R.I.P. Nichelle Nichols, aka Star Trek's Lt Uhura

brianluxbrianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 40,593
edited August 2022 in All Encompassing Trip
Oh my, what a wonder actor and great lady.  The first black woman featured on a popular TV show.  She was awesome, talented, and beautiful.  R.I.P.. Nichelle Nichols





“The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man [or woman] who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.”
Variously credited to Mark Twain or Edward Abbey.













Comments

  • JeBurkhardtJeBurkhardt Posts: 4,450
    brianlux said:
    Oh my, what a wonder actor and great lady.  The first black woman featured on a popular TV show.  She was awesome, talented, and beautiful.  R.I.P.. Nichelle Nichols





    Very talented and was a trailblazer for women of color on TV and women in general on Sci Fi shows of the time. My wife shares her somewhat uncommon first name, so she has been a person whose accomplishments I have been aware of for a long time.   
  • brianluxbrianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 40,593
    brianlux said:
    Oh my, what a wonder actor and great lady.  The first black woman featured on a popular TV show.  She was awesome, talented, and beautiful.  R.I.P.. Nichelle Nichols





    Very talented and was a trailblazer for women of color on TV and women in general on Sci Fi shows of the time. My wife shares her somewhat uncommon first name, so she has been a person whose accomplishments I have been aware of for a long time.   

    How cool!  That is an unusual name.  I like it.

    Not a lot of traction on this thread, sadly.  I sometimes forget most people here are what my wife would call "kids"( :lol:  ) and might not be familiar with the first generation Star Trek cast.
    “The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man [or woman] who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.”
    Variously credited to Mark Twain or Edward Abbey.













  • dankinddankind I am not your foot. Posts: 20,827
    edited August 2022
    Or some of us might live and breathe Star Trek, be incredibly saddened by this loss, especially considering how awesomely the creative team at Strange New Worlds is handling the beloved character that she first brought to life, and wonder what good it does to express this sadness on a Pearl Jam message board. 

    Anyway. RIP. 

    We also lost Bill Russell on the same damn day, and I don’t see a thread dedicated to him. RIP. 
    Post edited by dankind on
    I SAW PEARL JAM
  • brianluxbrianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 40,593
    dankind said:
    Or some of us might live and breathe Star Trek, be incredibly saddened by this loss, especially considering how awesomely the creative team at Strange New Worlds is handling the beloved character that she first brought to life, and wonder what good it does to express this sadness on a Pearl Jam message board. 

    Anyway. RIP. 

    We also lost Bill Russell on the same damn day, and I don’t see a thread dedicated to him. RIP. 

    Jesus man, you are so unpredictable.  Friendly one day, any excuse to rip into me the next.  Interesting.

    “The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man [or woman] who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.”
    Variously credited to Mark Twain or Edward Abbey.













  • dankinddankind I am not your foot. Posts: 20,827
    brianlux said:
    dankind said:
    Or some of us might live and breathe Star Trek, be incredibly saddened by this loss, especially considering how awesomely the creative team at Strange New Worlds is handling the beloved character that she first brought to life, and wonder what good it does to express this sadness on a Pearl Jam message board. 

    Anyway. RIP. 

    We also lost Bill Russell on the same damn day, and I don’t see a thread dedicated to him. RIP. 

    Jesus man, you are so unpredictable.  Friendly one day, any excuse to rip into me the next.  Interesting.

    Not ripping. Just no reason to be apoplectic because Pearl Jam fans didn't comment in your thread about a dead Star Trek performer.

    I would assume that most of the people who frequent this board are around my age. If that assumption is correct, then TOS was in heavy syndication throughout our youth. So if they are not familiar with TOS cast members, it is through their own ignorance.

    I have found that Even Bros and Star Trek don't mix. Give them an inferior product like Star Wars (and Pearl Jam) and they're happy, though. 

