Star Trek Conventions in the Seventies

STAR TREK - THE SEVENTIES: THE CONVENTIONS, THE FANS

Science Fiction conventions were nothing new, of course; at the time that TOS was ending its initial run, such sci-fi organizing went back about 40 years. But, the Star Trek conventions added some extra energy into the whole mix. In the annals of fandom, Star Trek has a special place. The original series gradually became a pop-culture staple and the cornerstone of an immense commercial franchise largely because of the devotion and — crucially — the collective creativity of its fan base.
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Possibly the most famous fan was Bjo Trimble (pictured above in later years with husband John, also a fan), who organized a letter-writing campaign towards the end of the 2nd season, helping to get a 3rd season started. The original series went off the air in 1969, after three seasons. But fans continued to dream up their own Star Trek stories, distribute fanzines, make videos, write songs, publish newsletters and create visual art. And they gathered at conventions, some dressed in homemade Trek outfits, which is why, in the annals of Star Trek fandom, Joan Winston holds a special place: she was an organizer of the first Star Trek fan convention, in 1972.


The first-ever Star Trek fan event, organized by Sherna Burley, actually took place in March, 1969, at the Newark Public Library, as TOS was ending. It wasn't a convention, just a small (if still kind of formal) gathering, with no actors from the series, just a slide show. There's a story that a very small group, about a dozen, got together in a hotel room in 1970 and invited George Takei; he was surprised but showed up, getting served milk & cookies as payment.

In June, 1971, Elyse Pines and Devra Langsam with a few others discussed the possibilities of furthering Trek fandom. A few months later, "the committee" organizes a gathering at Brooklyn College's Gershwin Auditorium in New York, getting a surprise at the number of people who showed up. The convention is held at the Hilton Hotel in NYC from January 21-23, 1972, and is often recognized as the first true Star Trek convention.

The March 25, 1972 issue of TV Guide ran an article on it, beginning the piece with: "All over the country today, people are wearing 'Star Trek Lives' T-shirts, pasting Star Trek bumper stickers on their cars and maybe, for all we know, falling on their knees before graven images of Mr. Spock." Yes, the TV Guide writers were among those who sort of ridiculed the phenomenon. The article continued: "Why? Well, it's because, back at the end of January, Star Trek's fanatic band of fans held their first national convention - nearly 3 years after the series was shot out of orbit by NBC." It was also in this article that the earliest rumor of a revival of the series was mentioned; Shirley Gerstel of Paramount Television said that they might start making it again. However, this may have been reference to the animated series, which began about a year later.


The whole convention thing was started by a small group of Trek fans, commonly referred to as "The Committee", who combined their money and rented a hotel ballroom in the hope of getting a group of like-minded fans together. Committee member Joan Winston, whose main responsibility was that of the dealer's room, gave a detailed account of the first Trek convention in '72 in her book Star Trek Lives! (1976). Her take of the proceeds came to $92.46; they weren't in it for the money. Other members included Allen Asherman, Eileen Becker, Steve Rosenstein and Al Schuster.

Although the original estimate of attendees was only a few hundred - the high expectation was 600 - several thousand (over 3,000) had turned up before the end of the convention, which featured a program of events: an art show, a costume contest, a display provided by NASA and a dealers room. Episodes were also screened from 16mm prints, including the original pilot The Cage and a blooper reel. A number of Trek-connected guest speakers also attended, including Trek's creator, Gene Roddenberry, Majel Barrett, D.C. Fontana, as well as science fiction authors Isaac Asimov and Hal Clement.

Roddenberry was dazed and overwhelmed by the reception; when asked on whether STAR TREK might return, he replied "I didn't think it was possible 6 months ago, but..." After this gathering, a series of annual events were organized, which soon included regular cast members, of which DeForest Kelley, Nichelle Nichols, Leonard Nimoy, George Takei, and James Doohan give their own account in the film Trekkies. Asimov attended the 2nd one in '73, the 3rd one in '74 and 2 conventions each in 1975 & 1976.