Eugene Wesley “Gene” Roddenberry was born on the 19th August 1921, in El Paso, Texas USA, and was a film producer and screenwriter, best known to the world for creating the original “Star Trek” television series. His career was active from the 1950s until his death in 1991.
Have you ever wondered how rich Gene Roddenberry was, at the time of his death? According to sources, it has been estimated that Roddenberry`s net worth was as high as $500 million, an amount he acquired through his successful career in the entertainment industry.
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Gene Roddenberry Net Worth $500 Million
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Gene was the child of Eugene Edward Roddenberry and Caroline; when he was two years old, he and his family moved to Los Angeles, California, where his father accepted the job of police commissioner. In his youth, Gene was interested in magazines and books, reading science fiction stories about John Carter of Mars, Tarzan, and the Skylark, among others.
Gene enrolled at the Los Angeles City College, where he majored in police science, and while in college, became interested in aeronautical engineering, which resulted in him joining the USAAC, and obtaining a pilot`s license through their Civilian Pilot Training Program, receiving also the rank of the second lieutenant. He was in the US Army Air Force from 1941 until 1945, and received Distinguished Flying Cross and Air Medal for his operations over the Pacific, and later as an air crash investigator. He had a reasonable net worth at this point.
After he returned from the war, Gene worked as a pilot for several air companies, and later was the police officer in the Los Angeles Police Department, where he also started his career as a writer, partly because he was in the public information department. His first work was the TV series “The Secret Defense of 117” (1954-1955), which was followed by the TV series “Highway Patrol” (1954-1955). By the end of the 1950s, he had written several episodes for series such as “I Led Three Lives” (1956), “West Point Story” (1956-1957), and “Have Gun – Will Travel” (1957-1963), which only increased his net worth, and also helped him build a name for himself in the entertainment industry as a writer.
In 1963 he created the TV series “The Lieutenant”, and three years later, he wrote the first season of the highly popular TV series “Star Trek”, which then expanded to two more seasons, until it was cancelled in 1968. However, Star Trek was then made into an animated series, which aired through 1973 and 1974. In 1987 the series were rebooted, and aired for another seven seasons, on which Gene was a consultant and occasional writer.
Gene then wrote a number of Star Trek films, including “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” (1979), which was the first in the franchise, followed by “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan” (1982), “Star Trek III: The Search for Spock” (1984), “Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home” (1986), “Star Trek V: The Final Frontier” (1989), and “Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country” (1991), which success increased his net worth by a large margin.
Thanks to his skills, Gene received a number of prestigious nominations and awards, including the nomination for Primetime Emmy award in the category of Outstanding Dramatic Series for his work on “Star Trek”.
Furthermore, he won the Life Career Award given by the Academy of Science Fiction, and also Hugo award in category Best Dramatic Presentation also for the TV series “Star Trek”. Gene also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contribution to television and movies.
Regarding his personal life, Gene was married twice; his first wife was Eileen-Anita Rexroat, the couple married in 1942 and divorced in 1969 following several years of his infidelities. The couple had two children together. Gene then married Majel Barrett the same year, with whom he had been in a romantic relationship while still married. They remained married until his death, and had a son together, Rod Roddenberry.
Gene died in 1991, after having several strokes, which denegrated his health; he was on his way to a doctor when he suffered heart failure; he was pronounced dead, passing away on the 24th October 1991 in Santa Monica, California.
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