‘Star Trek’ Creator Gets Final Salute From Cast, Fans

It may have been the first time anyone brought a phaser gun to Forest Lawn Memorial Park-Hollywood Hills.

It probably was the only time anyone has greeted a memorial flyover by a squadron of four jets--the traditional “missing man” salute to a fallen airman-- with a V-shaped hand signal that means “live long and prosper.”

But neither incident drew much notice at the memorial service Friday for “Star Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry, which united cast and crew members from both versions of the popular television series and six “Star Trek” movies with family members, golf buddies and more than 100 “Star Trek” aficionados, known as “trekkies.”

Roddenberry died Oct. 24 in Santa Monica at the age of 70, more than 25 years after a giant spaceship known as the Enterprise first shot at warp speed across America’s television screens.

In many ways the event was pure Hollywood. A traffic jam stretched across the expansive cemetery before the service. In the hillside Hall of Liberty, the crowd of more than 500 was welcomed by a recording of the television series’ lilting theme song. Afterward, participants were met by the shouts and flashing strobes of the paparazzi.

The crowd’s faces read like “Star Trek” credits: Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelly and Nichelle Nichols were among those from the original cast--Spock, Bones and Lt. Uhura on screen. From the current series, “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” for which Roddenberry was executive consultant, came Patrick Stewart, who plays Capt. Picard, LeVar Burton, Marina Sirtis, Jonathan Frakes and others.

The star of the first series, William Shatner, who played starship commander Capt. Kirk, did not attend.

Some of the mourners were those who played less publicized roles in the making of the Star Trek legend, such as Joseph D’Agosta, a casting consultant for the original series.

“We didn’t know what it would become at the time, of course,” D’Agosta said, thinking back. “But later, I almost became a celebrity myself. My name was very small in the credits, but I’d go places and people would say, ‘Aren’t you Joseph D’Agosta?”’

Roddenberry was eulogized by fellow writers and the actors as a man who through patience, humility and hard work was able to persuade network executives to accept and continue a series they initially thought was too cerebral.

“In the midst of so much violence and so many shows we don’t care about, so many movies we don’t want to see . . . ‘Star Trek’ stands out as a nice, quiet, moral example at a time when we need it,” said science fiction author Ray Bradbury.

Bradbury said he had often been mistaken for Roddenberry and that he quickly learned to just say, “Thank you, I’m glad you like my work” so as not to disappoint fans.

Comedian and actor Whoopi Goldberg said she “begged to be on” the new series because she had grown up watching Nichols play Lt. Uhura, one of the few continuing black roles on television at the time.

When Roddenberry asked why she wanted to be on the show, Goldberg said, “I explained to him that his was the only vision that had black people in the future. He was amazed. I think he had never realized that before.”

While Goldberg and Bradbury spoke from the hall’s carpeted stage, trekkies--who call themselves “trekkers”--wept quietly in the balcony seats, reminiscing about their own contacts with Roddenberry, who frequently attended conventions of “Star Trek” fans.

“When I was a kid I felt so isolated . . . I was so different,” whispered Greg Koudoulian, a computer consultant who dabbles in science fiction writing. “I met him at a convention and we shared a bottle of scotch poolside . . . For somebody that important to be that nice to me, it just really made me feel good.”

None of the cast members came to the service in costume, but several of the trekkies did. Roddenberry would have wanted them to, they said. Donald Maglio, 34, of Long Beach wore a golden Star Trek pullover, complete with U-shaped insignia, and carried a phaser that was strapped to his belt.

“It was actually used in two episodes,” Maglio said. “I bought it for $480, but it’s worth $15,000 now . . . I keep it hidden away at home except for special occasions like this.”