    I mean, when Billy Dee Williams dies, I bet six threads remembering Lando will emerge -- and I'm not a gambler.
    I SAW PEARL JAM
  • brianluxbrianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 40,593
    dankind said:
    brianlux said:
    dankind said:
    Or some of us might live and breathe Star Trek, be incredibly saddened by this loss, especially considering how awesomely the creative team at Strange New Worlds is handling the beloved character that she first brought to life, and wonder what good it does to express this sadness on a Pearl Jam message board. 

    Anyway. RIP. 

    We also lost Bill Russell on the same damn day, and I don’t see a thread dedicated to him. RIP. 

    Jesus man, you are so unpredictable.  Friendly one day, any excuse to rip into me the next.  Interesting.

    Not ripping. Just no reason to be apoplectic because Pearl Jam fans didn't comment in your thread about a dead Star Trek performer.

    I would assume that most of the people who frequent this board are around my age. If that assumption is correct, then TOS was in heavy syndication throughout our youth. So if they are not familiar with TOS cast members, it is through their own ignorance.

    I have found that Even Bros and Star Trek don't mix. Give them an inferior product like Star Wars (and Pearl Jam) and they're happy, though. 

    I mean, when Billy Dee Williams dies, I bet six threads remembering Lando will emerge -- and I'm not a gambler.

    No worries, I just made an observation, that's all.  I wasn't try to  shame to fans here and certainly not fishing for an apology.  To me (and millions of others) Nichols work was groundbreaking in that she was the first black woman to star in a major role in a television program.  That was a major cultural event in this country.  I thought maybe some others here would care.  I don't give two shits about it being MY thread.  It's all about the story, not me.
    “The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man [or woman] who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.”
    Variously credited to Mark Twain or Edward Abbey.













  • PoncierPoncier Posts: 16,171
    dankind said:


    We also lost Bill Russell on the same damn day, and I don’t see a thread dedicated to him. RIP. 
    Russell was mentioned in the NBA thread.

    And it was a rough day yesterday for sure.
    2 icons passing.
    This weekend we rock Portland
  • dankinddankind I am not your foot. Posts: 20,827
    According to a few realtors and our old neighbors, Bill Russell tried to buy a home in my town back in the day, but he got turned away.
    I SAW PEARL JAM
  • PoncierPoncier Posts: 16,171
    dankind said:
    According to a few realtors and our old neighbors, Bill Russell tried to buy a home in my town back in the day, but he got turned away.
    Unfortunate but not hard to believe during that time.
    This weekend we rock Portland
  • brianluxbrianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 40,593
    Poncier said:
    dankind said:


    We also lost Bill Russell on the same damn day, and I don’t see a thread dedicated to him. RIP. 
    Russell was mentioned in the NBA thread.

    And it was a rough day yesterday for sure.
    2 icons passing.

    Not being a huge basketball fan, so I didn't see it mentioned there, but I do know he was one of the first great black athletes in his sport, a terrific coach, and endured a lot of racist attitudes toward him in his day.   
    R.I.P. Bill Russell.
    “The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man [or woman] who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.”
    Variously credited to Mark Twain or Edward Abbey.













  • Hi!Hi! Posts: 3,095
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  • Lerxst1992Lerxst1992 Posts: 6,094
    I always forget Nichols wanted to leave the show, and MLK convinced her to stay. And the first interracial kiss on tv. As a kid,never realized what an icon she is.


    When the news broke that Star Trek icon Nichelle Nichols had passed away this weekend, many were devastated. The queen of the USS Enterprise in the shape of the ice-cool and intelligent Lt. Uhura, Nichols’ role in the original series was incredibly significant. It was among the first shows which featured a Black American in an esteemed position on television instead of a racist caricature. 

    Uhura and Nichols embodied the point that the NAACP and the civil rights movement were trying to convey – that Black people and minorities deserved equal footing with their white counterparts, as they were capable of many brilliant things.

