Robert H. Justman

Infobox_Celebrity
name = Robert Harris Justman


caption =
birth_date = July 13, 1926
birth_place = New York, New York
death_date = May 28, 2008 (aged 81)
death_place = Los Angeles, California
occupation = Television producer
spouse = Jacqueline Justman
footnotes =
children = Jennifer, Jonathan and William

Robert Harris "Bob" Justman (July 13, 1926 – May 28, 2008) worked in Hollywood as a producer, director, production manager, assistant director, and production assistant since the early 1950s. He worked on many television series including "Lassie", "The Life of Riley", "Adventures of Superman", "The Outer Limits", "Then Came Bronson", "" and many others. [imdb name|name=Robert H. Justman|id=0433226.] He was one of the pioneers behind "Star Trek", working both as an associate and supervising producer on ' and '. He was also the assistant director of the first two "Star Trek" episodes: "The Cage" and "Where No Man Has Gone Before." During "Star Trek: The Original Series", he served as Gene Roddenberry's right hand man, who managed the show along with John D. F. Black, Herbert Solow, D. C. Fontana and Gene L. Coon.

Justman served as Star Trek's co-producer during the first 14 episodes of its third season before resigning due to his displeasure at the show's decline in production and script quality as well as what he regarded as the show's poor treatment by NBC which had slashed its budget during the third season. [Herbert Solow and Robert H. Justman, Inside Star Trek: The Real Story, Pocket Books 1996. pp.408-409]

His film credits as an assistant director include "The Big Combo" (1955), "Kiss Me Deadly" (1955), "The Big Knife" (1955), "Attack" (1956) and "Mutiny on the Bounty" (1962) among others. He was in front of the camera once as an actor. Justman appeared as the "Elder of Luminos" in the "A Feasibility Study" episode in "The Outer Limits". His name also graced a shuttlecraft on "The Next Generation". [ [http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Justman Memory Alpha] ]

Along with Herbert F. Solow, he wrote "Inside Star Trek: The Real Story", published by Pocket Books in 1996. According to Publishers 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 to Trek 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."

Death

Justman died on May 28, 2008 in Los Angeles, California from complications of Parkinson's disease. [cite news|url=http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Entertainment/2008/06/01/star_trek_producer_justman_dead_at_81/4054/|title='Star Trek' producer Justman dead at 81|last=|first=|date=2008-06-01|work=United Press International|accessdate=2008-06-01]

References

* [http://trekmovie.com/2008/05/31/tos-tng-producer-robert-justman-has-passed-away/ TrekMovie.com: TOS & TNG Producer Robert Justman Has Passed Away]
* [http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-justman1-2008jun01,0,5889199.story?track=rss Robert H. Justman, a creative force on 2 'Star Trek' TV series] LA Times, June 1, 2008

Notes

External links

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* [http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/community/chat/archive/transcript/1467.html Robert H. Justman Interview]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/st/interviews/justman/index.shtml BBC Star trek interviews: Robert Justman]