Phil Rawlins

Phil Rawlins was an assistant director on  during its second season. He later served as Unit Production Manager on between -.

Rawlins was born in Glendale, California. He attended Pierce College in Pierce County, Washington, started a rodeo team while in college, and participated in rodeo circuits throughout most of his life.

Rawlins married his wife, Fran, in 1982. They had two children together: Clay Rawlins, a film editor, and Lex Rawlins, a cameraman who also worked on Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Phil Rawlins died in Newhall, California on his 79th birthday.

Rawlins began his career in show business as a stuntman, which including doubling for on the western television series Rawhide. After ten years as a stuntman, he served as a second assistant director on the family drama series Fury. He then became a first assistant director at Warner Bros., during which time he worked on such television shows as Maverick and 77 Sunset Strip as well as such films as Spencer's Mountain (which featured Whit Bissell) and Two on a Guillotine (with Parley Baer and John Hoyt).

In 1964, Rawlins served as an assistant director on the science fiction series The Outer Limits for MGM. He then returned to Warner Bros., serving as an assistant director on the television sitcom F-Troop during the 1965-1966 television season. Rawlins also directed episodes of F-Troop for its second and final season (including one episode with James Gregory), and was the show's associate producer during that season, as well.

After F-Troop ended, Rawlins left Warner Bros. to work as an assistant director on Star Trek. He then became a director and assistant director on the NBC cop drama Adam-12. He directed several Star Trek alumni on this show, including William Boyett, Paul Carr, Richard Hale, and James B. Sikking. He also directed several episodes of The High Chaparral, which starred Henry Darrow. The other actors he has directed on The High Chaparral include Roy Jenson, Gregory Sierra, and Paul Sorenson.

Rawlins moved on to film production in the early 1970s. In addition to Star Trek: The Motion Picture, he was Unit Production Manager on such 1970s films as Slither (starring Sally Kellerman), Mr. Ricco (starring Eugene Roche and Thalmus Rasulala), The Big Bus (which featured Rene Auberjonois and Sally Kellerman), and Michael Crichton's Coma (featuring Lance LeGault). He was also the Associate Producer and Second Unit Director on John Milius' film The Wind and the Lion (starring Brian Keith) and an assistant director on Exorcist II: The Heretic (starring Louise Fletcher).

Rawlins continued working as a Unit Production Manager for films throughout the 1980s. He was both an UPM and Associate Producer on the 1980 comedy First Family, which featured a cast that included Roger Aaron Brown, Miriam Flynn, Bruce French, John Hancock, and Warren Munson. His subsequent credits as UPM include Kiss Me Goodbye (starring Paul Dooley), Club Paradise (featuring Antoinette Bower, Joanna Cassidy, Andrea Martin, and Bruce McGill), and Hot to Trot (starring Virginia Madsen and Jim Metzler). His most notable credits during this time, however, were 1984's Gremlins and 1990's Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Both of these films featured Zach Galligan, Keye Luke, and Dick Miller, while the latter co-starred John Glover and Robert Picardo. Gremlins 2 was Rawlins' last film before he retired from the business.

Star Trek credits

 * - First Assistant Director
 * - Unit Production Manager
 * - Unit Production Manager
 * - Unit Production Manager
 * - Unit Production Manager
 * - Unit Production Manager
 * - Unit Production Manager
 * - Unit Production Manager
 * - Unit Production Manager
 * - Unit Production Manager

Star Trek interview

 * Return to Tomorrow - The Filming of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, December 2014