THE DOROTHY DUDER LAUNCH

Help place some of Dorothy's ashes into deep space or on the surface of the moon.

Hi, my name is Marc, and I'm holding a fundraiser for Dorothy Duder on behalf of his beloved partner and husband, Doug Drexler. As little as I know about Doug, I personally know a couple of his friends, which is enough for me to initiate this worthy cause.

I am the International Ambassador for CELESTIS MEMORIAL SPACEFLIGHTS. My duty is to guide potential clients with inquiries and carry out the memorial services from each launch location (a three-day event) between The Cape and our New Mexico site.

In our 20+ years of service, we have successfully placed a portion of cremated remains of over 15,000 people into space. Many of our passengers have included celebrities such as Timothy Leary, James "Scotty" Doohan, astronaut Gordon Cooper and Gene Roddenberry, Majel Barrett Roddenberry, Douglas Trumball, Gregory Jein, DNA from Rod Roddenberry and the daughter of Leonard Nimoy and many others in both ways. But, of course, we want to send Dorothy along for the ride.

Celestis conducts memorial spaceflights, affordably launching the spacecraft to, and returning from, outer space; orbiting planet Earth; to the Moon; and soon into deep space. Celestis is the first company to have successfully conducted Memorial Spaceflight Missions and the only company to have been selected by NASA to honor one of its scientists. It has been an iconic pioneer and global leader of the commercial space age for over two decades.

The love affair between Doug Drexler and Dorothy is one for the movies. His classic telling of his courtship and ultimate pairing has become great storytelling for those like you and me, which prompted me in the offering of Dorothy's flight with our company. I've had several discussions with Doug, and he has permitted me to carry this out. Of course, this is with the need to finance such a venture, and with your help, Doug can see his wife soar into the vastness and beauty that Gene Roddenberry described to us in his own stories.

So, here are two options for her flight:

1. She can fly with Gene, Majel and the crew above, but funds would have to be raised fast before ashes are systematically placed in the rocket, named VULCAN. This mission is named THE ENTERPRISE FLIGHT and is slated for deep space. See the video on this page. This is slated to fly in Q4 of this year but could be pushed back as scheduled flights work. We don't control that.

2. She can fly on a flight in Q4 of 2023, where we will be placing approximately 100 souls onto the surface of the moon. They will be placed inside of a lander that will remain there forever.

So we got time and we don't got time (bad grammar for dramatic effect) . Think of the latter.

That's pretty much a brief outline of what is to occur. Of course, Doug's air and hotel are included in what we are trying to raise here, and I am authorized to offer Doug a 15% discount off the total cost for the flight alone. This is serious business what we do, and I have personally experienced the love and emotion of a memorial service before the launch and the thrill of seeing a loved one's wishes fulfilled. It is a gobsmacking moment and a fantastic memory. Oh, and btw, all flights are trackable over our website (CELESTIS). You will be able to see where Dorothy is via NASA monitoring.

We think Doug Drexler should experience his wife once again under the moon. Help him achieve that.

I am available for any questions about this flight(s). Just email us, and please visit CELESTIS website for more insight on this incredible adventure for Dorothy.

And now, a message from Doug:

Dorothy Duder - Star Trek's Food Stylist.

She fed Star Trek in front of, and behind the cameras. She inspired it's artists, was the soul mate and muse, of iconic Star Trek designer, Doug Drexler.

Dorothy after a long battle with cancer, passed a mere four weeks ago, leaving a broken hearted Doug behind. Here is Doug's story of meeting her, and how she came to Star Trek.

"How I almost made the Biggest Mistake in my Life"

By Doug Drexler

It was 1987. We were in the middle of a character makeup renaissance. Guys like Dick Smith, Rick Baker, Rob Bottin, Stan Winston, and Greg Canom, were the giants.

Then there was us. We weren't big name Hollywood makeup guys. We weren't even in Hollywood. My partner and I were sitting in our Brooklyn lab when we got the news that Warren Beatty was making Dick Tracy. That could be a character makeup artists dream come true. Whoever gets that job, we both said in unison, is getting an Oscar. We knew that sight unseen. We were equally sure It would NEVER, EVER be us... until it was. Just like that.

Production put us up at the Beverly Garland Hotel in L.A. while we built our team. Covering the mouthpiece on the phone, I say... "Hey, John... I'm going to ask Ms. Duder to come over for a meeting". Dorothy Duder had been highly recommended to us by Rick Baker's lab manager. Cag lit a cigarette with a flourish, dramatically snapping his Zippo shut. "Hell, we're in Hollywood, Doug... tell her to meet us by the pool". We laughed at the absurdity. "Ahem... Ms. Duder, can you meet us by the pool at 1:30? Great! See you then!". Click! I give John a wink. "Welcome to Hollywood, brudda!".

