Carey Wilber (June 26, 1916 – May 2, 1998) was an American journalist and television writer born in Buffalo, New York. He began the TV portion of his career in the days of live television, and wrote for a variety of programs over the next three decades, including Captain Video and His Video Rangers, The Asphalt Jungle, Lost In Space, The Time Tunnel, Bonanza, and Maverick. Wilber wrote the "Ice Princess" storyline for the daytime serial General Hospital in 1981. He died in Seattle, Washington.
Early years Wilber was a native of Buffalo, New York. His father, Willis Wilber, was a newspaperman. Wilber attended Holy Angels School and St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute. After leaving high school, he lived with his grandmother on her farm in Gowanda, New York, and delivered milk for Wilber Farms Dairy. His other jobs in his youth included selling brushes door-to-door and working at Republic Steel and at a gas station. He joined the United States Army Reserve and, while waiting for his orders, he worked at the Tonawanda News, where his father was managing editor. He had taken flight instruction at the State University of Buffalo in 1942, and his military duties made him a training officer for the Air Force in Mississippi. His jobs after returning to civilian life included driving a truck, flying a plane, prospecting for gold, and drilling for oil, in addition to working at newspapers.
Career Before Wilber shifted his focus to TV, he worked for 10 newspapers in places including Anchorage, Alaska, and Birmingham, Alabama, with his tenures ranging from six weeks to four years in each place. He was a writer for The Globe and Mail in Toronto, Canada, when he watched a TV program while on a week's leave in New York City. He decided to try his hand at writing for TV, bought a book on that topic, and began creating scripts when he returned to Toronto. His first submissions were rejected before another was accepted by the agency that produced Armstrong Circle Theatre.
Star Trek
Wilber wrote the original story for, and co-wrote the teleplay of, the Star Trek episode "Space Seed". The general plot had originally been created by Wilber for the series Captain Video and His Video Rangers, which featured humans from Ancient Greece who were preserved in cryogenic suspension and resurrected. During the conception and writing of the episode, numerous changes were made, as producer Bob Justman felt that it would be too expensive to film. Despite this, and due to the support of NBC executives, Justman gave a series of notes to Wilber for him to redraft the proposal. Eventually, it was passed to Gene L. Coon to revise, and the final draft was also revised by series creator Gene Roddenberry. These revisions include the marooning of the criminals at the end of the episode, and the change of the primary villain from a Nordic character to a Sikh. Roddenberry attempted to claim the primary writing credit for "Space Seed", a request that was turned down by the Writers Guild of America.
Personal life Wilber was married and had five children.
Filmography
Films Year Film Credit Notes 1968Tarzan and the Four O'Clock ArmyWritten By 1971Tarzan and the Perils of Charity JonesWritten By 1978Confessions of a DA ManScreenplay ByTelevision Movie 1982Aliens from Another PlanetWritten BySegment: "Chase Through Time"
Television Year TV Series Credit Notes 1952Gulf PlayhouseWriter1 Episode 1952-53Lux Video TheatreWriter4 Episodes 1952-54Armstrong Circle TheatreWriter5 Episodes1953General Electric TheaterWriter1 EpisodeKraft Television TheatreWriter2 Episodes1954The Secret Files of Captain VideoWriter1 EpisodeSchlitz Playhouse of StarsWriter1 Episode1954-55Captain Video and His Video RangersWriter3 EpisodesStudio One in HollywoodWriter4 Episodes1957Assignment Foreign LegionWriter2 EpisodesThe Adventures Of Robin HoodWriter1 Episode 1957-58HarbormasterWriter4 Episodes 1957-59The CaliforniansWriter28 Episodes1958Mackenzie's RaidersWriter1 EpisodeMaverickWriter1 Episode1959Hudson's BayWriter1 EpisodeMike HammerWriter1 Episode1959-60This Man DawsonWriter2 EpisodesThe TroubleshootersWriter3 Episodes 1959-69BonanzaWriter5 Episodes1960KlondikeWriter1 EpisodeThe Case of the Dangerous RobinWriter1 Episode 1960-62OutlawsWriter5 Episodes1961The AmericansWriter1 EpisodeThe Asphalt JungleWriter1 EpisodeTarget: The Corruptors!Writer1 Episode 1961-62Adventures in ParadiseWriter2 Episodes 1962-63The UntouchablesWriter2 Episodes 1962-64RawhideWriter4 Episodes1963Going My WayWriter1 EpisodeSam BenedictWriter1 EpisodeTemple HoustonWriter2 EpisodesWide CountryWriter1 Episode 1963-65The VirginianWriter11 Episodes 1964The RoguesWriter1 Episode1965Daniel BooneWriter5 EpisodesThe Legend Of Jesse JamesWriter1 Episode 1965-66The Big ValleyWriter2 Episodes 1965-67Lost in SpaceWriter7 Episodes1966The MonroesWriter2 Episodes12 O'Clock HighWriter4 Episodes 1966-67The Time TunnelWriter3 Episodes 1967Star TrekWriter1 Episode 1967-68TarzanWriter8 Episodes 1968-69IronsideWriter2 Episodes 1968-70LancerWriter7 Episodes 1969It Takes a ThiefWriter1 Episode 1971K2 + 1Writer1 Episode1972BanyonWriter1 EpisodeEmergency!Writer1 Episode 1973-74ChaseWriter2 Episodes 1973-76CannonWriter6 Episodes 1973-80Hawaii Five-OWriter2 Episodes 1974DevlinWriter 1974-75The ManhunterWriter2 Episodes1975CaribeWriter1 EpisodeBarnaby JonesWriter1 EpisodeMatt HelmWriter1 Episode 1975-76BronkWriter2 Episodes1977SwitchWriter1 EpisodeWonder WomanWriter1 Episode 1978LucanWriter1 Episode 1979General HospitalWriter1 Episode
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