Unsung Heroes - 50th Anniversary

[David Strickhouser]

For the fiftieth anniversary of TOS, I would like to honor the individuals behind the scenes, who may or may not have gotten the largest or most memorable recognition for their contributions to the production of the series.

My list:

Edward K. Milkis - post production supervisor/associate producer

Gregg Peters - First Assistant Director, Unit Production Manager, Associate Producer

William Ware Theiss - Costume Designer

Jerry Finnerman - Director of Photography (61 episodes, 1966-1968)

Al Francis - Director of Photography (16 episodes, 1968-1969), Camera Operator (61 episodes, 1966-1968)

Ernest Haller - Director of Photography (second pilot; worked on Gone With the Wind)

John Meredyth Lucas - Writer, Producer, Director

George Merhoff - lead gaffer for seasons 1 through 3

Pat Westmore - hair stylist

George Rader - head grip

Irving Feinberg - (beloved) property master

Jim Rugg - special (on set) effects

Carl F. Biddiscombe - set decorator

Douglas H. Grindstaff - sound editor

Jack F. Lilly - sound mixer

George Rutter - script supervisor

Joseph D'Agosta - casting director

Carl W. Daniels - production mixer

John M. Dwyer - set decorator

Fabien D. Tordjmann - film editor

Charles Washburn - production assistant/second unit director

(Washburn was the first African-American who applied, and then graduated from the DGA's trainee program. The Original Series was Washburn's first professional job following his apprenticeship at the Director Guild of America (DGA)'s trainee program.)

(If I have missed anyone, please add to the list.)

After half a century, these folks deserve some "applause" for their work.

Beyond the quick credits at the end of TOS.

Bravo to all!

 

[Botany Bay]

Well said! I agree with you 100%
Let's not forget the ultimate unsung hero : Bob Justman. Without his unstoppable work ethic, practicality and enormous talent I don't know if TOS would have made it through that first season. He seemed to be the glue that held the work of all those amazing talents you mentioned together.

 

[David Strickhouser]

My list was an attempt to honor the "below the line" artists and craftsman who needed a "shout-out" after five decades.
I always consider Mr. Justman "above the line" as an associate producer/co-producer.
You're right though: he kept the S.S. TOS running straight and true.

 

[EnsignHarper]

Trek was probably THE first show where fans watched the WHOLE show - including the credits of the tech people involved. i remember my older sister watching the show first run during the 3rd season with friends, and making vocal notes about the appearance of George Rader's name! One thing that certainly helped fuel this was Poe/Whitfield's MAKING OF STAR TREK - no other TV show in history had ever had a book like this done before! So people like Feinberg, Theiss, Jeffries have been immortalized to the point where when they passed away, it actually made the news!

By the way, you 'forgot' all the wonderful composers who worked on the show - certainly Steiner, Courage, Fried, et al, were as a big a part of the success of Star Trek as anyone....

 

[Harvey]

Kellam de Forest, Joan Pearce, and Peter Sloman at de Forest Research (possibly others) deserve recognition. They never received screen credit, but were an important contributor behind-the-scenes.

I've written about de Forest before (and presented on his company's contribution to Star Trek at a conference a few years ago), but I really need to do a more comprehensive write-up detailing the things they added to the series (they added a lot!).

Joan Pearce appears to have done clearance and research for just about every Star Trek episode -- and movie -- until the end of Enterprise.

 

[Botany Bay]

Wow. Never knew that about Pearce!

Did I read somewhere that de Forest research had a small office on the Desilu/Paramount lot? I guess Pearce was with them all the way? The most unsung hero of them all?

If it's of any use I"ll note script contributions from the de Forest team as I find them in the Cushman books. Should be painless using Ctrl+F on the Kindle. But, as always, I'll leave fact checking his assertions to you!

 

[David Strickhouser]

Trek was probably THE first show where fans watched the WHOLE show - including the credits of the tech people involved. i remember my older sister watching the show first run during the 3rd season with friends, and making vocal notes about the appearance of George Rader's name! One thing that certainly helped fuel this was Poe/Whitfield's MAKING OF STAR TREK - no other TV show in history had ever had a book like this done before! So people like Feinberg, Theiss, Jeffries have been immortalized to the point where when they passed away, it actually made the news!

By the way, you 'forgot' all the wonderful composers who worked on the show - certainly Steiner, Courage, Fried, et al, were as a big a part of the success of Star Trek as anyone....

Thanks for the addition of the composers.
Especially Sol Kaplan for his work in "The Doomsday Machine". His "tension" music for the detonation countdown is comparable to John Williams' shark theme in "Jaws", in my opinion. Author Jeff Bond noted, "Although he wrote only two scores for the series, New York composer Sol Kaplan's music was tracked endlessly throughout the show's first two seasons."[

 

[David Strickhouser]

Kellam de Forest, Joan Pearce, and Peter Sloman at de Forest Research (possibly others) deserve recognition. They never received screen credit, but were an important contributor behind-the-scenes.

I've written about de Forest before (and presented on his company's contribution to Star Trek at a conference a few years ago), but I really need to do a more comprehensive write-up detailing the things they added to the series (they added a lot!).

Joan Pearce appears to have done clearance and research for just about every Star Trek episode -- and movie -- until the end of Enterprise.

Thanks for that addition.
Without their research, certain names and locales may not have been "cleared" for use. They were indispensable.

 

[Harvey]

Did I read somewhere that de Forest research had a small office on the Desilu/Paramount lot? I guess Pearce was with them all the way? The most unsung hero of them all?

She broke off from de Forest and formed her own research firm at some point in the 1980s, I believe. Kellam de Forest ran the old RKO research library on what was at that point the Desilu lot.

de Forest Research was nearly written into a pre-credits sequence of an episode of Mission: Impossible -- Briggs would have picked up his orders there -- but this was cut (probably before shooting).

If it's of any use I"ll note script contributions from the de Forest team as I find them in the Cushman books. Should be painless using Ctrl+F on the Kindle. But, as always, I'll leave fact checking his assertions to you!

Well, I have collected ALL the de Forest Research reports in the UCLA Star Trek collection. Cushman notes some of their contributions, but misses many of them.