for his frequent convention appearances, for his marketing of toy tribbles, for his "dulcet voice selling original xeroxed scripts boom over the whining PA system" [at conventions],from a fan's memorial for the Commodore Hotel, The Hole in the Deck Gang Newsletter #12 for what many fans felt to be controversial and offensive remarks during interviews,two interviews: one in Sensor Readings #1 and for the convention DraftTrek, see those pages his essays,see The Awful Offal (1969) and for his behavior at conventions.see the personal statement by [R W] in Universal Translator #23 
In early 1976, it was reported that Gerrold had "announced that he will sever all connection with fandom other than normal paid appearances and keeping in touch with friends." reported in Karass #21 (April/May 1976) by Linda Bushyager , but he must have changed his mind. 
Gerrold has contributed to several fanzines, both as an interviewee and as a non-fiction writer. 
===Conventions===
Gerrold was a very, very frequent guest at cons. He often ran the auction, gave presentations and talks, and was a general raconteur.
A fan in 1975 said of Gerrold's appearance at Star Trek Lives! con: 
In 2016, Gerrold explained his role in Star Trek fan networking: 
File:stchi14.jpg|convention program page, from Star Trek Chicago, Gerrold was a guest of honor in 1975
File:neostar-6.jpg|from the Neo-Star: Cleveland Star Trek Convention program book in 1979
===Other Interactions with Fans===
One example of Gerrold's complicated relationship is the dedication to the long-running and very influential zine series, Menagerie, in which the editors dedicated the second issue "To DAVID GERROLD, who by keeping 2,000 miles away, helped beyond telling."
Gerrold was also the subject of a con panel at SeKWester*Con called "What is David Gerrold and Why?" 
====Gerrold and Niceness: Fan Comments====
A con report for the 1973 Star Trek Lives by Sharon Ferraro by Maureen Bourns included: 
A con report for the 1974 Star Trek Lives by Sharon Ferraro mentioned Gerrold, saying: 
A fan in 1974 reported her comments about attending Equicon: 
In the fall of 1975, San Diego Comic-Con founder Ken Krueger published a piece in Bob Sourk's Destiny of Science Fiction fanzine, recounting his personal experience trying to ask Gerrold, at NASFiC 1975, to autograph a copy of his novel The Man Who Folded Himself: 
From the 1991 program book for UFP Con: 
====Gerrold's Own Comments About Niceness====
Regarding being "nice" nice to fans, in 1974 Gerrold said: 
Regarding "nice," in 1985 Gerrold said: 
===STW and Multiple Apologies===
David Gerrold straddled a line, between being a fan, with the much larger role he played, that being one of the original creators of the show (mainly via his screenplay, "The Trouble with Tribbles" and his part in writing for-profit Star Trek books). He was sort of one of "us," but fans also knew he was perhaps a conduit to the TPTB, and treated him both with gingerly respect, and but also with a conflicted anger over many of his remarks and actions at cons and elsewhere; the editor's remarks in A Piece of the Action hint at this constant back-and forth, and in the end, illustrate he knew which side fandom's bread is buttered on.
Some examples of the uneasy relationship that fans had with TPTB's Involvement and Interference took place in A Piece of the Action. 
In 1974, when a fan, Tim, described Gerrold at the 1974 Star Trek Lives as "his usual obnoxious but likable self," from A Piece of the Action #12 (March 1974) the newsletter had to print a retraction: 
In 1975, there were more hurt feelings. A fan, Katie, wrote a fairly complimentary con report for Vul-Con, but also complained about what she felt to be Gerrold's monopolization of a panel: 
In A Piece of the Action #29 (August 1976), the editor issued an apology due to D.C. Fontana, Bjo Trimble, David Gerrold, Virginia Walker, Janice Scott, Diane McClaugherty and others all complaining about the comments about Gerrold and the "rough treatment" he'd suffered due to Katie's words:
===Remarks on Star Trek===
In 1969, Gerrold wrote that Star Trek could be good, but was often not: 
In 1970, Gerrold wrote: 
In 2011, Gerrold wrote: 
In 2015, Gerrold wrote this regarding social justice issues as they pertain to Star Trek fandom:
===Remarks on Slash===
Gerrold has a decidedly negative attitude toward slash fan works, in particular K/S.
In 1984, while conducting an auction at the U.F.P. Convention in Manchester, England, he chose to ridicule slash fanzines:
 
See more fan comments regarding Gerrold's remarks and actions: Con Reports: 1984.
