One more bonus update:
SHATNER ACCUSES PARAMOUNT OF MISTREATMENT, STIFFING CAST; BLACK EYE FOR PARAMOUNT
February 7, 1970
William Shatner's press conference, which turned into a screed against Paramount, was more explosive than previously thought. Shatner accused Paramount executive Douglas S. Cramer of withholding wages from himself, Leonard Nimoy, and DeForest Kelley for the reason of Star Trek exceeding its budget. The Captain Kirk star refused to take questions about the wage issue, as he and the other stars are leaving that issue open to litigation and Screen Actors Guild arbitration. Additionally, Shatner praised NBC for making a brave move two years ago by placing them in a Monday primetime time slot. He applauded NBC's executive of programming Mort Werner, who he trusts to "do right by them" because Star Trek became a big hit for NBC. Shatner also accused Cramer of poor treatment against Robert Justman, a co-producer for the first two seasons, and showrunner for the last two seasons. Shatner said that Justman was constantly tortured by Cramer and fired earlier in the fourth season's production, before the cast stormed Cramer's office to save him. Paramount's reaction to Shatner's press conference is unknown at this time, but Cramer is planning a meeting with NBC's Werner to discuss the future of the series.
In the press conference, it is reported that fissions among the cast, specifically between Shatner, James Doohan (Mr. Scott) and Nichelle Nichols (Uhura) have been healed, although the costars joked that it took them taking physical shots at Shatner to cause him to rethink his position about how he treats the cast. It is unknown how Leonard Nimoy is feeling after he collapsed in his home last month; Shatner refused to take questions regarding Nimoy's situation, feeling that it was not his place to discuss the problems of other cast members, especially his closest co-star.
CRAMER DECLARES STAR TREK CAST IN "OPEN REBELLION"
February 8, 1970
The William Shatner press conference was aimed largely at one man: Douglas S. Cramer, chief executive of production at Paramount. Cramer did not take well to it one bit. Cramer says that the Star Trek cast is "in open rebellion" and is planning to deconstruct all the Star Trek sets permanently, despite it being a big money spinner for the studio. Cramer wants to travel to New York to meet Mort Werner, NBC chief of programming, to declare that Star Trek is finished as a series and the actors on the show to be blacklisted, to never work in Hollywood again. Werner, who considers Star Trek a prize property on Monday nights, is reportedly upset with Cramer's handling of the series and believes that Star Trek is a series that could anchor NBC's lineup for at least five more seasons. Whatever compromise is reached between Paramount and NBC is unknown at this time until the two executives meet at Rockefeller Center in the Big Apple. Cramer is also facing pressure from Gulf and Western, the industrial conglomerate that owns Paramount. The G+W executive, Charlie Bluhdorn, vacationing in the Dominican Republic, is displeased with Cramer because he is allowing his emotions to blind him to the prospects of more money for Paramount, in the name of Star Trek as a top property for the studio. Star Trek is a science fiction drama, but at times it seems to be a soap opera behind the scenes, and unfortunately, it casts a pall on what is great entertainment on the small screen.
Shatner:
Cramer was going to make sure none of us ever got a job in Hollywood again. But Mort Werner stepped in at NBC and persuaded Cramer to give Star Trek one more season. By that point, NBC was completely sold on us and they were furious that Paramount was handling us in such a disgraceful way. NBC thought we were going to be the series that carried them through the 1970s as well as the last couple of years of the 1960s. They thought we could be like Bonanza and we could lead the network for an extended period of time. However, it was not to be and the deal between NBC and Paramount got us one more season. We got a nice budget though, and the cast was paid handsomely, both from NBC and Paramount's pockets. I got the rest of the cast two years of salary to live off of after the series was cancelled.
Roddenberry:
Cramer hated us from the start and his mission was to kill us, but we were too good for him for three years. Eventually, he got his way, but I wanted to protect my actors. Jimmy Doohan was going to be fired and blacklisted, but I made sure he got consistent work as a voice actor throughout the 70s, before we got back together to make the movies under better leadership at Paramount. Cramer's fiasco with Star Trek is a reason why he had to become an independent producer. I'll be damned if he wasn't successful though, that guy knew how to make other series and he made almost $100 million with Aaron Spelling as his running mate. The Gulf and Western execs who only saw dollar signs lost money when Star Trek was cancelled, and NBC lost a lot of money, because we went from an afterthought to one of their flagship franchises in only 3 years. I think Cramer learned his lesson from how he mishandled us and became a much better producer for other shows, which was unfortunate for us. If Cramer did it again, he wouldn't have been so rough on us, in my opinion. Our success on NBC eventually made me go back to them when I wanted to start The Next Generation. (However, the Paramount Television Network is created in 1980, so ITTL,TNG and its spinoffs are broadcast on Paramount Television Network, and not in syndication).