Don Ingalls

Donald George Ingalls (July 29, 1918 – March 10, 2014) was an American screenwriter and television producer. During his 35-year career Ingalls wrote scripts for more than 70 episodes of network television, including Adam-12, Bonanza, The Big Valley, Fantasy Island, Gunsmoke, Have Gun-Will Travel, Honey West, Marcus Welby M.D., Police Story, Serpico, Star Trek, and The Virginian. Ingalls also wrote the script for the movie Airport 1975.

He was a lifelong friend of Gene Roddenberry, having served in the Los Angeles Police Department with him.

Early life and education Ingalls was born in Humboldt, Nebraska on July 29, 1918, the third of Park Louis and Lulu Grace (née Morris) Ingalls' three children. Ingalls spent his childhood living in Stafford, Kansas. The family moved in the 1930s to Los Angeles, California. Ingalls attended North Hollywood High School,

Military service Ingalls joined the United States Army Air Forces on December 12, 1942 while working as an accountant at the U.S. Civil Service Commission in Washington, DC.

Ingalls served during the Second World War in Europe as a pilot, flying Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses. Following the war, he became a test pilot for North American Aviation.

Early career Ingalls became a police officer and worked under Chief William H. Parker in the Los Angeles Police Department within the Public Information department. Ingalls said "It was a great job. I got to write a lot of different things. It was definitely an exciting field".

Ingalls said the job gave him the experience necessary to excel at writing. “I had never spoken in public before, and here I was writing speeches for the police brass and acting as a spokesman for the department. It really gave me confidence that would later help make me a better writer... I definitely think my experience in the department helped me. I worked on a lot of police shows over the years, and I used my own experiences in my writing". Roddenberry continued to recommend Ingalls for other screenwriting jobs.

Star Trek Roddenberry began to develop Star Trek and sent Ingalls a series outline, asking him to keep it "very, very confidential".

Ingalls wrote two scripts for Star Trek, the first, "The Alternative Factor". His second script, "A Private Little War", was intended to be a criticism piece on the Vietnam War, but was heavily re-written by Roddenberry. Ingalls was angry at him for a year and insisted on being credited only under the pseudonym "Jud Crucis", Latin for "Justice of the Cross".

Later television He wrote episodes for a variety of television series, and was a producer on shows including T.J. Hooker and Kingston: Confidential. Starting as a writer, then script editor, he became the producer of the ABC network's Fantasy Island. Ingalls said "I started as a writer, became script editor and then producer. I ended up writing more than 30 episodes in seven years". 1963–69 The Virginian Writer, producer 1965 Daniel Boone Writer 1 episode 1965–66 Honey West Writer, associate producer 1966 12 O'Clock High Associate producer 11 episodes 1966–69 The Big Valley Writer 5 episodes

Gunsmoke Writer 2 episodes The Road West Writer 1 episode 1967–68 Star Trek: The Original Series Writer 2 episodes 1968 Cowboy in Africa Writer 1 episode 1969–70 Then Came Bronson Writer 2 episodes

Adam-12 Writer 1 episode Matt Lincoln Writer 1 episode Marcus Welby, M.D. Writer 2 episodes The Silent Force Writer 1 episode 1971 The Bold Ones: The New Doctors Writer 1 episode 1971–72 The Mod Squad Writer 2 episodes 1972 The Sixth Sense Writer, executive story consultant, creative consultant 1973 The Snoop Sisters Writer 1 episode 1973–75 Police Story Writer 4 episodes

Doc Elliot Writer 1 episode Born Free Writer 1 episode 1976 Serpico Producer Unknown episodes 1977 Kingston: Confidential Writer, producer 1979 A Man Called Sloane Writer 1 episode 1979–84 Fantasy Island Writer, director, producer, executive story consultant 1985–86 T.J. Hooker Writer, producer