Robert H. Justman | |
|---|---|
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| Born | Robert Harris Justman July 13, 1926 |
| Died | May 28, 2008 (aged 81) |
| Occupation | Television producer |
| Spouse | Jacqueline Justman |
| Children | Jennifer, Jonathan, and William |
Robert Harris "Bob"Justman (July 13, 1926 – May 28, 2008) was an Americantelevision producer,director, andproduction manager. He worked on many AmericanTV series includingLassie,The Life of Riley,Adventures of Superman,The Outer Limits,Star Trek,Mission: Impossible,Search, andThen Came Bronson.[1]
Born to aJewish family[2] in New York City,[3] Justman was one of the pioneers behindStar Trek, working both as an associate and supervising producer onStar Trek: The Original Series andStar Trek: The Next Generation. He was also the assistant director of the first twoStar Trek episodes: "The Cage" and "Where No Man Has Gone Before." DuringStar Trek: The Original Series, he served asGene Roddenberry's right-hand man, who managed the show along withJohn D. F. Black,Herbert F. Solow,D.C. Fontana, andGene L. Coon. Justman was reportedly the first to callGene Roddenberry "The Great Bird of the Galaxy," drawn from athrowaway line from theoriginal series episode "The Man Trap".[4]
Justman served as associate producer ofStar Trek during its first two seasons, and was promoted to co-producer at the start of the third before resigning, partly due to exhaustion, and partly due to his displeasure with the decline in quality of the series, as well as what he considered its poor treatment by Paramount, the new owner of the studio. Paramount radically reduced the production budget during its third season.[5]
Justman'smotion picture credits as an assistant director includedThe Big Combo (1955),Kiss Me Deadly (1955),The Big Knife (1955),Attack (1956), andMutiny on the Bounty (1962).
Justman also appeared in front of the camera once as an actor, playing the "Elder of Luminos" in "A Feasibility Study", a 1964 episode ofThe Outer Limits. His name also became the name of ashuttlecraft inStar Trek: The Next Generation.
Along withHerbert F. Solow, Justman wrote the bookInside Star Trek: The Real Story, published byPocket Books in 1996. According toPublishers Weekly, "As told by Solow,Star Trek's co-producer [sic], and Justman, the executive in charge of production [sic], this is arguably the definitive history of the TV show...With plenty of behind-the-scenes material that will be of interest toTrek fans, this book puts a good deal of emphasis on the show's business side, elucidating production difficulties, cost overruns, and the seemingly constant debate with NBC over the show's future." (Publishers Weekly inadvertently gave Solow's title to Justman and vice versa.)
Justman died on May 28, 2008, inLos Angeles from the complications of severeParkinson's disease.[6]
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