Genre scriptwriter Tracy Tormé has sadly passed away at the age of 64.
Tormé was born in 1959 in Los Angeles, the son of singer Mel Tormé. He began his career in the 1970s as a writer on SCTV before moving to Saturday Night Live in 1982. He also wrote the 1988 film Spellbinder.
In 1986 he was hand-picked by Gene Roddenberry to work as a writer on Season 1 of Star Trek: The Next Generation, penning the episode The Big Goodbye, the only episode of the entire Star Trek franchise to win a Peabody Award. Roddenberry enjoyed his work so much he made Tormé the executive story editor for the entire last third of the season. He also wrote the less well-received episode Haven and the controversial script for Conspiracy. Tormé was given an in-universe role in Star Trek as the fictional author of the equally fictional novels featuring mid-20th Century detective Dixon Hill.
Tormé came into conflict with effective head writer Maurice Hurley, who was angry that Roddenberry had overridden his decision not to develop Conspiracy in Season 1. Tormé found his Season 2 scripts - The Schizoid Man, The Royale and Manhunt - being extensively rewritten by Hurley, to the point that he demanded his name be taken off them. Tormé was also moved sideways into the role of "Creative Consultant" on Season 2, in which he had less responsibility. Despite Hurley being fired at the end of Season 2 and Tormé being one of the few writers invited back for Season 3 by Rick Berman, Tormé declined.
Tormé worked on the 1992 TV movie Intruders and the 1993 film Fire in the Sky. His greatest success came in 1995 when he co-developed the TV series Sliders alongside Robert K. Weiss. Sliders ran for three seasons on Fox before being cancelled, but it was saved by the Sci-Fi Channel, who aired two further seasons. Sliders saw a group of characters moving from one parallel Earth to another, trying to get home.
Alongside and subsequent to Sliders, Tormé wrote for The Outer Limits, Odyssey 5 and Carnivàle, and was a script consultant for the 1997 film Contact. He also wrote the original treatment for Will Smith vehicle I Am Legend (2007).
Tormé passed away on 4 January from complications from diabetes. A keen SF screen writer, he will be missed.
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