Propelled by his success as a writer/producer of such legendary small-screen staples as Star Trek and The Wild, Wild West, Fred Freiberger would subsequently embark on a successful film career by producing such cult films as The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953) and The Beginning of the End (1957). Born in New York City in February of 1915, Freiberger served in England with the 8th Air Force during the Second World War, earning a Purple Heart after being shot down over Germany and held as a prisoner of war for 22 months. Relocating to the West Coast after the end of the war, it was in Hollywood that Freiberger would find success as a film publicist. Though successful at his job, the fledgling publicist was forced to turn to writing when lack of films -- resulting from a Hollywood strike -- made for rough times as a promoter. He subsequently became one of the most successful scribes of the small screen. Writing seemed to come natural to Freiberger, and he became one of only two writers to be accepted into the Actor's Lab. Work on Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Bonanza, and The Fugitive lead to producing work on Ben Casey in 1959, and with Star Trek and The Wild, Wild West, the writer-turned-producer became ever more associated with the science fiction genre. So successful was Freiberger at science fiction that in 1975 he was brought in to breathe new life into the troubled British series Space: 1999. Continuing to pen such series as Starsky and Hutch and The Beverly Hillbillies in his later years, Freiberger also served a stint at Hanna-Barbera, where he would write for Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? and Superfriends, among others. Making it a point to hire blacklisted writers during the McCarthy Era, the sympathetic scribe also served on the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and both the Writers and Producers Guild of America. Married to wife Shirley in 1953, Fred Freiberger remained married until his death in early 2003. He was 88.
by Jason Buchanan
biography
