Roddenberry (Gene) Star Trek television series collection, 1966-circa 2010

Collection context

Summary

Title:
Gene Roddenberry Star Trek television series collection
Dates:
1966-circa 2010
Extent:
18.0 linear feet (36 boxes) and 5.15 linear feet (4 unprocessed record cartons, 1 unprocessed flat box)
Language:
Materials are in English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Gene Roddenberry papers (Collection PASC 62). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.

Background

Scope and content:

Collection consists of material related to the television program, Star trek. Includes story outlines, treatments and various drafts of scripts, shooting schedules, cast lists, title sheets, photographic lists, budget reports, and memoranda.

Biographical / historical:

Star Trek debuted in 1966 and ran to 79 episodes; it started with low ratings, but the support of its audience and science fiction writers prevented its cancellation; the show was launched by Gene Roddenberry with a format similar to that of Wagon train, a weekly television program about pioneers traveling westward; over time Roddenberry and Star Trek acquired a following of loyal fans, known as "Trekkies"; Star Trek reruns in the late 1970s prompted the continued popularity of the series; Paramount pictures produced several Star Trek movies starring the original television series cast; Roddenberry created and became executive producer for another television series called Star Trek : The Next Generation, which was set seventy-eight years after the final Star Trek episode.

Eugene Wesley Roddenberry was born in El Paso, TX, Aug. 19, 1921; AA, Los Angeles City College, 1941; attended Univ. of CA, LA, Univ. of Miami, and Columbia Univ.; second lieutenant, US Army Air Forces, 1941-45; Pan American Airways, pilot, 1945-49; LA Police Dept., LA, CA 1949-53; started his career as television and motion picture creator, producer, and writer in 1953; president of Norway Production, Inc, (1962-); member of various professional organizations including the Writers Guild of America, West and the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences; in addition to his television credits, he was involved with several Star Trek motion pictures; published Star Trek : The Motion Picture (1979), The making of Star Trek : The Motion Picture (1980), and Star Trek : The First Twenty-Five Years (1991); the recipient of numerous awards; died in LA, CA, Oct. 24, 1991.

Acquisition information:
Gift of Gene Roddenberry, 1969. Addition to the collection gift of Eugene Roddenberry Jr. and Heidi Roddenberry, 2017.
Processing information:

Processed by UCLA Library Special Collections staff. Updated by Kelly Besser, 2021.

Collections are processed to a variety of levels depending on the work necessary to make them usable, their perceived user interest and research value, availability of staff and resources, and competing priorities. Library Special Collections provides a standard level of preservation and access for all collections and, when time and resources permit, conducts more intensive processing. These materials have been arranged and described according to national and local standards and best practices.

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Arrangement:

Arranged in the following series:

  1. Produced episodes
  2. Correspondence/general files
  3. Unproduced materials

Physical location:
Stored off-site. All requests to access special collections material must be made in advance using the request button located on this page.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Finding aid prepared by UCLA Library Special Collections staff, updated by Kelly Besser, 2021; machine-readable finding aid created by Caroline Cubé, 2016.
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2026-08-19 15:21:47 -0700 .

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for research. All requests to access special collections materials must be made in advance using the request button located on this page.

Portions of collection unprocessed. Material in the Accession PASC-0062-2017-12 backlog series is unavailable for access. Please see LSC's Access to Unprocessed Collections Policy for more information about levels of discovery and access of special collections materials and registering interest in unprocessed collections.

Terms of access:

Property rights to the physical objects belong to UCLA Library Special Collections. All other rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Gene Roddenberry papers (Collection PASC 62). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.

Location of this collection:
A1713 Charles E. Young Research Library
Box 951575
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575, US
Contact:
(310) 825-4988