Gene Roddenberry

Gene Roddenberry is best known as the creator of Star Trek, often referred to by fans as "The Great Bird of the Galaxy."
While Star Trek was on the air, and afterward, Roddenberry was a willing and entertaining convention guest. A few years after Star Trek went off the air (and as it was gaining in popularity through syndication), Roddenberry was going through hard times creatively/financially. He was encouraged to go on lecture tours, talking about Star Trek, showing the blooper reel and original pilot. 
Later, when he started working on the Star Trek movies, and Star Trek: The Next Generation, he continued to communicate with fans; dropping hints and even giving interviews for fanzines, etc. Because of these frequent chances to see and talk to him, fans felt that they knew him (or at least knew someone who knew him). It could be argued that he shaped fannish ideas of how the showrunner of a genre show should act: how accessible they should be, how friendly to fans, etc. In many ways, Gene Roddenberry's interactions with fans set an example that was often challenging for those who followed. See George Lucas. 
Fandom mourned his death in 1991, and then later the death of his wife, Majel Barrett, in December 2008.
==As a Symbol and Proponent of Peace and Optimism==
File:Apota15-1.jpg|from A Piece of the Action #15 (1974), artist is Janice Scott
==Regarding the Crew of the Enterprise: The Capacity for Love==
The first issue of More Missions, More Myths, a Star Trek zine, has this undated quote from Gene Roddenberry: 
==His Views Regarding Fanworks==
Gene Roddenberry wrote about fan creativity in his 1976 introduction for Star Trek: The New Voyages, a Bantam published book edited by Sondra Marshak and Myrna Culbreath. This was a collection of original Star Trek stories that had originally been published in fanzines. Given that this was a professionally published book, the collection was entirely het and gen. It included only one story with what some fans consider crypto-slash elements: “The Winged Dreamers” by Jennifer Guttridge.Guttridge wrote what many consider the first-ever K/S story, “The Ring of Soshern”, in 1968, but it was a private work, published only once in Alien Brothers (1987), without her permission.
 
Gene’s intro: 
In 1976, Roddenberry said in an interview: 
In the first authorized biography of William Shatner, Shatner: Where No Man by Sondra Marshak and Myrna Culbreath, one chapter is devoted to an interview with Roddenberry. The authors compared Kirk's friendship with Spock to the bond between Alexander the Great and his friend Hephaistion. In context, a series of historical novels about Alexander's life by Mary Renault were appearing at the time this book was being prepared, and Roddenberry had read them. Shatner had played Alexander in a 1968 TV-movie, and both he and Roddenberry described themselves as fans of the historical Alexander. 
==Apparently, Roddenberry Was Not Always a Fan of Actually Going to Cons==
==He Utilized Fans, Fans Utilized Him==
Roddenberry frequently communicated with fans regarding many projects. He wrote letters and supported their fannish projects, attended cons, spoke at hundreds of college and university campuses, sent films and props to cons, personally called cons, warned them regarding trouble ahead, and directly asked fans to support his projects with letter campaigns. In these interactions, Roddenbery played the role of both the man in charge, and the man who was a fellow fan and "one of you." 
Roddenberry understood the power that he had over fandom, and the power that fans had in shaping that fandom. Fans were both something to enjoy and encourage as well as something to use.
In 1973, Roddenberry responded to an Open Letter by "S.T.A.B. Paramount" Regarding a Proposed Boycott of All Paramount Productions.
From a 1974 letter: 
From a January 28, 1975 speech Roddenberry gave at Stanford University: 
In 1977, fans were told he was in their corner regarding rip-offs: 
Some of this fannish influence got out of hand. One example was in 1977. There was heavy promotion of Roddenberry's project, Spectre, in many issues of Star Trektennial News, so heavy, in fact, that the editor issued a sort-of apology to fans after the majority of issue #21 was used as a spotlight for the show, and encouraged fans to write to the network to express their support. In the next issue of this newsletter (July/August 1977), Susan Sackett addressed this over-reach: 
 
