D. C. Fontana
American screenwriter (1939–2019)
Dorothy Catherine Fontana (March 25, 1939 – December 2, 2019) was an American television script writer and story editor, best known for her work on the original Star Trek series.
After a short period working for Samuel A. Peeples as a secretary, Fontana moved to work for Del Reisman, a producer on The Lieutenant, whose creator was Gene Roddenberry. Though The Lieutenant was soon cancelled, Roddenberry began working on Star Trek, and Fontana was appointed as the series' story editor, but left after the second season to pursue freelance work. She later worked with Roddenberry again on Genesis II and then as story editor and associate producer on Star Trek: The Animated Series. During the 1970s and early 1980s, she worked on a number of television shows including The Streets of San Francisco, Bonanza, The Six Million Dollar Man, Logan's Run, The Waltons, and Dallas.
Roddenberry hired Fontana to work on Star Trek: The Next Generation, but, while she was given an associate producer credit, the experience soured their relationship and resulted in a claim put to the Writers Guild of America. She later wrote an episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and an episode of the Star Trek fan-made series Star Trek: New Voyages.
Fontana was inducted into the Museum of Pop Culture's Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame. She was also awarded the Morgan Cox Award in 2002 by the Writers Guild of America, and was twice named to the American Screenwriters Association's hall of fame.
Early life
Born in Sussex, New Jersey, Fontana was raised in Totowa, New Jersey, graduating from Passaic Valley Regional High School in 1957.
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