Don Ingalls
| Don Ingalls | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Donald G. Ingalls July 29, 1918 Humboldt, Nebraska |
| Died | March 10, 2014 (aged 95) Olympia, Washington |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Screenwriter and producer |
| Known for | Star Trek, Fantasy Island, T.J. Hooker |
Donald G. Ingalls (July 29, 1918 – March 10, 2014) was an American screenwriter and television producer. He was a lifelong friend of Gene Roddenberry, having served in the Los Angeles Police Department with him.
Don Ingalls was born in Humboldt, Nebraska on July 29, 1918. During the Second World War, Ingalls was in the United States Army Air Forces as a pilot. He was stationed in Europe, flying Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses. Following the war, he subsequently became a test pilot for North American Aviation.
Ingalls became a police officer and worked under Chief William H. Parker in the Los Angeles Police Department within the Public Information department. It was in the police that he met lifelong friend Gene Roddenberry for the first time, and both of them transitioned from the Newspaper Unit within the Traffic Department to the new section when Parker was made chief. The pair shared a common background, both of them having been B-17 pilots during the war. During this time, they worked from a single office on the 27th floor of the Los Angeles City Hall. The duo shared a desire to become writers, with Ingalls being the first between them to resign from the LAPD to pursue this.
Roddenberry and Ingalls drifted apart following the latter's resignation, but reunited early on in their writing careers. Roddenberry was initially the more successful of the two, and recommended Ingalls as story editor to Sam Rolfe on the television series Have Gun – Will Travel. He would also continue to recommend Ingalls for other screenwriting jobs around the same time, while Ingalls went on to become an associate producer at Have Gun – Will Travel. When Roddenberry began to develop Star Trek, he sent Ingalls a series outline but asked him to keep it "very, very confidential".
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