Russell L. Bates
Russell L. Bates (June 6, 1941-April 9, 2018) was an American science fiction writer, television and animation writer, and actor. He was also veteran of the U.S. Air Force.
Early Life
Bates was born as an enrolled member of the Kiowa Tribe in Lawton, Oklahoma. Upon graduation from high school, he entered the U.S. Air Force,[1] where he was injured in an explosion at a missile assembly building. Facing a long recovery in hospital, he was encouraged to take up a hobby, and he began writing science fiction short stories in his hospital bed. [2]
Career
After his release from service, Bates sold the short stories “Legion,” “Get with the Program,” and “A Modest Proposal” before attending the Clarion Science Fiction Writers Workshop in 1973. He sold two short stories to Harlan Ellison for Ellison's unpublished Last Dangerous Visions anthology and moved to Hollywood, where he began writing for television.
He was accepted to The Writer's Guild of America Open Door Program (a diversity program), where he was befriended by one of the teachers, Gene L. Coon. He subsequently worked with Coon on "The Name of the Game" and "It Takes A Thief." [1]
His first television work was script in collaboration with David Wise on Filmation Studios' animated Star Trek series entitled "How Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth."
He wrote “The Lights of Mystery Mountain,” episode of Filmation's The Secrets of Isis. He wrote scripts for "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir," "The Sixth Sense," Bates also worked on treatments for "Kolchak: The Night Stalker," "Fantasy Island," "The Six Million Dollar Man," and "Battlestar Galactica."[3]
Bates also sold stories to "The Name of The Game," "Miami Vice," "Werewolf," "Star Trek: The New Generation" and "War of the Worlds." [3]
Bates also acted in three films, "King of the Amazons"(1981), "Freddie of the Jungle"(1982), and "Porky's II: The Next Day (1983)." [3]
Notable
The script by Wise and Bates contributed to Star Trek's only Emmy -- until 2018[4] In an interview, Bates recalled, How Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth, became the only credential submitted when Filmation received an Emmy nomination for the Animated Star Trek series, and thus was instrumental in the winning of a 1975 Emmy Award." For many years this was the only Emmy Award that any Star Trek television show received. [5]
Death
Russell Bates died in hospice in Lawton, Oklahoma on April 9, 2018 after a brief illness. [2]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Russell Bates". IMDb.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Russell Bates: A Remembrance". SFWA. February 28, 2019.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "The Oklahoman". www.oklahoman.com.
- ↑ "Star Trek". Television Academy.
- ↑ "Star Trek: The Animated Series". Memory Alpha.
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