 Eugene Wesley " Gene " Roddenberry ( August 19 , 1921 – October 24 , 1991 ) was an American television screenwriter , producer and futurist best remembered for creating the original Star Trek television series . He was born in El Paso , Texas , but grew up in Los Angeles , California where his father worked as a police officer . While at school , the young Roddenberry majored in police science and became interested in aeronautical engineering . 
