Gene Roddenberry

Eugene Wesley Roddenberry was an American television screenwriter, producer and creator of the original Star Trek television series, and its sequel spin-off series Star Trek: The Animated Series and Star Trek:The Next Generation. Born in El Paso, Texas, Roddenberry grew up in Los Angeles, where his father was a police officer. Roddenberry flew 89 combat missions in the Army Air Forces during World War II, and worked as a commercial pilot after the war. Later, he followed in his father's footsteps and joined the Los Angeles Police Department, where he also began to write scripts for television.