'Wrath of Khan' Writer Sowards Dies

Jack B. Sowards, who shares writing credit for Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, died of Lou Gehrig's disease in Los Angeles earlier this month.

StarTrek.com eulogized the writer, who is credited for the The Wrath of Khan screenplay (to which director Nicholas Meyer contributed greatly, though he received no byline) and the story written along with producer Harve Bennett.

Sowards also wrote a Star Trek: The Next Generation episode, "Where Silence Has Lease."

Born in Arkansas, Sowards served in the Marines after World War II, then studied theater at the University of Texas. An acting career in Los Angeles led him to try his hand at writing. TV Squad noted that he had written for Bonanza, Peyton Place, Daniel Boone and Barnaby Jones among other shows.

Before amyotrophic lateral sclerosis took its toll, Sowards taught screenwriting at UCLA. He is survived by four children and two grandchildren, and a sister.

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