Dorothy Catherine Fontana, known as D. C. Fontana, was an American television writer and story editor, born in Sussex, New Jersey, in 1939 and died in Los Angeles in 2019. She is best known for her work on the original Star Trek, though her career also took in westerns and several science fiction and drama series over the following decades.
She began as a secretary in Hollywood, first for the writer Samuel A. Peeples and then at the production office of The Lieutenant, where she met Gene Roddenberry. Through him she joined Star Trek as story editor. She wrote Charlie X, the second episode to air, and reworked many others. Her most lasting contribution is the development of Spock and Vulcan culture, especially in Journey to Babel. After leaving the staff in the third season she worked freelance on shows such as Bonanza, The Six Million Dollar Man and Dallas.
In the 1970s she served as story editor and associate producer on the animated Star Trek series, and later worked on The Next Generation, though her relationship with Roddenberry soured. Her legacy lies in a long career as a working television writer at a time when few women held such roles, and in the recognition she received from the Writers Guild.
Key works
- Charlie X (1966), a Star Trek episode she adapted from an idea by Roddenberry.
- Journey to Babel (1967), a Star Trek script in which she developed Spock and his family.
- Brazos River (1964), a western novel published with Harry Sanford.
- The Questor Tapes (1974), a novelization of the television film created by Roddenberry, featuring an android precursor to Data.
Curiosities
A name to avoid prejudice
According to the sources, she adopted the pen name D. C. Fontana so her pitches would not be judged on the basis of her sex, as she was one of the few women writers at NBC at the time.
First sale at 21
She sold Peeples a story called "A Bounty for Billy" at the age of 21, her first story sale.
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