Eric A. Stillwell (born 1962) is a producer and writer who has worked on a number of television series, made-for-television movies, and motion pictures, including numerous ''Star Trek'' series and motion pictures.

Early life

Stillwell was born in 1962 in the

United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands The was the civil administration government in the Ryukyu Islands, Japan (centered on Okinawa Island), replacing the United States Military Government of the Ryukyu Islands (itself created after World War II) in 1950, and functioned until the ...

. He graduated from the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

in 1985 with a bachelor's degree in political science.

Production

Stillwell began work in the field in 1986 as a production assistant on ''Promise'', a

Hallmark A hallmark is an official Mark (sign), mark or series of marks struck on items made of metal, mostly to certify the content of noble metals—such as platinum, gold, silver and in some nations, palladium. In a more general sense, the term ''Wikti ...

television movie starring

James Garner James Scott Garner (né Bumgarner; April 7, 1928 – July 19, 2014) was an American actor. He played leading roles in more than 50 theatrical films, which included ''The Great Escape (film), The Great Escape'' (1963) with Steve McQueen; Paddy Ch ...

and

James Woods James Howard Woods (born April 18, 1947) is an American actor. Known for fast-talking, intense roles on screen and stage, he has received numerous accolades, including three Emmy Awards, and a Golden Globe Award, as well as nominations for t ...

that received five

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

s, two

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Januar ...

s, a

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Foster Peabody, George Peabody, honor what are described as the most powerful, enlightening, and in ...

, a

Christopher Award The Christopher Award (established 1949) is presented to the producers, directors, and writers of books, films and television specials that "affirm the highest values of the human spirit". It is given by The Christophers, a Christian organizatio ...

and the

Humanitas Prize The Humanitas Prize is an American award for film and television writing, presented to writers whose work explores the human condition in a nuanced and meaningful manner. It began in 1974 with Father Ellwood "Bud" Kieser—also the founder of ...

. In 1987, Stillwell moved to Los Angeles, where he served as production assistant and script coordinator for '' Star Trek: The Next Generation''. He would serve as a production associate on '' Star Trek: Voyager'' and as script coordinator on '' Star Trek: Insurrection'' in 1998. Stillwell went on to serve from 1999 to 2005 as Vice President of Operations for Piller², the production company created by ''Trek'' scriptwriter and producer

Michael Piller Michael Piller (May 30, 1948 – November 1, 2005) was an American television scriptwriter and producer, who was best known for his contributions to the ''Star Trek'' franchise. Early life and career Piller was born to a Jewish family in P ...

. He also served as associate producer on USA's ''

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'' television series, as well as

ABC Family American cable television, cable and satellite television network Freeform (TV channel), Freeform was originally launched as the CBN Satellite Service on April 29, 1977, and has gone through four different owners and six different name changes dur ...

's ''

Wildfire A wildfire, forest fire, or a bushfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a ...

'' series.

Writing

Stillwell co-wrote the '' TNG'' episode "

Yesterday's Enterprise "Yesterday's Enterprise" is the 63rd episode of the American science fiction television series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation''. It is the 15th episode of the third season, first airing in syndication in the week of February 19, 1990. Set ...

," a fan favorite, in 1990, and briefly took a turn before the camera as a Klingon extra in 1991's '' Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country''. He co-wrote the 1995 ''

Voyager Voyager may refer to: Computing and communications * LG Voyager, a mobile phone model manufactured by LG Electronics * NCR Voyager, a computer platform produced by NCR Corporation * Voyager (computer worm), a computer worm affecting Oracle ...

'' episode "

Prime Factors A prime number (or a prime) is a natural number greater than 1 that is not a product of two smaller natural numbers. A natural number greater than 1 that is not prime is called a composite number. For example, 5 is prime because the only ways ...

" with David R. George III in 1999, and collaborated with George and

Armin Shimerman Armin Shimerman (born November 5, 1949) is an American actor known for his role as Quark (Star Trek), Quark the Ferengi in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, appearing as the character in all seven seasons of ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (1993–199 ...

on the story upon which the 1999 '' DS9'' novel ''

The 34th Rule ''The 34th Rule'' (), published January 1, 1999, is a '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' novel written by Armin Shimerman and David R. George III. The story in the novel was an allegory for the internment of Japanese Americans during the Second ...

