Harve Bennett facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Harve Bennett
Bennett on February 14, 2009, at Farpoint Convention
Born	Harve Bennett Fischman (1930-08-17)August 17, 1930 Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Died	February 25, 2015(2015-02-25) (aged 84) Medford, Oregon, U.S.
Resting place	Willamette National Cemetery
Alma mater	University of California, Los Angeles
Occupation	Television producer Film producer Screenwriter
Years active	1955–1998
Known for	Star Trek (films)

Harve Bennett (born Harve Bennett Fischman; August 17, 1930 – February 25, 2015) was an American producer and writer for television and movies. He is best known for his important work on the Star Trek films.

Early Life and First Steps

Harve Bennett was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1930. His mother, Kathryn, was a journalist, and his father, Yale, was a lawyer. When he was a young boy, Bennett appeared on a radio show called Quiz Kids. This experience gave him his first taste of the show business.

As radio became less popular, Bennett decided to focus on movies. He went to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and studied film there. After graduating in 1953, he joined the United States Army. He served in the Military Police Corps until 1955.

After leaving the Army, Bennett started his career as a production executive. He worked at CBS in New York City and later at ABC. At ABC, he became a Vice President in charge of programming.

Moving into Production

After working as an executive, Bennett decided to become a producer. His first big project was a TV series called The Mod Squad. He produced this show from 1968 to 1973.

Later, Bennett joined Universal Studios. There, he produced many popular TV series and miniseries. Some of his most famous shows from this time include The Six Million Dollar Man (1973–78) and The Bionic Woman (1976-78). These shows were about people who got special bionic parts to make them super strong or fast. He also produced Rich Man, Poor Man (1976) and The Invisible Man (1975).

Bennett then moved to Columbia Pictures Television. He continued to produce TV shows, such as Salvage 1 (1979) and the miniseries The Jesse Owens Story (1984). While at Columbia Pictures, he also started working for Paramount Pictures. One of his first projects for Paramount was a TV miniseries called A Woman Called Golda (1982). This show was special because it was the last role for the famous actress Ingrid Bergman, and it also starred Leonard Nimoy.

Harve Bennett and Star Trek

In 1980, Harve Bennett got a very important call from Paramount Pictures. The studio was not happy with the first Star Trek: The Motion Picture movie. They wanted someone new to take over the next film in the series.

Bennett was asked what he thought of the first Star Trek movie. He honestly said he found it boring. The studio then asked him if he could make a better movie and do it for less money. Bennett said yes, and he was hired!

To prepare for his new job, Bennett watched all 79 episodes of the original Star Trek TV show. He was especially interested in an episode called "Space Seed". This episode featured a supervillain named Khan Noonien Singh. At the end of the episode, Khan and his followers are left on a faraway planet. Bennett wondered what happened to them. This idea gave him the perfect starting point for a new Star Trek movie.

Bennett's idea became The Wrath of Khan. He developed the main story, and then worked with writers to create the script. The movie was a huge success with both fans and at the box office.

After Star Trek II was so popular, Bennett continued to produce the next three Star Trek films:

• The Search for Spock
• The Voyage Home (which was one of the most successful Star Trek films for a long time)
• The Final Frontier

Besides producing, Bennett also wrote Star Trek III. He helped write the story and script for Star Trek IV, and the story for Star Trek V. He even had small acting parts in Star Trek III (as a voice) and Star Trek V (as a Starfleet Chief of Staff Admiral).

The Academy Years Idea

After Star Trek V, Bennett had an idea for a sixth Star Trek movie. It would be called "The Academy Years." This film would show Kirk and Spock when they were much younger, as cadets at Starfleet Academy. It would explore how their close friendship began. While William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy would have small roles, new, younger actors would play most of the parts.

Paramount Pictures liked the idea at first. However, many fans did not want a Star Trek movie without the original actors they loved. Also, the head of Paramount's parent company wanted a film with the original cast to celebrate Star Trek's 25th anniversary in 1991. Paramount offered Bennett the chance to produce this film, but he said no. He felt he didn't have good story ideas for it, and the timeline was too short.

This decision ended Bennett's time with the Star Trek movies. He left Paramount shortly after. The sixth Star Trek film, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, was released in 1991 with the original cast.

Later Projects

After his Star Trek work, Bennett wrote a TV movie called Crash Landing: The Rescue of Flight 232 (1992). He also helped create and produce the science-fiction TV series Time Trax (1993–1995). His last project was producing the animated miniseries Invasion America (1998), which featured Leonard Nimoy as a voice actor.

Death

Harve Bennett passed away on February 25, 2015, in Medford, Oregon. He died from a burst embolism, which is a blockage in a blood vessel. Sadly, his death happened just two days before his friend and colleague, Leonard Nimoy, also passed away. Bennett was buried at the Willamette National Cemetery.

Filmography