Alexander Courage, composer of the Star Trek theme, passed away on May 15, 2008.
Courage was one of Gene Roddenberry's more famous victims. After composing the theme, he found he was only receiving half the royalties as Roddenberry had invoked a contractual clause to be credited for lyrics.
Cringe inducing lyrics here <http://www.snopes.com/radiotv/tv/trek.asp>.
Comments
Reminds me of Marvel Comics` Secret War series. Not the one with The Beyonder but the one with Jack Kirby, Ditko etc,... As much as I love the original series of Star Trek I also think it was a case of "eventual luck." Roddenberry wasn`t particularly original. He had pretty much the same idea that he pushed and pushed and, eventually, it worked. I also believe that Shatner proved a more telegenic actor than Hunter despite his legendary over acting. I suppose this whole story would re-inforce the notion that behind every success story is a tale of daggers, dark deeds and self interest.
I'm only familiar with the 80s/00s Secret Wars series. I suspect something would have filled Trek's position, say an adaption of Van Vogt's Space Beagle. What surprises me is his pitch for a Jules Verne rip off series about adventures in a balloon hasn't been picked up. Hunter lost Mike Brady to Robert Reed and died after a fall. Shame,
