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Edward K. Milkis was born on 16 July 1931 in Los Angeles, California, USA. Edward K. was a producer and production manager, known for Star Trek (1966), Silver Streak (1976) and Foul Play (1978). Edward K. died on 14 December 1996 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Producer, Production Manager, Additional Crew
- July 16, 1931
- Edward K. Milkis
- December 14, 1996
- Overview
- Career outside Star Trek
- Star Trek interviews
- Further reading
- External links
Edward K. Milkis (16 July 1931 – 14 December 1996; age 65) was a Hollywood film and television producer hailing from Los Angeles. He began his Star Trek career as post-production supervisor on Star Trek: The Original Series, before ultimately being promoted to associate producer in early 1968 for the show's third season. He went on to briefly become a post-production producer for Star Trek: The Next Generation during pre-production of that show's pilot, "Encounter at Farpoint".
Milkis had already been repeatedly asked in 1964 by Gene Roddenberry – who had known him from the MGM The Lieutenant series on which he served as assistant editor – to work on the first Star Trek pilot, "The Cage", but he had to decline as he was not available at the time. (Cinefantastique, Vol 27 #11, p. 88)
Two years later, though, the near-debacle with the opticals or special effects (as visual effects – VFX – were still called at the time), VFX company Howard A. Anderson Company was producing at the time for the first regular production episode, "The Corbomite Maneuver". This caused the nervous breakdown of its CEO, Darrell Anderson, initiating a serious crisis, and a desperate Roddenberry, acutely aware that the show was in dire need of a dedicated VFX supervisor, again contacted Milkis.
Milkis recalled, "One afternoon he called and wanted to see me. I agreed to see him the next day and Gene said, "No, no, I mean NOW! Tonight." I left my office and went to Desilu where I met with Gene, Robert H. Justman, and Herb Solow. Herb was head of Desilu and I had met Bob briefly at MGM some years before. Gene told me he was having problems with the post-production and they thought that their air dates were in jeopardy. Gene asked if I would come to work after a somewhat lengthy conversation." Declining at first, on the basis that he was a film editor and that he did not had any experience with supervising any of the post-production aspects, Milkis relented, "Confidently, Gene said, "Yes, you do. You do know how to do it" and literally the next day, I was there." (Cinefantastique, Vol 27 #11, p. 88)
As post-production supervisor, officially credited as "Assistant to the Producer" for the first two seasons, Milkis started work on the show on 31 August 1966, responsible for the VFX as well as serving as the primary liaison between all the effects houses and the studio. From season two onward, he officially took over the supervising duties of all other post-production work from Post-production Executive Bill Heath (credited for having done so for the first two pilots and the entirety of the first season), who, as a studio executive, proved to be unsuited for the position. From an organizational point of view, this was a pivotal moment as post-production oversight was transferred from the purview of the studio to the production proper. Heath, an uninitiated, classic, old school studio staffer and incidentally responsible for Anderson's nervous breakdown by continuously disallowing his VFX proposals for budgetary reasons, was in over his head for a show as challenging as Star Trek was, by far the most technically sophisticated hitherto produced for television.
As was discovered by Roddenberry and Justman at the start of the regular series following the VFX debacle, the show was far better served if post-production was situated closer to the actual production under specialized supervision. The format was adhered to ever since in Star Trek, and, as time progressed, adopted in the rest of the motion picture industry as well.
Milkis started out in the motion picture industry as an assistant editor for MGM working uncredited as such on films as Tom Thumb (1958) and North by Northwest (1959). When he was asked to join Star Trek in 1966, he had already left the motion picture industry, after having worked on The Lieutenant, and was pursuing a career in real estate, but he agreed to help out Roddenberry "for a while". (Inside Star Trek: The Real Story, 1997, p. 262)
The experience gained in Star Trek served Milkis well when afterwards he formed a partnership with Thomas L. Miller, founding the production company Miller-Milkis Productions in 1969 in order to produce theatrical features, co-producing such films as Silver Streak (1976), Foul Play (1978), and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982). Aside from feature films, the company also produced TV shows as Petrocelli (whose regulars included TOS guest actress Susan Howard and TNG guest actor David Huddleston) as well as the hit sitcoms Happy Days (starring Don Most, Gavan O'Herlihy, and Anson Williams), Laverne & Shirley (starring David L. Lander and Michael McKean), and Bosom Buddies. Being a CEO of his own company was a reason for Milkis to decline tenure on The Next Generation.
In 1984 he left the motion picture industry for the second time to devote his time and energy to a number of charitable organizations, including the Guardians of the Jewish Home for the Aging and the Weizmann Institute of Science, the latter of which he presided over as president. He shortly returned to the motion picture industry to serve as an executive producer on his final movie projects, the 1990 TV movie The World According to Straw and the 1994 comedy Exit to Eden. To this end, to market his services as a free agent, he had founded his own, personal company Edward K. Milkis Productions in 1984.
Milkis passed away in Los Angeles at the age of 65 and was survived by his wife, Marcia, and five children. Both production companies he had (co-)founded closed their doors shortly thereafter.
•"A Shot in the Dark", Star Trek Memories, 1993, pp. 234-248
•"Post-Production Guru", Sue Uram, Cinefantastique, Vol 27 #11, 1996, pp. 88-90
•Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion (1st ed.), 1992
•Inside Star Trek: The Real Story, 1996
- 24 min
Dec 17, 1996 · Dec 16, 1996 11:00pm PT. Edward K. Milkis. By Variety Staff. Film and TV producer Edward K. Milkis died Saturday following an extended illness. He was 65. A Los Angeles native, Milkis...
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Edward K. Milkis was born on 16 July 1931 in Los Angeles, California, USA. Edward K. was a producer and production manager, known for Star Trek (1966), Silver Streak (1976) and Foul Play (1978). Edward K. died on 14 December 1996 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
Edward K. Milkis. UFP Historical Society. Production. (Real-World information) Assistant to the Producer. Star Trek. The Corbomite Maneuver [1] The Enemy Within [2] Balance of Terror [3] What Are Little Girls Made Of? [4] Dagger of the Mind [5] Miri [6] The Conscience of the King [7] The Galileo Seven [8] Court Martial [9]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Edward_K._Milkis&oldid=1217608639"This page was last edited on 6 April 2024, at 21:01 (UTC). (UTC).
