Elyse Rosenstein
| Fan | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Elyse Rosenstein (Elyse (Pines) Rosenstein) |
| Alias(es): | |
| Type: | fan, con organizer |
| Fandoms: | Star Trek: The Original Series |
| Communities: | |
| Other: | |
| URL: | |
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Elyse (Pines) Rosenstein (c. Jan. 23, 1951 - Feb. 20, 2020) was a New York fan active in traditional SF fandom, and particularly active in Star Trek fandom.
An Organizer of the First Major Star Trek Convention
She was a pioneering con runner.
Along with Joyce Yasner, Joan Winston and Devra Langsam, Elyse organized the very first Star Trek convention, held in NYC in 1972. Elyse was the program coordinator for that con. The convention was not only the very first media convention, it was also the biggest science fiction convention to date by a considerable margin.
The 2016 Star Trek: Mission New York convention held at the Javits Center in NYC commemorated the 50th anniversary of Star Trek on NBC. At that convention Rosenstein recounted how she, with her friend and fellow fan Devra Langsam, first conceived the idea of the convention.
For some unknown reason I turned to [Devra] and said, ‘Wouldn’t it be neat to have a science fiction convention for just ‘Star Trek?’ and she turned to me and said, ‘Yeah,’ we could invite 500 of our most intimate friends.' If she’d said that it was a terrible idea, none of this would have happened.[1]
At the time, Star Trek fans were often looked down on by many science fiction fans, who were more into books and magazines than TV shows. The pair hoped that a convention specifically geared towards Star Trek would do a lot to bring fans together. The rest, as they say, is fan history.
At the 2016 Star Trek: Mission New York, Elyse was part of the panel titled "The First Convention and How it Helped Resurrect Star Trek". The participants on that panel were Linda Deneroff, Devra Langsam, Elyse Rosenstein, and Joyce Yasner with Stu Hellinger moderating. [2]
The program description of that panel was:
The first Star Trek Convention, in New York City, began as a crazy idea with a shoestring budget that created ripples all the way to the Klingon Empire and helped put the Enterprise back in space. A panel discussion with members of the original organizing committee.[3]
Other Accomplishments
In the early 1970s, with her then-husband, Steve Rosenstein, she ran Nova Enterprises, which sold Trek-related products.
Elyse was an Honorary Lifetime Member of Lunarians, chaired the 1983 Lunacon, and worked on many Lunacon committees.
Rosenstein helped start one of the first Star Trek fan clubs, Vulcanian Enterprises.
She was nicknamed “The Screaming Yellow Zonker” by Isaac Asimov.
Elyse was also a major contributor to the book Star Trek Lives!.
Elyse Rosenstein had a BS in Physics and Math from Adelphi University (1987), and an MS in Physics also from Adelphi University (1994). Elyse taught middle and high school science for more than two decades. She was a member of the New York Academy of Sciences and the Long Island Physics Teachers Association.
References
- ^ File770.com: Elyse Rosenstein Has Died, obituary by Andrew Hooper (February 20, 2020)
- ^ Deneroff was an attendee at the 1972 con, and on the organizing committee from 1973 on.
- ^ File770.com Pixel Scroll, item #19 by Mike Glyer (July 29, 2016)