Gene Roddenberry, the much beloved creator and producer of the Star Trek franchise, died on October 24, 1991 at the age of 70. Roddenberry was born in El Paso, Texas in 1921. He was in the US Army during World War II, where he flew 89 missions as a bomber pilot and received the Distinguished Flying Cross. After returning home, he became a pilot for Pan American. Roddenberry's passion for writing saw his first short story, "The Happy rthmonster", published in 1956. Afterwards, he focused his energies on writing scripts for television. Roddenberry is best known for creating the 1960 series, Star Trek, which ended in 1969 but went on to achieve huge popularity in syndication. He remained involved in the Star Trek franchise in the following years, even developing an animated version of the series and creating a number of theatrical motion pictures. He was also involved briefly with other TV projects, such as Andromeda and Earth: Final Conflict. His magnum opus, however, will always be the Star Trek franchise, which consists of six TV series, 13 films, numerous books, comic books, video games, and other merchandise. Roddenberry's innovative and successful franchise is a testament to his creative genius and enduring legacy. He will be fondly remembered by his many admirers.