Donald G. Ingalls (July 29, 1918 – March 10, 2014) was an American screenwriter and television producer. He was a lifelong friend of

Gene Roddenberry Eugene Wesley Roddenberry Sr. (August 19, 1921 – October 24, 1991) was an American television screenwriter, producer, and creator of ''Star Trek: The Original Series'', its sequel spin-off series ''Star Trek: The Animated Series,'' and ''Sta ...

, having served in the

Los Angeles Police Department The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal police department of Los Angeles, California. With 9,974 police officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-large ...

with him.

Early life

Don Ingalls was born in

Humboldt, Nebraska Humboldt is a city in Richardson County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 877 at the 2010 census. History Humboldt was platted in 1868. It was named after Humboldt, Tennessee, where an early settler had stayed while fighting in the C ...

on July 29, 1918. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Ingalls was in the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

as a pilot. He was stationed in Europe, flying

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theater ...

es. Following the war, he subsequently became a test pilot for

North American Aviation North American Aviation (NAA) was a major American aerospace manufacturer that designed and built several notable aircraft and spacecraft. Its products included: the T-6 Texan trainer, the P-51 Mustang fighter, the B-25 Mitchell bomber, the F ...

. Ingalls became a police officer and worked under Chief William H. Parker in the

within the Public Information department. It was in the police that he met lifelong friend

for the first time, and both of them transitioned from the Newspaper Unit within the Traffic Department to the new section when Parker was made chief. The pair shared a common background, both of them having been B-17 pilots during the war. During this time, they worked from a single office on the 27th floor of the

Los Angeles City Hall Los Angeles City Hall, completed in 1928, is the center of the government of the city of Los Angeles, California, and houses the mayor's office and the meeting chambers and offices of the Los Angeles City Council. It is located in the Civic Cente ...

. The duo shared a desire to become writers, with Ingalls being the first between them to resign from the LAPD to pursue this objective.

Screenwriting career

Roddenberry and Ingalls drifted apart following the latter's resignation, but reunited early on in their writing careers. Roddenberry was initially the more successful of the two, and recommended Ingalls as

story editor Story editor is a job title in motion picture and television production, also sometimes called "supervising producer". In live action television, a story editor is a member of the screenwriting staff who edits scripts, pitches stories, and reports ...

Sam Rolfe Samuel Harris Rolfe (February 18, 1924 – July 10, 1993) was an American screenwriter best known for creating (with Herb Meadow) the 1950-60s highly rated CBS television series ''Have Gun – Will Travel'', as well as his work on the 1960s NBC t ...

on the television series ''

Have Gun – Will Travel ''Have Gun – Will Travel'' is an American Western series that was produced and originally broadcast by CBS on both television and radio from 1957 through 1963. The television version of the series starring Richard Boone was rated number t ...

''. He would also continue to recommend Ingalls for other screenwriting jobs around the same time, while Ingalls went on to become an associate producer at ''Have Gun – Will Travel''. When Roddenberry began to develop ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...

'', he sent Ingalls a series outline but asked him to keep it "very, very confidential". Ingalls went on to write two scripts for ''Star Trek'', his first being "

The Alternative Factor "The Alternative Factor" is the twenty-seventh episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series '' Star Trek''. Written by Don Ingalls and directed by Gerd Oswald, it first aired on March 30, 1967. In the episode, th ...

". His second script, "

A Private Little War "A Private Little War" is the nineteenth episode of the second season of the American science fiction television series '' Star Trek''. Written by Gene Roddenberry, based on a story by Don Ingalls (under the pseudonym Jud Crucis), and directed b ...

", was intended to be a criticism piece on the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

, but was heavily re-written by Roddenberry to the extent that Ingalls was angry at him for a year and insisted on being credited only under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

"Jud Crucis". He wrote episodes for a variety of television series, and was a producer on shows such as ''

Fantasy Island ''Fantasy Island'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by Gene Levitt. It aired on ABC from 1977 to 1984. The series starred Ricardo Montalbán as the mysterious Mr. Roarke and Hervé Villechaize as his assistant, Tattoo. Gu ...

'', ''

T.J. Hooker ''T. J. Hooker'' is an American police drama television program starring William Shatner in the title role as a 15-year veteran police sergeant. The series premiered as a mid-season replacement on March 13, 1982, on ABC and ran on the network un ...

'' and '' Kingston: Confidential''. Ingalls also wrote a handful of

television movies Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, e ...

such as the 1979 ''

Captain America Captain America is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''#Golden Age, Captain America Comics'' #1 (cover ...

'' film. He has a single theatrical film credit, ''

Airport 1975 ''Airport 1975'' (also known as ''Airport '75'') is a 1974 American air disaster film and the first sequel to the successful 1970 film ''Airport''. It was directed by Jack Smight, produced by William Frye, executive produced by Jennings Lang, and ...

'' (1974). His final work was the novel, ''Watchers on the Mountain'' (2005) a fictional work about the

Navajo Nation The Navajo Nation ( nv, Naabeehó Bináhásdzo), also known as Navajoland, is a Native American reservation in the United States. It occupies portions of northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, and southeastern Utah; at roughly , the ...

Death

He died in 2014 after a long illness at his home in

Olympia, Washington Olympia is the capital of the U.S. state of Washington and the county seat and largest city of Thurston County. It is southwest of the state's most populous city, Seattle, and is a cultural center of the southern Puget Sound region. European ...

Filmography

Films

Television

Notes

References

* *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ingalls, Don 1918 births 2014 deaths People from Humboldt, Nebraska 21st-century American novelists American science fiction writers American television writers Los Angeles Police Department officers American male television writers United States Army Air Forces officers United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II 21st-century American male writers Screenwriters from Nebraska 21st-century American screenwriters