The palm trees swaying overhead were culture shock. I was told it was just another typical sunny southern California day, but to me it might just as well have been a parallel dimension. Hey, John... I motion toward a perfectly groomed, perfectly dressed young woman walking through the gate. We peer over the top of our Wayfarers at Dorothy Duder. The sun flared over her shoulder. Her bearing was confident, and professional. I didn't realize it yet, but this would be a monumentally pivotal moment in my life. Worlds are turned on such moments. We introduced ourselves. She sat down. Posture perfect. Makeup perfect. Hair perfect. Perfect, perfect, perfect. Supremely adult. All business. All polish.

And then, well... there was us...

Wearing cut-offs and T-shirts, we were pretty far from perfect. Disciplined? When it came to our work, but otherwise, we were raucous, excitable, and boisterous. Sure, we could be adult and business-like when we needed to and be good at it, but it was a put-on. We had built an impressive makeup lab in Brooklyn, but we'd mostly worked out of dark, dank, subterranean basements. We were troglodytes, and this woman was a far cry from that. It was almost absurd. We were a couple of cavemen. We chatted briefly about the job and what she could expect. She told us briefly about herself and her qualifications. It was a meet and greet. We liked her.

"Thank you, Dorothy; we'll be in touch". We shook hands, she gave each of us her business card, and we watched as she headed out, never missing a well-choreographed step. And here was my reaction:

Forget it. She's way too good for us. I mean, just look at her. We're the things from the basement. I glanced down at her business card: "No drama, no chaos, just accounting (and some really great baked goods)". Holy cow, she really is too good for us...

As it turned out, I was 100%, unadulterated right. She WAS too good for us. And she would prove that again, and again, and again. She was a one-woman army. Our pit bull, our juggernaut. She would take care of our business, manage our lab, keep our books, and fit right in. We laughed at the same stuff. She had a sharp and sometimes bawdy sense of humor. She looked after us. She kept our schedules straight. She was thoughtful, sentimental, and resourceful. The makeup lab was noisy, dusty, and dirty, but Dorothy came in perfect-perfect, every day. She WAS WAY, WAY, WAY, too good for us.

But wait, there's more. How could there be more, you say? Well, she can cook... Cook? like with fire? And a pan?

Ultimately, the word "cook" is a pretty blunt word for what Dorothy does. With Dorth, it's art, it's performance, it's love, it's talent, and maybe it's even genetic. She threw dinner parties that made everyone feel like heads of state. It was always an experience. She made us cookies, and brownies, and birthday cakes. She brought food to us when we pulled all-nighters, and paired with wine no less. She's a phenomenon. Yet, even in the face of all of that, it still took me three years to ask her out, and then another 12 years to ask her to marry me. *Facepalm*

So now it's 2001. I'm an illustrator on Star Trek: Enterprise. Property Master Craig Binkley needs a reliable food stylist. Easier said than done. Sure, I thought of Dorothy, but she was a successful production controller. Give it time, Dug-O, things will find their own level... but then I watched poor Bink getting run through the ringer.

The problem is that you need more than someone who can make food. A show like Trek is fraught with minefields. Things turn on a nanite. You have to roll with the punches. What Bink needed was a one-woman army corp. A pitbull. A juggernaut. Someone who can take care of business, fit right in, laugh at the same stuff, and with a sharp and sometimes bawdy sense of humor. Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!

Well, they were like rocket fuel. They got on like a house afire. They loved working together. They called themselves Fred and Ethel. There was joy thru out the land. The stage crew loved Dorothy too. The actors simply adored her. They'd rub their hands together in gleeful anticipation. They couldn't wait to eat, even though they knew they might have to do it over, and over, and over again, and for the next ten hours.

Once upon a time, Dorothy Duder sent me into the art department with a mother-lode of her wonderful, moist, delectable, chocolate drop, sour cream cookies. You heard me right. Really more a dense dark cake than a cookie, with a healthy drizzle of fudge to boot. Ron Wilkerson, one of our awesome set designers, rolled around the door jam into my office, head lolled in ecstasy. He took a slow, slow, thoughtful bite of dark chocolate heaven. Turned it over, in his mouth, savored it, eyes closed. Several seconds went by. He slowly opened his eye... paused... looked at me, and said... Doug... Marry her. Marry that woman...

Born in Los Angeles and raised in northern California. Graduated with honors from Blackford High School in San Jose. Undergraduate degree in business from Santa Clara University. California State Scholar and Hearst Foundation grant recipient. Corporate Manager at Atari, Motorola, and Valley Institute of Theater Arts from 1980-1985. Moved back to LA in 1985. Graduate studies in Film Budgeting and Scheduling at American Film Institute.

Twenty-seven years of experience in entertainment finance. Have worked in makeup, wardrobe, visual effects and prop departments. Provided financial services for film, television, music videos, documentaries and fan films.

Worked as a Food Stylist on Star Trek: Enterprise for the show's entire run. Recipes featured in Bon Appetit, Gourmet, Reminisce and Cooking Light. Featured on Food Network. Assistant Editor of the food section for the Los Angeles Daily news.

Married to Doug Drexler