    While Nichols’ role as Uhura was so significant that it brought her unprecedented artistic success, she came close to leaving the project after the first season as her head had been turned by the prospects of another job on Broadway. However, she was persuaded to stay on by her self-professed “greatest fan”, none other than Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and it was he who put into perspective the weight of what she was doing at Star Trek

    Nichols recalled the story on numerous occasions across her career, and one of the most revealing came during a 2011 interview with NPR. The story goes that she had told the show’s creator Gene Roddenberry of her wishes to leave for Broadway but that he asked her to review her position over the weekend. She obliged, and by a stroke of divine providence, it was during those two days that she bumped into King at an NAACP fundraiser.

    At the time, she was told that her “greatest fan” was attending the event and was keen to meet. She remembered turning around at being surprised to see the civil rights leader approaching her. “I remember thinking, ‘whoever the fan is, is going to have to wait,'” said Nichols. “Because Dr. King — Dr. Martin Luther King, my leader! — is walking toward me!'”

    As it turned out, Dr. King was the self-professed biggest fan, and what ensued was life-affirming for Nichelle Nichols. When speaking to NPR, she said: “He complimented me on the manner in which I’d created the character. I thanked him, and I think I said something like, ‘Dr. King, I wish I could be out there marching with you.’ He said, ‘no, no, no. No, you don’t understand… You are marching. You are reflecting what we are fighting for.'”

    She continued: “I said, ‘Well, I told Gene just yesterday that I’m going to leave the show after the first year because I’ve been offered…’ — and he stopped me and said: ‘You cannot do that.’ And I was stunned. He said, ‘Don’t you understand what this man has achieved? For the first time, we are being seen the world over as we should be seen.’ He says, ‘Do you understand that this is the only show that my wife Coretta and I will allow our little children to stay up and watch?’ I was speechless.'”

    In another television interview, Nichols revealed what else Dr. King had told her and why he thought her role in Star Trek was so vital. He told her: “You cannot, you cannot…for the first time on television, we will be seen as we should be seen every day, as intelligent, quality, beautiful people who can sing dance, and can go to space, who are professors, lawyers.” 

    He explained further: “If you leave, that door can be closed because your role is not a black role, and is not a female role; he can fill it with anybody, even an alien.”

  • brianluxbrianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 40,593
    I always forget Nichols wanted to leave the show, and MLK convinced her to stay. And the first interracial kiss on tv. As a kid,never realized what an icon she is.


    When the news broke that Star Trek icon Nichelle Nichols had passed away this weekend, many were devastated. The queen of the USS Enterprise in the shape of the ice-cool and intelligent Lt. Uhura, Nichols’ role in the original series was incredibly significant. It was among the first shows which featured a Black American in an esteemed position on television instead of a racist caricature. 

    Uhura and Nichols embodied the point that the NAACP and the civil rights movement were trying to convey – that Black people and minorities deserved equal footing with their white counterparts, as they were capable of many brilliant things.

    While Nichols’ role as Uhura was so significant that it brought her unprecedented artistic success, she came close to leaving the project after the first season as her head had been turned by the prospects of another job on Broadway. However, she was persuaded to stay on by her self-professed “greatest fan”, none other than Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and it was he who put into perspective the weight of what she was doing at Star Trek

    Nichols recalled the story on numerous occasions across her career, and one of the most revealing came during a 2011 interview with NPR. The story goes that she had told the show’s creator Gene Roddenberry of her wishes to leave for Broadway but that he asked her to review her position over the weekend. She obliged, and by a stroke of divine providence, it was during those two days that she bumped into King at an NAACP fundraiser.

    At the time, she was told that her “greatest fan” was attending the event and was keen to meet. She remembered turning around at being surprised to see the civil rights leader approaching her. “I remember thinking, ‘whoever the fan is, is going to have to wait,'” said Nichols. “Because Dr. King — Dr. Martin Luther King, my leader! — is walking toward me!'”

