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After graduating high school, Roddenberry majored in science at Los Angeles City College and enlisted in the U.S. Army during World War II, where he served as a bomber pilot. Following the war, he transitioned into a career in aviation and eventually into law enforcement, where he worked as a speechwriter for the LAPD and found himself involved in the television show Dragnet. This experience solidified his determination to write for television.
His early work culminated in his first major success with Have Gun – Will Travel, a Western that won him acclaim, particularly for its progressive portrayal of Native Americans. The show's complexity inspired Roddenberry to explore multifaceted characters in his next project—Star Trek.