17 Facts About Fred Freiberger

Fred Freiberger was an American film and television writer and television producer, whose career spanned four decades and work on such films as The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms and TV series including Ben Casey, The Wild Wild West, Star Trek and Space: 1999.

Fred Freiberger appeared as himself in the short documentary Funny Old Guys, which aired as part of the HBO series Still Kicking, Still Laughing in 2003, a few months after his death in March.

Fred Freiberger died on March 2,2003, at his Bel-Air home, according to his son, Ben.

Fred Freiberger was born to a Jewish family in New York City.

Fred Freiberger was associated with Buddy Rogers' Comet Productions and Columbia Pictures.

Fred Freiberger was one of the four credited writers on the monster movie The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms.

In 1968, Fred Freiberger was hired as producer for the third and final season of Star Trek.

Fred Freiberger then moved on to produce the second season of the British sci-fi series Space: 1999, the final season of The Six Million Dollar Man, and the short-lived Beyond Westworld.

Fred Freiberger had been interviewed as a possible producer for Star Trek before it entered production in 1966, but had left the selection process due to a planned trip.

Fred Freiberger was again contacted and hired as producer for the series' third season.

Fred Freiberger assumed this role with a reduced budget that made the series more difficult to produce, as well as a new "Friday night death slot" that resulted in a further decline in viewing ratings for what was already a low-rated program.

Many Star Trek fans have since criticised Fred Freiberger for being the cause of this decline, but actress Nichelle Nichols has written in his defense.

Fred Freiberger was a producer who had nothing to produce with.

On 15 December 1975, Fred Freiberger was confirmed as both script editor and producer for the second season of Gerry Anderson's British science-fiction TV series Space: 1999, recruited in part to make the series more appealing to the American market.

Fred Freiberger wrote three episodes for the show's second season, under the pen name "Charles Woodgrove", a pseudonym he had employed when writing for movies and television in the USA: he first used that name as a screenwriter on the movie The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, and subsequently in writing television episodes of the 1960s Western series Rawhide.

Fred Freiberger has a dubious reputation in science-fiction fandom, due to his involvement in the final seasons of Star Trek, Space: 1999, and The Six Million Dollar Man, all cancelled on his watch.

In some circles this resulted in Fred Freiberger being nicknamed "the Showkiller" or "the Serial Killer".