When “Star Trek” debuted in 1966, no one could possibly know the impact that it would have on not only the world of television, but on pop culture as a whole. Since that time, the series has spawned numerous spin-offs, more than a dozen feature films, and more fanfiction than any one human could ever read. Captain James Tiberius Kirk (William Shatner) and the rest of the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise are recognizable to just about everyone, even if they’ve never seen the series. The show’s impact is immense, and in 1985, series creator Gene Roddenberry earned a very special honor for his part in it all.
Plenty of movie stars and directors have been immortalized on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame, with their names on plaques inside of giant stars on the sidewalk, but Roddenberry was the first television writer and/or producer to given a spot. (This should not be confused with the other “walk of fame” where stars put their hand and footprints in the cement in front of Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, which is directly across the street from Bruce Lee’s Walk of Fame star.) Let’s take a look at Roddenberry’s legacy, from that Hollywood star to having his ashes launched into space.
