What was Leonard Starr's role in the original Thundercats series?

Reading some of the questions about Thundercats storyline continuity has lead me to wonder about exactly what role Leonard Starr played in the original series. He is credited in each episode as the head writer, and I've always wondered what that meant. He wrote a few episodes, including the first 4, but otherwise each episode was penned by other people.

His Wikipedia page quotes him: "In 1984 I was asked to develop and write the bible for the animated television show Thundercats, and also act as the story editor and head writer." Is that the key? Is "head writer" another way of saying "editor"? Was it his job to maintain some kind of coherent storyline through out the series?

His http://www.leonardstarr.com/index.htm"" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">website has a Thundercats tab at the top, but clicking on it just opens an uninformative Eye of Thundera graphic.

Starr was credited with these specific episodes:

Exodus
Unholy Alliance
Berbils
Slaves of Castle Plunn-Dar
Tower of Traps
Ghost Warrior
Spaceship Beneath the Sands
Lion-O's Anointment: Trial of Strength
Lion-O's Anointment: Trial of Speed
Lion-O's Anointment: Trial of Cunning
Lion-O's Anointment: Trial of Mind Power
Lion-O's Anointment: Trial of Evil
The Crystal Queen
ThunderCats Ho! Part One
ThunderCats Ho! Part Two
ThunderCats Ho! Part Three
ThunderCats Ho! Part Four
ThunderCats Ho! Part Five
Mumm-Ra Lives! Part I
Mumm-Ra Lives! Part II
Mumm-Ra Lives! Part III
Mumm-Ra Lives! Part IV
Mumm-Ra Lives! Part V

As well as yes, he developed the Thundercats bible for the series.

You may find an interview Cheezey published on her website with Mr. Starr very interesting:
http://www.cheezey.org/thundercats/thundercats_interview.htm

Thanks Purrsia, that interview is great and extremely informative. I recommend anyone interested in learning about the early development of the Rankin/Bass series give it a read.

To sum up my original question, Leonard put it best in this interview:
"...my credit should have been "developed by" in addition to "head writer"."

Indeed. Glad you found it useful. I actually re-read it for the first time in many years, and was reminded of things I'd forgotten (like the idea that Starr wanted to include nuclear holocausts on Earth to explain its current state - which also answers a question many fans have regarding "is Third Earth our Earth?"). I agree it's a great resource for a lot of the questions people have about the show's beginning concepts and development. :thumbsup:

Can anyone confirm whether the list includes episodes that Starr may have ghostwritten?

Ghost Warrior?

Thundercubs and Return To Thundera 5 parter series should be written by Leonard Starr, just like Thundercats Ho and Mumm-Ra Lives

Leonard Starr contributed plenty to the ThunderCats universe, including creating most of its characters.

He probably gave the odd tweak to some of the other writers' episodes just to bring it more inline with the Thundercats universe - as I expect Peter Lawrence did after Starr left.