Roberto Orci Dies: ‘Star Trek’, ‘Transformers’ & ‘Hawaii Five-0’ Writer-Producer Was 51
By Nellie Andreeva
Roberto “Bob” Gaston Orci, a writer-producer who worked on some of the biggest action-adventure and sci-fi movies and television shows from the first two decades of the century, died at his home in Los Angeles today, Feb. 25, after a battle with kidney disease. He was 51.
Born and raised in Mexico City, Orci moved to the United States with his family when he was 10. He started off as a writer-producer on Xena: Warrior Princess and Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and for most of his career was partnered with Alex Kurtzman.
Orci was co-writer/producer on the 2009 Star Trek movie reboot and its two sequels as well as on the 2007 Transformers movie and the 2009 followup Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Orci’s feature credits also include writing work on Mission Impossible III and The Legend Of Zorro and producing on the Now You See Me franchise, The Proposal, Eagle Eye, The Mummy as well as The Amazing Spider-Man 2, which he also co-wrote.
In television, Orci was co-creator/executive producer on CBS’ Hawaii Five-0 reboot and on Fox’s Fringe and Sleepy Hollow. He also worked on ABC’s Alias and CBS’ Scorpion. Orci’s latest venture was Rubber Room Media, a writer-driven production company.
“He was a visionary storyteller with a boundless heart and a beautiful soul,” Orci’s brother, J.R. Orci said. “But beyond his creative talents, he was a compassionate friend who would put his life on hold to help a stranger and find room in his home for the most overlooked pup at the shelter.”
Orci, who was public about his past struggles with alcoholism and his recovery, is survived by his father Roberto Orci Sr., mother Macuqui Robau-Garcia, stepmom Jeanine Orci, siblings J.R Orci, Taylor Orci, and Courtney Ford, and his dog Bogey.
At the time of his death, Orci and his estranged wife, actress Adele Heather Taylor, had dueling lawsuits pending, each accusing the other of assault and abuse.
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Bob Orci was one of the nicest people that I’ve ever met and worked with in Television. He was so talented and kind. My heart goes out to his family.
So young.
Bob was a very funny and kind person. I loved working with his young creative energy and enthusiasm. He and Alex were a fantastic writing team! Just going through all my fond memories of the three of us getting the first Transformers to the screen.
He will be missed.
Enjoyed his work. Plus, our dogs were both named Bogey
Always generous with his time and with the fans. I used to chat with him regularly in the comments at the TrekMovie site. He was the only big-time producer or writer on Star Trek who was willing to just *talk* with us plebians (and listen, too!). He will be missed.
Bob was a kind and generous human who was always really nice to me in situations when it in no way benefitted him to do so. This is a really sad loss of a good human.
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Roberto Orci, ‘Star Trek’ and ‘Transformers’ Writer-Producer, Dies at 51
By Jack Dunn
Roberto Orci, the writer-producer behind the late 2000s reboots of “Star Trek” and “Transformers” and creator of “Fringe,” died Tuesday in his Los Angeles home from kidney disease, Variety has confirmed. He was 51.
With partner Alex Kurtzman, Orci co-wrote projects including 2007’s “Transformers” and 2009’s “Star Trek.” Orci’s other credits include producing work on the “Now You See Me” franchise, “Ender’s Game” and “The Amazing Spider-Man 2,” as well as writing credits on “Mission Impossible 3.” On the TV side, Orci and Kurtzman developed the 2010 reboot of “Hawaii Five-0” which ran for over 200 episodes. He also created “Sleepy Hollow” and “Fringe” for Fox.
Born in Mexico, Orci attended Crossroads School in Los Angeles where he met fellow movie lover Kurtzman. They would go on to partner on numerous projects, starting with writing scripts for “Hercules: The Legendary Journeys,” and became showrunners at the age of 24. They went on to write for J.J. Abrams’ “Alias” and then created the Fox sci fi series “Fringe,” which ran for five seasons.
In 2014, the duo announced they would no longer work together on film projects, and Orci went on to create “Matador” for the El Rey network.
In August of 2024, Orci was accused in a lawsuit of beating and sexually assaulting his wife, “Hail, Caesar!” actor Adele Heather Taylor. In the suit, she alleged that Orci was a bipolar alcoholic who would fly into fits of violence against her.
Taylor’s lawsuit was in response to a suit filed by Orci that June. In the suit, he alleged that Taylor had repeatedly assaulted him, and during his battle with alcoholism, manipulated him for financial gain.
Orci’s spokesperson Sallie Hofmeister said at the time, “Ms. Taylor’s counterclaim is an attempt to retaliate against her husband with fabricated allegations after he got a restraining order against her, filed for divorce, and sued her in June for assault, battery, and financially abusing him when he was vulnerable and trying to get treatment for alcoholism.”
Orci is survived by his parents, Macuqui Robau-Garcia and Roberto Orci Sr., his stepmother, Jeanine Orci, as well as his three siblings, Courtney Ford, J.R. Orci and Taylor Orci.
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Roberto Orci, Co-Creator of Fringe and Sleepy Hollow, Dead at 51
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Roberto Orci, Writer of Star Trek, Transformers, and More, Has Died
Roberto Orci, one of the most prolific and successful Hollywood writers and producers in recent memory, died Tuesday from kidney failure. He was 51 years old.
Orci is best known for his work with fellow writer and creator Alex Kurtzman. Together, the pair wrote and produced a slew of massive hits such as Mission: Impossible III, Star Trek, Transformers, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, and more. Truly, there was a time when anything the pair touched turned to gold and two of the best words you could hear in Hollywood were “Kurtzman and Orci.”
That relationship ended in 2014 which saw Kurtzman moving on to CBS’s Star Trek shows like Discovery and Picard as well as directing Tom Cruise’s film The Mummy ,while Orci took to the beaches to help bring back Hawaii Five-O for 10 years. But even with their own newer, individual successes, their names will forever be connected.
Orci and his partner basically defined an era when nerdy wasn’t quite that cool yet. When the big IPs were just starting to break into the mainstream in a way that would become a second thought years later. That started in the late 1990s with jobs writing on Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess. They then hooked up with Bad Robot and J.J. Abrams on shows like Alias and Fringe before graduating to the big screen with films like 2009’s Star Trek and 2007’s Transformers. Not the crappy sequels either—though they had smaller parts to play in those too—but the really good originals.
For about 10 years or so it was almost like Orci and his friends could do no wrong. They even got a dream team together including Harrison Ford, Daniel Craig, and Jon Favreau to make a sci-fi cowboy film called Cowboys and Aliens. It, unfortunately, didn’t live up to its standards but that was the power of Orci in that time. You expected it to be amazing because everyone involved was amazing.
There were tons of other noteworthy projects along the way, such as the TV remake of Sleepy Hollow, Limitless and his original idea, Matador. And, at only 51, one would imagine there were several more decades of noteworthy projects to come. Orci had a dream career that ended way too soon.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
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