In September 1981, Roddenberry distributed a letter (via Susan Sackett) to many fan clubs. In it, called upon fan support as he exonerated himself from blame regarding the rumors of Spock's death in the next Star Trek film. See I cannot imagine who or what gave you the idea that I want to kill off Mr. Spock of STAR TREK. 
In 1989, Roddenberry addressed the effect of fan letters: 
Roddenberry also spoke in 1989 of why he accepted so many invitations to speak at lectures: 
After his death, his widow continued to utilize Roddenberry's name and memory. One example is this 1993 full-page plea from his wife Majel Barrett Roddenberry (owner of Lincoln Enterprises), printed in Engage! #23:
Some examples of Roddenberry's utilization of fandom took the form of open letters. Some examples:
* To Fellow Nimoy-Spock Fans
* Stardate 1977
==Other Shows==
Other Roddenberry shows:
* Andromeda
* The Questor Tapes
* Earth: Final Conflict
* Genesis II
*Planet Earth
* Spectre
* Strange New World
* other
==The Paul McCartney Project==
One of Roddenberry's projects was one with Paul McCartney. It was to have involve a concept album and film about an invasion from space that would involve Paul’s group, Wings, and Paul as an outer space rock singer. Paul McCartney hired Star Trek creator to make Wings Sci-Fi film (June 29, 2016) 
From Vulstar Equation #2 "Speaking of movies, Paul McCartney and his Wings will be making a fantasy-science fiction picture. We do not know if the movie will be live or animated, but Mr. McCartney called Gene Roddenberry direct from London and asked him to write the script."
From issue Inside Star Trek #20 (March/April 1977): "PAUL McCARTNEY and WINGS have made a deal with Gene to produce a new motion picture for their group. Gene is writing the story, based on an idea by Paul (a big TREKfan, incidentally); Paul is writing all the music for the film, to be produced later this year. WINGS will perform music and act in the movie." 
From an interview with Roddenberry in "Inside Star Trek" #24 (November/December 1977): WHAT OTHER PROJECTS DO YOU HAVE IN DEVELOPMENT? I have delivered a first draft of a screenplay story to Paul McCartney for his Wings group. If they want to do it right away, it doesn’t appear that I’ll have a chance to go ahead with it, to work with them on it, because I’ll be very involved with STAR TREK for the next year or so."
==Books==
A number of books about Gene Roddenberry were published after his death. These contain interviews, conversations, and reprinted writings from Roddenberry. They include the following titles:
* The Man Who Created Star Trek: Gene Roddenberry, by James Van Hise (1992)
* Star Trek Creator: The Authorized Biography of Gene Roddenberry, by David Alexander (1994)
* Gene Roddenberry: The Myth and the Man Behind Star Trek, by Joel Engel (1994)
* Gene Roddenberry: The Last Conversation - A Dialogue with the Creator of Star Trek, by Yvonne Fern Solow (1994)
* Inside Trek: My Secret Life with Star Trek Creator Gene Roddenberry, by Susan Sackett (2002)
* Conversations at Warp Speed (interview with Gene Roddenberry), by Anthony Wynn (2012)
* The Impossible Has Happened: The Life and Work of Gene Roddenberry, Creator of Star Trek, by Lance Parkin (2016)
==See Also==
* TPTB's Involvement and Interference
* The Roddenberry Phone Call
* The Powers That Be
* Leonard Maizlish, article at "Memory Alpha Wiki" about Roddenberry's lawyer (accessed February 2019)
==Gallery of Fannish Roddenberry Fanworks==
===1968===
File:Trisk1cover.jpg|from Triskelion #1, artist is Jane R. Miller 
File:Spockanalia3roddenberry.jpg|from Spockanalia #3, artist is Alicia Austin
===1971===
File:Tneg12art2.jpg|from T-Negative #12, artist is Alan Andres
===1973===
File:Logbook3.jpg|from The Logbook #3, artist is not credited
Image:staggene.jpg|art from Star Trek Action Group #111, artist is Luanne Sharman
===1974===
 File:Roddenberrytarot.jpg| from The Incredible Star Trek Book, tarot card by Donna L. Astin
===1975===
File:Warped6art3.jpg|from Warped Space #6, Jim Steele
File:Contact1odetogene.jpg|"Our Guy Gene," from Contact #1, artist is not credited
File:Startrektoday6-1.jpg|from Star Trek Today #6 (1975), artists are Burt Libe and Cara Sherman
File:Comiccor3.jpg|From Satire Trek Comicordance, parody art by Henry Roll
=== 1977 ===
File:Spock -5.jpg| from Spock #5, August 1977, cover art by Sue Keck 
===1980===
File:Enter2art1.jpg|from Enter-comm #2, artist is Brendan Hawley
=== 1986 ===
File:Comconnovdec1986front.jpg|Majel Barrett Roddenberry and Gene Roddenberry by Annette Taylor, Communications Console Nov/Dec 1986
===1988===
File:Grip31art8.jpg|from Grip #31, artist is Jean Ellenbacher
===1989===
 Image:trekwell3-6.jpg||a filk from The Temple of Trek Revival Hymnal #3 (1989): "Roddenberry, Best of Men"
===1991===
File:Trekkin2.jpg|from Trekkin' #2, artist is W.C. Pope
File:Eridani15-12.jpg|from Eridani #16, artist is David Lawrence
 Image:agonizer3-3-2.jpg| from v.3 n.2 of The Agonizer, a Klingon zine: "Marg sutai-H'Havraadh suggests that Klingons who want to honor the creator of the Star Trek universe consider a formal, public gesture: perhaps a death-howl when we are assembled in uniformed groups to attend Star Trek VI--The Undiscovered Country. Mrak and Koch K'Nera encourage Klingons to adopt a commemorative black splash on the left cheek--of some dark substance like shoe polish or black lipstick--about two inches long and as wide as a finger."
 
===1992===
File:Mindmeld7frontispiece.jpg|from Mind Meld #7, artist is Kathy Resch
===1994===
File:Antimatter11-5.jpg|from Matter/Antimatter #11
===1998===
File:Masiform18.jpg| from Masiform D #18, artist is Bev Zuk
==References==
Category:Science Fiction Authors
Category:Industry