nichelle nichols beyond uhura star trek and other memories

She met him at a civil rights gathering in 1967, at a time when she had decided not to return for the show’s second season. was a fan of the show and praised her role. She often recalled how Martin Luther King Jr.

“I think many people took it into their hearts … that what was being said on TV at that time was a reason to celebrate,” Nichols said in 1992 when a “Star Trek” exhibit was on view at the Smithsonian Institution. Its multicultural, multiracial cast was creator Gene Roddenberry’s message to viewers that in the far-off future - the 23rd century - human diversity would be fully accepted. The original “Star Trek” premiered on NBC on Sept. More recently, she had a recurring role on television’s “Heroes,” playing the great-aunt of a young boy with mystical powers. She also served for many years as a NASA recruiter, helping bring minorities and women into the astronaut corps. Like other original cast members, Nichols also appeared in six big-screen spinoffs starting in 1979 with “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” and frequented “Star Trek” fan conventions. “For today, my heart is heavy, my eyes shining like the stars you now rest among, my dearest friend.” Uhura of the USS Enterprise, and who passed today at age 89,” George Takei wrote on Twitter. “I shall have more to say about the trailblazing, incomparable Nichelle Nichols, who shared the bridge with us as Lt. It also earned her accolades for breaking stereotypes that had limited Black women to acting roles as servants and included an interracial onscreen kiss with co-star William Shatner that was unheard of at the time. Uhura earned Nichols a lifelong position of honor with the series’ rabid fans, known as Trekkers and Trekkies.

“Hers was a life well lived and as such a model for us all.” Her light however, like the ancient galaxies now being seen for the first time, will remain for us and future generations to enjoy, learn from, and draw inspiration,” Johnson wrote on her official Facebook page Sunday. “Last night, my mother, Nichelle Nichols, succumbed to natural causes and passed away. Her son Kyle Johnson said Nichols died Saturday in Silver City, New Mexico. Uhura on the original “Star Trek” television series, has died at the age of 89. Nichelle Nichols, who broke barriers for Black women in Hollywood when she played communications officer Lt.

Nichelle nichols beyond uhura star trek and other memories