Robert Wise, the legendary film director who first brought Star Trek to the silver screen, died Wednesday of heart failure in Los Angeles. He had just celebrated his 91st birthday on Saturday.

Wise was director of "Star Trek: The Motion Picture," which revived the Star Trek franchise in 1979 after a 10-year absence, and set the stage for five more big-screen outings featuring the Original Series crew, and further spin-offs.

Wise also personally supervised the "Director's Edition" of "ST:TMP" which debuted on DVD in 2001. He considered that version of the film his completed work.

In an interview held in early 2004 (transcript), Wise said that, despite problems with initial production on the movie, "I think we still ended up with quite a good film," adding, "But when the opportunity came 20 years later to finally finish the picture, I immediately said, 'Yes, let's do this, and finally get 'Star Trek' finished.'" It was the only film he returned to and revised.

Wise boasted one of the most distinguished and prolific careers in Hollywood, with credits in a broad range of genres. Before Star Trek, he had already established himself as a classic science fiction director with "The Day the Earth Stood Still" and "The Andromeda Strain." He was also adept at horror ("The Haunting," "The Body Snatcher"), mystery ("The House on Telegraph Hill"), war dramas ("Run Silent Run Deep," "The Sand Pebbles"), crime dramas ("Born to Kill," "I Want to Live!") and practically every other category of film you could name.

But the pinnacle of his success came in the musical genre. Two of the most beloved musicals of all time, "West Side Story" and "The Sound of Music," earned Wise two Oscars each, for directing and producing ("West Side Story" received a total of 10 Oscars, and "Sound of Music" won five). In 1967 Wise was also honored at the Academy Awards with the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award for lifetime achievement as a producer.

Born September 10, 1914, in Winchester, Indiana, the son of a meatpacker, Wise loved movies from the earliest years of the medium. He visited the dime matinees several times a week, and dreamed of becoming part of the magic that he saw on the screen. When he found himself in Hollywood, he got himself a job as a messenger in the RKO Studio film editing department, on the grounds which now make up the west side of the Paramount Studios lot. He came to learn how movies are cut and patched together, and worked his way up to be a film editor.

An opportunity then came his way that would first establish Robert Wise's place in movie history: he edited Orson Welles' seminal film "Citizen Kane," and earned an Academy Award nomination for it. Later, in 1944, he was editing "The Curse of the Cat People" when the studio removed the director for being far behind schedule, and gave Wise the job. The movie became a hit, and he was established as a director. He came to be known and respected for his versatility, dedication and craftsmanship.

Gene Roddenberry met Wise in the 1970s when both were guests at a science fiction seminar in Arizona, and decided they'd like to work together. A revived Star Trek series was in the works, but plans for a new TV show was scrapped when Paramount decided to turn the pilot script into a major motion picture event. The studio then set out to recruit a major director, and for Roddenberry one name rose to the top: Robert Wise. And the rest is Trek history.

Wise is survived by his wife, Millicent, plus a son, a stepdaughter and a granddaughter. His first wife, Patricia, died in 1975.

Services are pending.

Tributes are pouring in from all over the world of Star Trek, and they can be found on page 2 (link to the right below).