Walter Matthew Jefferies was an American aviation and mechanical artist, set designer, and writer.
18 Facts About Matt Jefferies
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Matt Jefferies is best known for his work on the original Star Trek television series, where he designed many of the sets and props, including the original Starship Enterprise, and the bridge and sick bay.
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Matt Jefferies had three brothers, John, Richard and Philip, the latter two of whom would become production designers.
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Matt Jefferies served in Europe in World War II, was inside of B-17, B-24, B-25 bombers and had four years as a flight test engineer.
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Besides creating interiors and exterior of the Enterprise, Matt Jefferies was responsible for designing props, sets, the Klingon logo and D-7 battlecruiser.
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Matt Jefferies worked with NASA engineers in designing the Enterprise and the technology it used.
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Contrary to popular belief, Matt Jefferies did not create Star Trek's original shuttlecraft design: although Matt Jefferies submitted his own concept, it was too complex to build with the show's FX and budget limitations of the time.
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Gene Winfield's much simpler design was used instead, and Matt Jefferies designed only its interior.
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Matt Jefferies had a very pragmatic design ethic: reasoning that a starship's engines would be extremely powerful and potentially dangerous, he positioned them far away from the rest of the ship, with the added benefit of modular design so that they could be ejected quickly in an emergency.
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Matt Jefferies was opposed to the idea of PADDs, as well as the goose-neck viewers that appeared in the first pilot.
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When Matt Jefferies saw Star Trek: The Motion Picture he fell asleep.
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In June 2003, Matt Jefferies was the guest of honor at the presentation of a documentary about him prepared for the special edition of the Star Trek Generations DVD.
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Matt Jefferies died the following month in Los Angeles of congestive heart failure.
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Matt Jefferies was a member of the Aviation Space Writers' Association and one of the original members of the American Aviation Historical Society.
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Matt Jefferies restored and flew period airplanes as a hobby.
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Matt Jefferies owned a Waco YOC aircraft and stored it at Santa Paula Airport, California for many years.
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Matt Jefferies died July 21,2003, in Los Angeles of congestive heart failure.
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Matt Jefferies was survived by his wife, Mary Ann Jefferies, and his brothers John and Richard.