Also in 1984, he edited a re-issue of his 1973 book The World of Star Trek in which he associated slash fandom with mental disturbance, mentioning it in a section on fans who have supposedly stalked the actors or committed suicide over Star Trek.The suicide story has circulated in fandom since the early 1970s in various forms. It may well be an urban legend. There is a discussion of the fan suicide story on TrekBBS (archived here).
This rant, of course, had an effect familiar to anyone who's ever been warned not to do something.
In 1985, he followed this up with an Open Letter to K/S Fandom by David Gerrold, setting off another major flap within established fandom. Later in the year, he commented on K/S fandom's reaction in an interview conducted by Randall Landers and Tim Farley, during which he referred to either all K/S fans or just the ones who argued with him about it as "fat ladies with a sexual dysfunction."He seems to have an obsession with female fans' weight. In the 1983 edition of The World of Star Trek he refers to a woman who allegedly went around various conventions -- reading to presumably unwilling listeners her 150-page single-spaced study of Spock and Vulcan -- as "a charter member of size-nineteen Star Trek fandom." in DraftTrek Interview with David Gerrold, Gerrold also said of slash fans: "When creating Star Trek, from 1966 through 1969, we were not writing masturbatory fantasies for fat ladies with sexual dysfunctions, and those of you reading this can stick it. I think Human beings should not wallow. I tell people to stop peeing in the swimming pool and get out, especially when it’s not your pool in the first place."
He shared his position on K/S again in 2013, see Somebody asked me again what I thought about K/S fans. And in 2016, he revealed more about his encounters with K/S fans and slash in his Facebook post titled Just for the record, I always assumed Sulu was gay. That was a lot more fun than assuming Kirk and Spock were lovers..
Fans pushed back in many ways to his words and actions. The editor and many fans of this zine series, First Time were NOT fans of Gerrold. In at least one editorial and one meta story, he is referred to as "David-you-know-who." In late 1987, Robin Hood, "First Time's" editor quipped about an upcoming zine: 
===Gerrold as a Gateway to K/S and Slash===
Some fans credit Gerrold with their introduction to K/S, citing his comments in the revised edition of The World of Star Trek.
Some fan comments:
==Works==
===Star Who?===
Gerrold is the author of Star Who?, a 1974 fanwork published in the zine Beta Lyrae. It is a parody in script form and uses a bit of fan casting. The topic of Star Trek: TOS and Gene Roddenberry's creative mind and editing style using current political and celebrity figures. It is illustrated by Karen Flanery.
The fan casting:
* Captain Kirk = the actor Bela Lugosi as the character Dracula
* Scotty = the politician Richard Nixon
* Chekov = the actor Peter Lorre
* Sulu = Mr. Jinks, a cartoon cat (Pixie and Dixie and Mr. Jinks is a Hanna-Barbera cartoon)
* Spock = the character Peter Columbo
* McCoy = the actor John Wayne 
* Gene Roddenberry = the character Frankenstein
* Uhura = Geraldine Jones, a fictional African American character and the most famous recurring persona of comedian Flip Wilson
===The Cloud Minders===
Gerrold is credited with co-writing the original story from which Margaret Armen adapted the TOS episode "The Cloud Minders". According to the Internet Movie Database, he "conceived the original story on which this episode was based, an outline called 'Castle in the Sky'. He was deeply disappointed with the final script."
===Blood and Fire===
In 1987, Gerrold wrote a script for Star Trek: TNG which included two gay characters and touched upon the topic of homosexuality and AIDS. It was called "Blood and Fire".Episode 4x4: Blood and Fire, part 1. (Accessed 20 June 2012). The script was turned down, and Gerrold left his job at Star Trek shortly after.For details on what really happened with "Blood and Fire" and why Gerrold left the show, 2014-11-12: WebCite" “Gene Roddenberry promised a room full of 3,000 fans that we’d have gay characters on TNG,” he told me. “He repeated that promise in a staff meeting. So I put two gay characters in my script for ‘Blood And Fire’ (unproduced). But the argument was raised that we couldn’t put gay people in the show because it would offend viewers. And when I realized that Gene’s promise would never be kept, I decided to quit.”" -- 
In 1989, Gerrold sold copies of the script to raise money for AIDS-related charity.
With Gerrold's permission, Carlos Pedraza rewrote "Blood and Fire" as a two-part episode for the fan series Star Trek: New Voyages (renamed Star Trek: Phase II). Gerrold did a final draft polish and also directed. Filming was completed on part 1 in 2007 and the show "aired" online in December 2008: part 2, a year later.
