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 ...

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 ...

Majel Barrett Majel Barrett-Roddenberry (; born Majel Leigh Hudec;
, ''

Star Trek: Discovery'', '' Star Trek: Picard'', '' Star Trek: Lower Decks'', '' Star Trek: Prodigy'' and '' Star Trek: Strange New Worlds''.

Early life

Roddenberry was born in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, the son of actress

Majel Barrett Majel Barrett-Roddenberry (; born Majel Leigh Hudec;
, ''

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 ...

, creator of the American science fiction series ''

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 ...

''. Roddenberry went to the

John Thomas Dye School The John Thomas Dye School, nicknamed JTD, is an independent private coeducational nonsectarian elementary day school located in the Bel-Air area of Los Angeles, California, serving students in kindergarten through sixth grade. The school was f ...

in Bel Air and

Harvard-Westlake School Harvard-Westlake School is an independent, co-educational university preparatory day school consisting of two campuses located in Los Angeles, California, with approximately 1,600 students enrolled in grades seven through twelve. Its two predec ...

in

North Hollywood North Hollywood is a neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, located in the San Fernando Valley. The neighborhood contains the NoHo Arts District, the El Portal Theatre, several art galleries, and the Academy of TV Arts and Sciences. The North ...

. and then attended

Hampshire College Hampshire College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. It was opened in 1970 as an experiment in alternative education, in association with four other colleges ...

in the early 1990s. As a young man, Roddenberry was not closely familiar with ''Star Trek'', having never even watched it. In 1991, when he was 17 years old, his father died, after which he began to examine ''Star Trek'' and discover "what made the series special" to its fans. Roddenberry struggled initially with his father's near-legendary stature among ''Star Trek'' fans, commenting: "A son cannot identify with a mythical figure; my father was put up on this pedestal throughout my life." However, as Roddenberry heard many moving stories about his father's flaws and follies, he observed, "That allowed me, as a son, not just to connect with him, but actually love him."

Career

In 2001, Roddenberry became chief executive officer of Roddenberry Entertainment, which builds upon his father's work, and develops multimedia science fiction properties including comics, television and film projects. In mid-2009, the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' reported that Roddenberry approved of the 2009 ''

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 ...

'' film by J.J. Abrams. Roddenberry opined that the producers and writers "made ''Star Trek'' cool again" with the film. In 2010, Roddenberry, an avid scuba diver since 1993, founded the Roddenberry Dive Team, to allow people "to embark on undersea experiences and discover the diversity beneath the ocean." Roddenberry leads the dive team in its exploration of underwater worlds and hopes to inspire stewardship of the world's oceans. Roddenberry, who holds a Divemaster certification, has led or participated in more than 1,000 dives from exotic locations around the world. In October 2011, the Roddenberry Foundation, which was founded by Rod Roddenberry, made its largest gift of $5 million to the J. David Gladstone Institutes in San Francisco to establish the Roddenberry Center for Stem Cell Biology and Medicine. The Roddenberry Foundation believes that "the center's innovative technology that converts adult skin cells into life-changing stem cells will radically advance the fight against Alzheimer's and heart disease." Roddenberry started to become directly involved in the Star Trek franchise in 2016 when he signed on as an executive producer of the TV series '' Star Trek: Discovery''.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Roddenberry, Rod 1974 births Television producers from California American television writers American male television writers Hampshire College alumni Living people Writers from Los Angeles Businesspeople from San Diego Film producers from California Gene Roddenberry Writers from San Diego Harvard-Westlake School alumni American chief executives in the media industry Screenwriters from California