Inductees Named for 2007 Science Fiction Hall of Fame

Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame presented a full weekend of events, June 15 - 16, 2007. Highlights include the 2007 Science Fiction Hall of Fame induction ceremony, honoring Ed Emshwiller (Art Category), Gene Roddenberry (Film, Television and Media Category), Ridley Scott (Film, Television and Media Category) and Gene Wolfe (Literature Category). Award-winning author Neal Stephenson hosted the evening’s events.

2007 Hall of Fame Inductees Press Release >>

2007 Inductees

Ed Emshwiller 1925 - 1990

American artist During his career as a commercial visual artist, Ed Emshwiller dominated the field of science fiction magazine and book cover art. Between 1951 and 1964 he created over 400 cover paintings and hundreds of interior illustrations, winning 5 Hugo Awards for Best Artist. He provided many of the covers for Galaxy and The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction during this time. Emshwiller’s work combines astonishingly realistic enderings with surreal elements. He evoked wonder as easily as humor or horror, and his lively imagination led him to create many original covers that magazine editors would assign writers to build stories around. Emshwiller also created fine art during this time, and exhibited in several shows. Always looking for new ways to expand his artistic interests, Emshwiller turned to film and video art in the 1960s, creating features, documentaries, and the ground-breaking short Sunstone (1979), one of the first computer-generated films. MORE >>>

Gene Roddenberry 1921 - 1991

American producer Television producer Gene Roddenberry (1921 – 1991) is known world-wide for his creation of Star Trek. To date there have been six Star Trek television series, ten feature films, dozens of games and hundreds of novels and comics. Roddenberry’s vision is much more than a galaxy filled with danger and adventure, though. He used science fiction to present a future in which humanity has finally set aside personal differences to create a society based on equality and fairness. The stories in Star Trek entertain, but also act as a reflection of our own world and challenge us to reconsider our prejudices and assumptions. Star Trek is not only one of the most popular science fiction franchises, at its best it’s science fiction with depth and emotion. Roddenberry also created four science fiction made-for-TV movies, and his work was the basis of two other series: Andromeda and Earth: Final Conflict. In 1986 he was presented with a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame. MORE >>>

Ridley Scott 1937 -

American director Director Ridley Scott’s films Alien and Blade Runner are major science fiction movies and landmarks in American cinema. Alien, a futuristic horror thriller, sent a shock through a science fiction film world that was used to low-budget fluff and romantic space opera fantasies. Three years later Blade Runner reinvented the genre once again, introducing a gritty, film-noir tone and disturbing moral dilemmas. Both films are often imitated, but have never been equaled. Ridley Scott also directed the groundbreaking “1984” Apple Macintosh commercial, based on George Orwell’s 1984 and one of the most famous television ads made. Scott is a three-time nominee for the Best Director Academy Award, and was knighted in 2003. MORE >>>

Gene Wolfe 1931 -

American writer Gene Wolfe is considered not only one of the most important science fiction writers, but one of the best writers in the English language today. He gained early critical attention for his novel The Fifth Head of Cerberus, a set of subtle, interwoven stories told by decidedly unreliable narrators. The multi-volume novel The Book of the New Sun is Wolfe’s most highly-regarded work. Although it reads like fantasy, the story takes place millions of years in the future at a time when current history is long forgotten. Wolfe’s writing demands close attention by the reader so as not to miss the subtle clues that reveal the hidden truths of the tale. He uses science fiction to explore themes of identity, often to unsettling effect. Now in his 70s, Wolfe continues to publish extraordinary and challenging fiction. He has won two Nebula Awards and two World Fantasy Awards, as well as a World Fantasy Lifetime Achievement Award. MORE >>>

About the Science Fiction Hall of Fame

The Hall of Fame honors the lives, works, and ongoing legacies of science fiction's greatest creators.

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame was founded in 1996 by the Kansas City Science Fiction and Fantasy Society (KCSFFS) in conjunction with the J. Wayne and Elsie M. Gunn Center for the Study of Science Fiction at the University of Kansas. Created in 1971, the KCSFFS fosters interest in the literary forms known as science fiction and fantasy, and is one of the oldest science fiction clubs in mid-America.

Each year since 1996, the Hall of Fame has inducted four individuals on the basis of their continued excellence and long-time contribution to the science fiction field. The Science Fiction Museum is honored to now be the permanent physical home of the Hall of Fame, and will continue its mission through annual inductions of individuals who have made outstanding and significant contributions to Science Fiction.