RIP Alexander Courage, composer of the original Star Trek theme

Also noteworthy -- Joseph Pevney passed away earlier this week:

Focusing on television from the early 1960s to the mid-1980s, when he retired, Pevney directed episodes of numerous series such as "Wagon Train," "The Munsters," "The Fugitive," "Bonanza," "12 O'Clock High," "The Virginian," "Adam-12," "Marcus Welby, M.D.," "Emergency," "The Incredible Hulk," "Fantasy Island," "Medical Center" and "Trapper John, M.D."

But "Star Trek," the classic science-fiction series that ran on NBC from 1966 to 1969, was Pevney's most enduring television credit as a director and made him a familiar name to Trekkers.

As has been noted on "Star Trek" fan sites since his death, Pevney directed 14 episodes of the original series, tying with the late Marc Daniels as the credited director of the most episodes.

Pevney directed some of the top fan-favorite episodes, including "The City on the Edge of Forever," "Amok Time," "The Trouble With Tribbles" and "Journey to Babel."

dooo doooooooooooooo do do do do doooo....

moonship: oh no, alexander courage died!

ms f0zi: who?

moonship: the composer of "doo doooo doooooooo do do do do dooooooooo ..."

ms f0zi: you mean the THEME SONG to MY MIND?

ms f doesn't have pointy ears, does she?

Speaking of which, my ears were opened when my after-college housemate pointed out that Mr. Spock had his very own little electric bass leitmotif that signaled his entrance. My two favorite of the ST:TOS themes were the Love Theme which played, for example, when Captain Kirk ran into his old flame Ruth on Shore Leave, and the Fight Theme, which played whenever Captain Kirk duked it out with some bad guy who was hiding in the Engine Room- sometimes his own doppleganger. RIP.

EARWORMS

aww geez. I've just recently started watching ST: TOS for the first time through. I see his name every time and I am like "I like your music! Also awesome name!"

Sad.

the Fight Theme, which played whenever Captain Kirk duked it out with some bad guy who was hiding in the Engine Room

Duh-duh dah-dah-dah-dah-dah dut-dut DAH-DAH! As featured in the mediaeval banquet scene in the "The Cable Guy"... "Goodbye, Jim"

It's a Star Trek death trifecta -- Robert Justman RIP:

As associate producer, technical consultant and eventually co-producer, Bob Justman wielded considerable influence on "Star Trek" from its beginning in 1966 until 1969, when NBC canceled the series. He was involved in all facets of production and had a hand in casting, set design and props, as well as story lines and scripts.

"It wasn't just a science fiction show; it was a morality play," Justman told the Christian Science Monitor in 2001. "It was, 'Do the right thing and do right by your fellow man, and all will be well, hopefully.' "

Twenty years later, Roddenberry revived the franchise for Paramount and reassembled much of the earlier show's production team for "Star Trek: The Next Generation," a syndicated series that aired from 1987 to 1994. (Roddenberry died in 1991.)

Justman was a supervising producer on "Star Trek: The Next Generation," along with Rick Berman, who later became executive producer of that program as well as subsequent spinoffs.

"I can't tell you how nurturing this guy was to me," Berman told The Times. "He was like a mentor and a father. He was extraordinary."

Justman designed sets, models and visual effects and oversaw character and script development for the debut of "The Next Generation." But Berman said his biggest contribution was championing the casting of Patrick Stewart, who became one of the most popular characters of the new series.

"Roddenberry was very against the idea of a bald British actor playing the next Capt. Kirk," Berman said. "But Bob was very persistent, and Patrick became Capt. Picard."

After a year of working on the new show, Justman was satisfied and decided to retire.

"I perceived a chance to prove to the world and to myself that we could make a successful 'Star Trek' series from the get-go, that we didn't have to get saved by fans wanting to keep the myth alive," he told The Times in 1996. " 'Star Trek' was an important part of my life."

So is there any truth in the "Roddenberry insisted on attaching some bullshit lyrics to the theme just so's he could score a co-writing credit" story?

Also, RIP this dude.