DALLAS – The first model of the USS Enterprise, which appeared in the opening credits of the original “Star Trek” television series, has returned home, decades after it went stolen.
The model’s disappearance in the 1970s had become a source of legend, so when it appeared on eBay last fall, it generated quite the commotion. The sellers promptly removed it and called Dallas-based Heritage Auctions to authenticate it. The auction house helped arrange the model’s return last weekend.
Long-Lost First Model Of The USS Enterprise From ‘Star Trek’ Boldly Goes Home After Twisting Voyage
Eugene “Rod” Roddenberry, CEO of Roddenberry Entertainment, said he is overjoyed to have the model that formerly graced his father’s desk, who died in 1991 at age 70.
“This is not going home to adorn my shelves,” Roddenberry remarked. “This is going to get restored and we’re working on ways to get it out so the public can see it and my hope is that it will land in a museum somewhere.”
Joe Maddalena, Heritage’s executive vice president, stated that the auction house was approached by persons who claimed to have discovered it in a storage unit, and when it was brought into their Beverly Hills office, he and a colleague “instantly knew that it was the real thing.”
They contacted Roddenberry, who expressed his gratitude that everyone involved felt that returning the model was the correct thing to do. He would not go into detail about the arrangement reached, but he did say, “I felt it was important to reward and show appreciation for that.”
Maddalena claimed the model vanished in the 1970s when Gene Roddenberry loaned it to the producers of “Star Trek: The Motion Picture,” which was released in 1979.
Long-Lost First Model Of The USS Enterprise From ‘Star Trek’ Boldly Goes Home After Twisting Voyage
“No one knew what happened to it,” Rod Roddenberry admitted.
The 3-foot (0.91-meter) model of the USS Enterprise was used in both the show’s initial pilot episode and the opening credits of the subsequent TV series, and it served as a prototype for the 11-foot (3-meter) version seen in the series’ episodes. The National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian has the larger replica on display.
The original “Star Trek” television series, which debuted in the late 1960s, sparked an ever-expanding universe of cultural phenomena, including TV and movie spinoffs and conventions where a rabid and committed Trekkie fandom can’t get enough memorabilia.
This USS Enterprise replica might easily fetch more than $1 million at auction, but “it’s priceless,” Maddalena stated.
“It could sell for any amount and I wouldn’t be surprised because of what it is,” he told me. “It is truly a cultural icon.”
Roddenberry, who was a little boy when the model went away, described his memories as “almost a deja vu.” He stated he hadn’t given it any attention until people started contacting him after it surfaced on eBay.
“I don’t think I really, fully comprehended at first that this was the first Enterprise ever created,” he told me.
He added he doesn’t know if there was something sinister behind the disappearance decades ago or if it was simply misplaced, but it would be intriguing to learn more about what happened Star Trek.
Long-Lost First Model Of The USS Enterprise From ‘Star Trek’ Boldly Goes Home After Twisting Voyage
“This piece is incredibly important and it has its own story and this would be a great piece of the story,” added Roddenberry.
Fortunately, he claimed, the finding has put an end to one rumor: that it was destroyed because he threw it into a pool as a child.
“Finally, I’m vindicated after all these years,” he stated with a giggle.
SOURCE – (AP)
