Biography for
Ira Steven Behr More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

Mini Biography

Graduate of Lehman College in New York City, Behr studied Mass Communications and Theater, and was offered a playwriting scholarship at Brandeis University. Instead, Behr elected to move to Los Angeles and pursue a career in writing comedies for television and film. However, instead of comedies, Behr made his mark in television dramas. His first job as a television writer was for the James Garner television series "Bret Maverick" (1981), and he later served as story editor for the series "Jessica Novak" (1981). Behr's writer/producer credits also include the series "Fame" (1982), "Once a Hero" (1987) and "The Bronx Zoo" (1987).

Behr's relationship with Star Trek began as a producer for "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (1987) during its third season. At the end of the season, Behr left the series to pursue screen writing. Three of the feature films written during this period are currently in development.

Behr returned to Star Trek in 1993 as a supervising producer for the pilot of "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" (1993) and became a co-executive producer in the second season . His diverse talents and experiences as a writer led him to the position of executive producer late in the third season. Behr played a key role in the development of the popular alien race, the Ferengi. He wrote the book "The Rules of Acquisition", which is a humorous compilation of the guiding tenets of Ferengi culture. Behr also co-wrote a collection of short stories and fables based on the Ferengi Rules of Acquisition entitled "Legends of the Ferengi", which was published by Pocket Books.

After DS9 ended its seven-season run in 1999, Behr went on to produce other television fare such as the science fiction drama "Now and Again" (1999) and the Jason Alexander comedy "Bob Patterson" (2001).

Trade Mark

Sunglasses

Trivia

Is a fan of Iggy Pop.

Personal Quotes

"I've said it once and I'll say it again, we're here to make quality television." (Speaking about DS9 in the "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" (1993) Companion book).

On why he left Star Trek: The Next Generation: Basically because I found the work frustrating. I felt there wasn't enough conflict within the characters. I felt that the types of stories we could've done were limited. Humor was not encouraged. Just in terms of the work itself, it was unfulfilling. So I left. They offered me a two-year pay or play commitment, but I still left. I guess I really wanted to go. But I still remained friendly with Michael Piller and he was able to convince me to come back to the fold for DS9.