Trekzone is saddened to report the passing of Dorothy Catherine Fontana following a brief illness.

Fontana was a trailblazer for other female writers, especially in the science fiction realm. She penned sixteen Star Trek episodes, gave us the Vulcan culture, showed us that computers taking over can be a bad thing, gave Kirk a bad attitude, and the Federation a cloaking device, put Jadzia Dax on trial for the actions of her previous host and co-wrote the beginning of The Next Generation with Gene Roddenberry.

Away from Trek her credits include The Waltons, Bonanza, Babylon 5, and The Six Million Dollar Man, among many others. She was nominated for a Writers Guild of America award for co-writing Two Percent of Nothing for Then Came Bronson. And she was working at the American Film Institute as a senior lecturer, who first reported her death, where she mentored aspiring producers, screenwriters and directors.

She is survived by her husband, Oscar-winning visual effects cinematographer Dennis Skotak.