Irwin Allen

Name:	Irwin Allen
Also Known As:
Occupation:	producer, creator, writer
Medium:	Television
Works:	Land of the Giants, Time Tunnel, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
Official Website(s):
Fan Website(s):
On Fanlore:	Related pages

Irwin Allen an American film and television producer and director.

Some of His Works

• The Poseidon Adventure (1972 film)
• The Towering Inferno (1974 film)
• Land of the Giants (1968 to 1970 television)
• Time Tunnel (1966 to 1967 television)
• Lost in Space (1965–1968 television)
• Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1964–1968 television)

A Fan's Memorial

He and Gene Roddenberry died at about the same time. A fan wrote about both men in the 1992 Dixie Trek program book:

In an eight day period, both Gene Roddenberry and Irwin Allen were taken from us. Some fans may not like the fact that Irwin Allen is mentioned in the same breath as Gene Roddenberry and the opposite may also be said, but no matter how you feel, both men were great creators and without them you would probably not be here reading this.

I have had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Roddenberry and found him to be a very kind person, taking me on a tour of the Star Trek offices during an unplanned visit to the Paramount lot. Although my impression of Gene was that of a nice man, people who tried to go against him professionally might have a somewhat different impression. Writers and network executives often clashed with him over what Star Trek was about, many times Gene won but ultimately he lost and the original Star Trek withered away. Not to be deterred, Gene went on to create a new generation of characters but due to ill health he again had to pass his brainchild on to others, this time with more success than the last.

I never met Mr. Allen, but from stories I have heard this might be for the best. Irwin was all business when it came to the shows he created (Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Lost in Space, Time Tunnel, and Land of the Giants). He was not a man to rest on the laurels of his successes, he constantly pushed himself to do more. If he hadn't pushed himself he would have stopped with Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea and we would have been left without some of the fondest T.V. memories from our childhoods.

Both men left their shows, either by their own will or out of frustration with less-creative powers-that-be which eventually led to cancellation, for a ship without a rudder will soon run aground.