George Clayton Johnson

George Clayton Johnson was a writer best known for his work in the science fiction genre, including the first episode of the television series Star Trek and co-credit for the novel Logan's Run and the screenplay for the 1976 film adaptation.

Early in his career, the Wyoming native was associated with the so-called Southern California School of writers, a group that included Charles Beaumont, Ray Bradbury, Richard Matheson and Theodore Sturgeon. In addition to their fiction, the cadre often wrote for TV and movies.

Johnson earned his first television credit with a 1959 episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents titled "I'll Take Care of You."

His knack for stories with twists that upended conventional expectations served him well on the acclaimed anthology series The Twilight Zone. He met the show's creator, Rod Serling, through his Southern California School colleagues, and he went on to write seven episodes, including such memorable installments as "Kick the Can," "A Penny for Your Thoughts" and "A Game of Pool."

Science fiction aficionados will recall Johnson as writer of "The Man Trap," the premiere episode of Star Trek, which debuted September 8, 1966. In the episode, the U.S.S. Enterprise faces a crisis when crew members begin dying from a lack of salt in their bodies.

His other television work included episodes of such series as Route 66, Honey West, The Law and Mr. Jones and Kung Fu.

For the movies, he wrote the story that became the basis for the 1960 caper saga Ocean's 11, starring Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr., and its 2001 remake, with a cast of stars led by George Clooney, Julia Roberts and Brad Pitt.

Also, with William F. Nolan, he wrote Logan's Run, the story of a society in which no one is allowed to live beyond the age of twenty-one. The film version — in which the age of mandatory execution was raised to thirty — starred Michael York as the title character, who tries to avoid death by fleeing from the authorities.

In addition to his work as a fiction, TV and film writer, Johnson was an advocate for the legalization of marijuana.

Later in his career he pursued comic-book writing, and with Jay Allen Sanford he created the series Deepest Dimension Terror Anthology. He also helped to establish San Diego Comic Con, and was a frequent guest at other science-fiction and comic conventions, where he discussed his work with legions of fans.

Johnson died December 25, 2015, in Los Angeles. He was 86.