Gene Roddenberry received an honor no other TV writer had

Gene Roddenberry created Star Trek, and it became a long-lived franchise.

When Star Trek: The Original Series was set to debut its first pilot, “The Cage,” starring Jeffrey Hunter, DeForest Kelley, who would go on to portray Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy, said “it’s either gonna be the biggest hit or the biggest miss God ever made.” [Source: Original Series Trivia Book by A360 Media] And while the first pilot wasn’t the success Gene Roddenberry hoped it would be, NBC gave him a second chance for a first impression, and “Where No Man Has Gone Before” was filmed.

Though The Original Series wasn’t the biggest hit ever made, it was the beginning of a massive franchise that would become the long-lasting scifi phenomenon it is today. And in 1985, thanks to his creation, Roddenberry received an honor that no other television writer before him had ever received.

Gene Roddenberry made his mark on Hollywood and the world.

On September 5, 1985, (Walk of Fame actually has the date as 9/4/85) about six months before Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home began filming, Roddenberry received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, which is located at 6683 Hollywood Blvd. And in a series of first, this one didn’t come as a surprise as, by the mid-eighties, Roddenberry had taken the science fiction community by storm.

His contribution to scifi and good writing also earned him an induction into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame and the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences’ Hall of Fame. Those of us who are fans of Star Trek know all of the honors Roddenberry received were well-deserved as his legacy continues to live on in the series that are currently streaming on Paramount+ as well as in the series and movies that are to come.