A debate has raged for quite some time about whether or not Burke chairs were used on Star Trek: The Original Series. Most of the comments I've read in forums indicate a belief that they were, although at least one person claimed they were made by a company called Contemporary Shells.
The most compelling evidence for the Burke chairs having been the TOS chairs were concept sketches by Walter "Matt" Jeffries, the art director of the Star Trek series which I found at Star Trek Prop, Costume & Auction Authority.
I don't claim to know for sure. All I have are pictures of the Burke chairs and a couple of Star Trek photos, as well as the sketches by Jeffries, one of which is very clearly labeled "Modified Burke." I'll let you decide for yourself.
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| designaddict.com |
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| designaddict.com |
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| Burke Model 115 austinmodhouse.com |
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| One of our four Burke 116s craigslist.org (That's the previous owner in the background. This is his CL listing.) |
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| Jefffies concept sketch startrekpropauthority.com |
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| Another Jeffries concept sketch startrekpropauthority.com |
That is so nifty! What a mystery.
ReplyDeleteLove how "futuristic" the Star Trek set was.
OMG - YES! It makes perfect sense. I've read that many things that are now iconic ST were common or of-the-day objects in a new light. D*mmit Jim, I'm a doctor, not a designer - let's just use whatever we can find at Sears. Live Long and Repurpose, Dana!
ReplyDeleteI love this post! You learn something new everyday ... I don't / didn't watch ST so I had NO IDEA such neat chairs were featured. ^__^
ReplyDeletei was a pre teen when star trek was telecast in india :)..wow..i could have never gotten to see the connection of MCM and ST..lovely post dana
ReplyDeleteThat's a really clever way to redesign the chair to make it work for their set design. It probably was either a Burke or a knockoff. I've heard that, especially in the first season, they had NO money and had to repurpose a lot of everyday items and use some cheap theater tricks to create effects. They certainly could never have afforded to mold their own fiberglass chairs! Though now a production company probably wouldn't think twice about it.
ReplyDelete@monogirl: It's so cool to get your take on things, since you're "in the biz." I thought the most interesting thing I found was Jeffries' sketch that said "Modified Burke." That kinda seals the deal for me as to what his plan was, but who knows what they finally ended up using?
ReplyDeleteThey used two guys to slide open the "automatic" doors open and closed in the early Star Trek series lol.
ReplyDeleteWonderful whatever they are!!
Very interesting post, thanks. If the Star Trek chairs are not Burke chairs, they sure look convincingly alike.
ReplyDeleteJust found my way to your blog and I'm happy to find another kindred retrophile. Will definitely follow!
@I dream lo-tech: Welcome to my blog. I'm so glad you enjoyed the post and plan to be a regular reader. I look forward to more of your comments.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the warm welcome, appreciate it.
ReplyDeleteI'll be back!
When you have the chance, do check this out.
Cheers!
BTW Dana the Captain’s chair from the original Star Trek series was based on a Arthur Umanoff design for Madison Furniture :-)
ReplyDelete@Jonathan: Your knowledge about mid-century furniture astounds me. I have to look this stuff up. You already know it. :) Of course, I had to rush off and find pictures of the Madison chair(s) in question. So interesting!
ReplyDeleteGreat site! The kitchen chairs on The Brady Bunch were also Burke, Inc. chairs. As I understand it, they weren't available in Green so the production company painted them for the show. The red/orange-ish seat pads may have been from Burke, Inc. Lastly, remember Star Trek was filmed at Desilu which was absorbed into Paramount which is where The Brady Bunch was also filmed.
ReplyDeleteThat is all very pertinent information. I didn't know where Star Trek was filmed.
DeleteThe Burke chairs in the Star Trek series are modified Burke Chairs. The Back of the chair HAS BEEN INCREASED TO LOOK like spacecraft chairs but the base is pure Burke, I have four chairs from this company plus the round table which is a little marvel. I have been looking for the archives of the Texas company but to no avail. I wonder who was the head of the company or even the owner. It seems that Saarinen was in a hurry to burry this competitor. I also wonder if the designers of the Burke chairs were not " dissidents" from Hermann Miller. Any answer to my questions? thanks. Dr. Jean-Pierre de Villers
ReplyDeleteEven though I live in the Dallas area, I have very little information about the company. I wish I could answer your questions, because all that would be very interesting to know.
DeleteOn the basis of the sketches in this post, I also believe that there's little doubt the chairs in the Star Trek series were modified Burkes.
The arms, seat and back of a Madison chair were used in the Captain's chair. The lower support frame/legs were discarded. On The Replica Prop Forum there's a thread on reproducing the chair to the last detail, down to completely taking apart an original Madison to make patterns and carving out new arms. Much against the rules covert photography and measurement of The Original Chair at the Science Fiction Museum was involved.
ReplyDeleteThe Madison design was ideal for the original prop because it was designed to be employed modularly in office furniture on support frames of various lengths. Double and triple seat versions have been spotted in the wild, in addition to the more common single. The One may even have been 'liberated' from its original legs from somewhere inside Desilu Studios.
Yes, Madison chair owners, be aware that some Star Trek fan may be coveting your original chair this very minute to yank the legs off and set into his or her replica of a nearly antique television prop! ;)