'' was based. In 2006, Stillwell was the head writer and associate producer on ''

Nanna's Cottage ''Nanna's Cottage'' is a Christian children's television series created by husband and wife producing team Davey Porter and Karen Sponsler-Porter. The series is about a 75-year-old grandmother Abigale "Nanna" Macaroon, a world traveler and arch ...

'' and ''

Monster Sunday School ''Nanna's Cottage'' is a Christian children's television series created by husband and wife producing team Davey Porter and Karen Sponsler-Porter. The series is about a 75-year-old grandmother Abigale "Nanna" Macaroon, a world traveler and arch ...

'', two children's television series produced by

Polara Productions Polara may refer to * Polara (band), an American rock band ** ''Polara'' (album), a 1995 album by the band * Polara Golf, an American golf ball manufacturer *Dodge Polara, an automobile model See also *Polari Polari () is a form of slang ...

Eugene Eugene may refer to: People and fictional characters * Eugene (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Gene Eugene, stage name of Canadian born actor, record producer, engineer, composer and musi ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

Trek fandom

Prior to the commencement of his career, from 1981 to 1984, Stillwell served as president of Starfleet: The International Star Trek Fan Association. During Stillwell's administration, he presided over structural reorganizations within the group, restored good relations with the Star Trek Welcommittee, and increased the group's visibility by publicizing with ''

Starlog ''Starlog'' was an American monthly science fiction magazine that was created in 1976 and focused primarily on ''Star Trek'' at its inception. Kerry O'Quinn and Norman Jacobs were its creators and it was published by Starlog Group, Inc. in Aug ...

'', Susan Sackett (Trek creator

Gene Roddenberry Eugene Wesley Roddenberry Sr. (August 19, 1921 – October 24, 1991) was an American television screenwriter and producer who created the science fiction series and fictional universe ''Star Trek.'' Born in El Paso, Texas, Roddenberry grew up ...

's personal assistant), and notable fandom figure

Bjo Trimble Betty JoAnne Trimble (née Conway; born August 15, 1933), known as Bjo (, ), is an American science fiction fan and writer, initially entering fandom in the early 1950s. Introduction to fandom Trimble's introduction to science fiction fandom ...

, leading its figures to swell toward 3,000 fans. Today, the ''

Guinness Book of World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

'' recognizes Starfleet as the world's largest science fiction fan club. Stillwell has participated in several "Cruise Trek" cruises.

Later activities

Following the death of producer

in 2005, Stillwell joined the

FOX Broadcasting Company Fox Broadcasting Company, LLC (commonly known as Fox; stylized in all caps) is an Television in the United States, American commercial broadcasting, commercial broadcast television broadcaster, television network serving as the flagship proper ...

in the Alternative Entertainment department on shows including

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American Music competition, singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle (company), Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It a ...

So You Think You Can Dance ''So You Think You Can Dance'' is a franchise of reality television shows in which contestants compete in dance. The first series of the franchise, created by '' Idols'' producers Simon Fuller and Nigel Lythgoe, premiered in July 2005 and has ...

, and

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–200 ...

, as well as specials like the annual

Teen Choice Awards The Teen Choice Awards were an annual awards show that aired on the Fox television network between 1999 and 2019. The awards, based on a popularity vote that could be overridden by the producerswho reserved the right to choose the winnerscovered ...

, the

American Country Awards The American Country Awards (ACA) was an annual country music awards show, entirely voted on by fans online. Created in 2010 by Fox, the awards honor country music artists for singles, albums, music videos and touring categories. In 2012, "Song of ...

, and the occasional

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award catego ...

broadcast. He later worked for the Walt Disney Corporation at Disney Consumer Products. Stillwell and his wife Debra are retired and currently reside in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Notes

External links

*
''Eugene Register Guard'' article about Eric A. Stillwell ''Screenwriters Utopia'' interview with Eric A. Stillwell
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20071011093828/http://www.trekbrasilis.net/entrevistas/entrevista7.htm ''Trek Brasilis'' interview with Eric A. Stillwell {{DEFAULTSORT:Stillwell, Eric 1962 births Living people Writers from Eugene, Oregon Screenwriters from Oregon American male screenwriters Writers from Okinawa Prefecture University of Oregon alumni Winston Churchill High School (Eugene, Oregon) alumni Businesspeople from Eugene, Oregon