Gerald R. Fleck (November 4, 1947 – September 14, 2003) was an American

assistant director The role of an assistant director (AD) on a film includes tracking daily progress against the filming production schedule, arranging logistics, preparing daily call sheets, checking cast and crew, and maintaining order on the set. They also have ...

best known for his work on the ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the Star Trek: The Original Series, series of the same name and became a worldwide Popular culture, pop-culture Cultural influence of ...

'' franchise across eleven years.

Early life

Fleck was born in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, to Ed and Joan Fleck. The family moved to

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara (, meaning ) is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States excepting A ...

, in 1955. During his school years, Jerry became

student government president The student government president (sometimes called a student body president, student council president, or simply a school president) is generally the highest-ranking officer of a student union. While a student government group and a class preside ...

and within the

Boy Scouts of America Scouting America is the largest scouting organization and one of the largest List of youth organizations, youth organizations in the United States, with over 1 million youth, including nearly 200,000 female participants. Founded as the Boy Sco ...

, he became an

Eagle Scout Eagle Scout is the highest rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of Scouting America. Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process. The Eagle Scout rank has been earned by over ...

. He performed in school productions, and later joined the

Santa Barbara Youth Theater Santa Claus (also known as Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle or Santa) is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts during the late evening and overnight hours on Christma ...

. While at

Santa Barbara City College Santa Barbara City College (SBCC) is a public community college in Santa Barbara, California. It opened in 1909 and is located on a campus. History Santa Barbara City College was established by the Santa Barbara High School District in 1909, m ...

, he won a scholarship to attend the American Academy of Dramatic Art in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Jerry graduated from California State Long Beach with a BA in Theater Arts and production. He was in the same graduating class as Steven Spielberg.

Career

After graduation, Fleck appeared in several theatrical productions while doing dinner theater where he performed across America. He joined the

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stat ...

team of

Sunn Classic Pictures Sunn Classic Pictures, also known as Sunn International Pictures, Schick Sunn Classic Pictures, and Taft International Pictures was an independent U.S.-based film distributor, founded in 1971. The company was notable for family films and document ...

, working on series such as ''

The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams ''The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams'' is a 1974 independent feature film produced by Charles E. Sellier Jr. and Raylan D. Jensen for Sunn Classic Pictures. The film's popularity led to an NBC television series of the same name. The title ...

''. On that show, he worked with

James L. Conway James L. Conway (born October 27, 1950, in New York City, U.S.) is an American film and television director, producer, and writer, studio executive, and novelist. Movies Conway directed include ''The Boogens'' and '' Hangar 18''. Television s ...

, with whom he would later work on the pilot of ''

Star Trek: Enterprise ''Star Trek: Enterprise'', originally titled simply ''Enterprise'' for its first two seasons, is an American science fiction television series created by Rick Berman and Brannon Braga. It originally aired from September 26, 2001 to May 13, 200 ...

'', " Broken Bow". As an

, he worked on other production companies' television series such as ''

Hardcastle and McCormick ''Hardcastle and McCormick'' is an American action crime drama television series that aired on ABC from September 18, 1983, through May 5, 1986. The series stars Brian Keith as Judge Milton C. Hardcastle and Daniel Hugh Kelly as ex-con and r ...

'', ''

The A-Team ''The A-Team'' is an American Action television, action television series that ran on NBC from January 23, 1983, to March 8, 1987, about a fictional team of former United States Army Special Forces who work as mercenaries while on the run from ...

'' and ''

Hunter Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/tusks, ...

,'' and on feature films including

Tim Burton Timothy Walter Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an American filmmaker and producer. Known for popularizing Goth subculture, Goth culture in the American film industry, Burton is famous for his Gothic film, gothic horror and dark fantasy films. ...

's ''

Edward Scissorhands ''Edward Scissorhands'' is a 1990 American gothic romantic fantasy film directed by Tim Burton. It was produced by Burton and Denise Di Novi, written by Caroline Thompson from a story by her and Burton, and starring Johnny Depp as the title ...

'' and ''

Beetlejuice ''Beetlejuice'' is a 1988 American Gothic film, gothic dark fantasy comedy horror film directed by Tim Burton from a screenplay by Michael McDowell (author), Michael McDowell and Warren Skaaren based on a story by McDowell and Larry Wilson (sc ...

''. He joined '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' as first assistant director, marking the start of eleven and a half years with the franchise. He continued his work with the series '' Star Trek: Voyager'' and ''Enterprise, and'' the

Jonathan Frakes Jonathan Scott Frakes (born August 19, 1952) is an American actor and director. He is best known for his portrayal of William Riker in the television series ''Star Trek: The Next Generation'' and subsequent films and series. He has also hosted th ...

-directed films '' Star Trek: First Contact'' and '' Star Trek: Insurrection''.

Death

Fleck died of a heart attack at his home on September 14, 2003. He was working on pre-production for the ''Enterprise'' episode "

North Star Polaris is a star in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Minor. It is designated α Ursae Minoris ( Latinized to ''Alpha Ursae Minoris'') and is commonly called the North Star or Pole Star. With an apparent magnitude t ...

". Once news broke, production was shut down on ''Enterprise'' on September 15 out of respect. The episode "

Extinction Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

", which aired 10 days after his death, was dedicated to his memory.

Scott Bakula Scott Stewart Bakula (; born October 9, 1954) is an American actor. He played Sam Beckett on ''Quantum Leap'' – for which he was nominated for four Primetime Emmy Awards and three Golden Globe Awards (winning one) – and Captain Jonathan Arc ...

said "It was a terrible, sad day for everyone involved with Star Trek. Jerry was, in many ways, the heart and soul of the entire team, and he will be always remembered, and greatly missed." Jerry is survived by his daughter, Emily Fleck, of Ojai, California; his stepson, Simon Stotler, of Portland, Oregon; his wife, Katy Fleck; his sister JoAnne Michels of Boise Idaho, and his brother, Michael Fleck, of Waiheke Island, New Zealand.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fleck, Jerry 1947 births 2003 deaths American television directors Artists from Chicago American Academy of Dramatic Arts alumni