Blood and Fire: Part 1
Blood and Fire: Part 2
===The Martian Child===
Gerrold wrote the novelette The Martian Child based partly on his own experiences with his adopted son. In the book, the father is gay, like Gerrold himself. However, when the story was optioned for film by Bonneville, which is Mormon-run, they made Gerrold "straightwash" his character. When Bonneville later gave up on the production, the film rights were picked up by New Line Cinema, which retained the straight version of the character.
===Otherwords===
In 1969, the David Gerrold Fan Club published a series of zines about him called Otherwords. From the introduction to the first issue: 
==David Gerrold For President==
In a 1979 editorial called "There May Well Be a Choice" by Ellen M. Kozak, David Gerrold was encouraged to run for president of the United States: 
==Gallery: Gerrold in Fanworks and at Fan Gatherings==
File:rigelgerrold.jpg|a fan's cartoon from Rigel #1, Phil Avram: "We dedicate this page to David Gerrold, who was always looking for the potty..."
File:eq1987programbook.jpg|from the 1987 Equicon program book, artist is likely William Rotsler
 Image:menagerie2gerrold.jpg| detail from a 1973 con report for Starcon, artist is Bjo Trimble
 Image:davidgerroldkellyfreas.jpg|a cartoon by Kelly Freas, one of the guests of honor at Starcon—it portrays another guest of honor, David Gerrold, and is signed by both men. "This is an Auction - You're really supposed to bid AGAINST each other!"
<gallery heights=180px widths=260px>
File:sekgerrold.jpg|from the SeKWester*Con 1976 program book, "The SMOF work in strange and mysterious ways."
==Meta==
=== Interviews ===
* David Gerrold Answers Your Questions (1969)
* David Gerrold Indepth (1973)
* 2-5YM Interview with David Gerrold (1974)
* Third Annual Emory Science Fiction and Fantasy Symposium Interview with Robert Bloch and David Gerrold (1983)
* DraftTrek Interview with David Gerrold (1985) 
* Trek Writer David Gerrold Looks Back (2011)
===Essays ===
* The Awful Offal (1969)
* Pride & Prejudice, David Gerrold, from Starlog #43 (Trekkies, Trekkers, being a guest at cons) (February 1981)
* David Gerrold's 1984 UFP Con Report (1984)
* Open Letter to K/S Fandom by David Gerrold (1984)
* Somebody asked me again what I thought about K/S fans (2013)
* Star Trek was about social justice from day one (2015)
* Just for the record, I always assumed Sulu was gay. That was a lot more fun than assuming Kirk and Spock were lovers. (includes the term "FUBBA-WUBBA. It's a term I heard in fandom. It stands for 'fat ugly broad with unbelievably bad attitude.") (2016)
* I Am Not A Nice Man; archive link (2019) "I am not a nice man/person is a phrase Gerrold used to describe himself and/or embraced. From a 1985 interview: "I’m not a nice man; I’ve said this over and over." -- DraftTrek Interview with David Gerrold (1985). From the 1991 program book for UFP Con: "He is not a nice man. If you don't believe that, just ask him. (Or any of his friends.) [...] So when he snarls "I am not a nice man!" - believe him." 
===Columns in "Starlog"===
Gerrold was the author of a long-running series of columns in Starlog between April 1977 and June 1983. These columns generated many heated, strong opinions from fans in the magazine's letter column. After June 1983, Gerrold wrote many other articles that were not part of a regular column.
Starlog is archived here.
State of the Art: (April 1977-July 1979)
* example: #4 first “State of the Art” column (April 1977)
* example: #7 (about becoming the author of the novelization of Battle for the Planet of the Apes, being an “ape” in one of the movies, includes photos)
* example: #8 (“I’ve been having this fantasy about the new Star Trek movie.”)
* example: #9 (about blood drives and conventions)
* example: #10 (writing for television, specifically the wonderful “Logan’s Run”)
* example: #11 (turns out “Logan’s Run” was not that wonderful, mentions his pseud is “Noah Ward”)
* example: #13 (science fiction on television)
Rumblings: (August 1979-August 1981)
* example: #43 Rumblings: Pride & Prejudice (Trekkies vs. Trekkers, being a guest at cons) (February 1981)
Soaring: (September 1981-June 1983)
* example: #51 (September 1981)
==Personal Websites==
* Facebook
* Twitter
* gerrold.com (1998-ish)
* Gerrold's Page (2001-ish)
* Gerrold Dot Com (2004-ish)
* Gerrold (2012)
* Tribble Toys (2012)
==External Sources==
* David Gerrold at Memory Alpha
* David Gerrold at Wikipedia
==References==
Category:Fanwriters
Category:Science Fiction Authors
Category:Industry