By Chris Snellgrove | Published
Gene Roddenberry is a geek icon for a reason. The man who created Star Trek, the world’s best sci-fi franchise. For big fans, The Original Series and similar spinoffs The Next Generation they weren’t just great TV shows: they were visions of a better world, giving hope and inspiration to those who needed it most. For this and more, Roddenberry is right respected. He was a talented writer, gifted visionary, and adoptive father to fans around the world. But he was also the smallest thing on Earth: one of the most randy men who ever walked the planet.
Roddenberry worked for the LAPD before working on TV shows, and was notorious for having affairs with secretaries. This continued when he started working on Star Trek, and at one point, he tried to maintain an open relationship with Nichelle Nichols (who played Uhura) and Majel Barrett (who would become his second wife). Basically, Roddenberry loved to play the field, and this sometimes led to versions of his most famous show. Specifically, he threw a young woman at the second Trek pilot so he could sleep with her. When that didn’t work out, her role went to Grace Lee Whitney, who became one of Star Trek’s early female icons.
Even the Captain needs a Secretary
This story goes back to the early days of Star Trek. Gene Roddenberry had received good news, bad news from NBC. The bad news is that they didn’t like his first pilot, “The Cage,” which featured Captain Pike commanding the Enterprise. The good news is that they liked the concept of the show enough that they gave Roddenberry the unprecedented opportunity to make a second pilot episode. That episode was “Where No Man Has Gone Before,” which included an entirely new cast (such as William Shatner), an actor Roddenberry had always wanted (DeForrest Kelley), and one returning actor from the original pilot (Leonard Nimoy).
The actors mentioned above all played a major role in the whole group Star Trek: The Original Series. But this show had many small roles. According to studio executive Herb Solow (as recorded in Inside Star Trek: The Original Story), Gene Roddenberry went out of his way to cast Andrea Domm as Captain Kirk’s yeoman. He was a model and fit the mold of the part. In the first pilot, Kirk also had a beautiful female yeoman, played by Laurel Goodwin. This was Domm’s first acting job, but his role was nevertheless intended to be a recurring character.
The Captain Doesn’t Always Get the Girl
At least, it was on paper. According to Solow, the yeoman’s role was “not a part.” He said, “during the casting, director Jimmy Goldstone heard Gene say, ‘I’m hiring him because I want to score with him.’ Although Solow had no direct confirmation (after all, this was second-hand information), he felt very confident that things did not work out for Roddenberry. “It wasn’t just a non-part, I’m sure it wasn’t a score.”
After “Where No Man Walked,” Dromm never appeared on Star Trek again. Is it because he didn’t contact Roddenberry? No. He left of his own accord to play The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming. Later, he regretted leaving the blockbuster sci-fi business in favor of acting in a mystery film. Solow didn’t regret his exit, though: after watching the episode, he created a hilariously fake news report that read, “SEXY YEOMAN ANDREA DROMM FAILS TO SIZZLE! SHE’S GOING TO KEEP STOPPED!”
After this, Andrea Dromm’s only real impact on the business was that NBC put her and William Shatner on the front cover of a brochure promoting their upcoming 1966-1967 television season, knowing she was out of the franchise. Fortunately, everything worked out: Dromm was replaced by Grace Lee Whitney, Yeoman Janice Rand became a lovely young actress The Original Series and even made small appearances in several films Star Trek: Voyager. Now, was Whitney the third pretty, blonde yeoman in a row, after Laurel Goodwin and Andrea Dromm? Yes Yes. But no one ever accused Gene Roddenberry of not having any kind!