    As it turned out, Dr. King was the self-professed biggest fan, and what ensued was life-affirming for Nichelle Nichols. When speaking to NPR, she said: “He complimented me on the manner in which I’d created the character. I thanked him, and I think I said something like, ‘Dr. King, I wish I could be out there marching with you.’ He said, ‘no, no, no. No, you don’t understand… You are marching. You are reflecting what we are fighting for.'”

    She continued: “I said, ‘Well, I told Gene just yesterday that I’m going to leave the show after the first year because I’ve been offered…’ — and he stopped me and said: ‘You cannot do that.’ And I was stunned. He said, ‘Don’t you understand what this man has achieved? For the first time, we are being seen the world over as we should be seen.’ He says, ‘Do you understand that this is the only show that my wife Coretta and I will allow our little children to stay up and watch?’ I was speechless.'”

    In another television interview, Nichols revealed what else Dr. King had told her and why he thought her role in Star Trek was so vital. He told her: “You cannot, you cannot…for the first time on television, we will be seen as we should be seen every day, as intelligent, quality, beautiful people who can sing dance, and can go to space, who are professors, lawyers.” 

    He explained further: “If you leave, that door can be closed because your role is not a black role, and is not a female role; he can fill it with anybody, even an alien.”


    Great story, L, thanks!
    “The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man [or woman] who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.”
    Variously credited to Mark Twain or Edward Abbey.













  • tempo_n_groovetempo_n_groove Posts: 38,853
    I always forget Nichols wanted to leave the show, and MLK convinced her to stay. And the first interracial kiss on tv. As a kid,never realized what an icon she is.


    When the news broke that Star Trek icon Nichelle Nichols had passed away this weekend, many were devastated. The queen of the USS Enterprise in the shape of the ice-cool and intelligent Lt. Uhura, Nichols’ role in the original series was incredibly significant. It was among the first shows which featured a Black American in an esteemed position on television instead of a racist caricature. 

    Uhura and Nichols embodied the point that the NAACP and the civil rights movement were trying to convey – that Black people and minorities deserved equal footing with their white counterparts, as they were capable of many brilliant things.

    While Nichols’ role as Uhura was so significant that it brought her unprecedented artistic success, she came close to leaving the project after the first season as her head had been turned by the prospects of another job on Broadway. However, she was persuaded to stay on by her self-professed “greatest fan”, none other than Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and it was he who put into perspective the weight of what she was doing at Star Trek

    Nichols recalled the story on numerous occasions across her career, and one of the most revealing came during a 2011 interview with NPR. The story goes that she had told the show’s creator Gene Roddenberry of her wishes to leave for Broadway but that he asked her to review her position over the weekend. She obliged, and by a stroke of divine providence, it was during those two days that she bumped into King at an NAACP fundraiser.

    At the time, she was told that her “greatest fan” was attending the event and was keen to meet. She remembered turning around at being surprised to see the civil rights leader approaching her. “I remember thinking, ‘whoever the fan is, is going to have to wait,'” said Nichols. “Because Dr. King — Dr. Martin Luther King, my leader! — is walking toward me!'”

    As it turned out, Dr. King was the self-professed biggest fan, and what ensued was life-affirming for Nichelle Nichols. When speaking to NPR, she said: “He complimented me on the manner in which I’d created the character. I thanked him, and I think I said something like, ‘Dr. King, I wish I could be out there marching with you.’ He said, ‘no, no, no. No, you don’t understand… You are marching. You are reflecting what we are fighting for.'”

    She continued: “I said, ‘Well, I told Gene just yesterday that I’m going to leave the show after the first year because I’ve been offered…’ — and he stopped me and said: ‘You cannot do that.’ And I was stunned. He said, ‘Don’t you understand what this man has achieved? For the first time, we are being seen the world over as we should be seen.’ He says, ‘Do you understand that this is the only show that my wife Coretta and I will allow our little children to stay up and watch?’ I was speechless.'”

    In another television interview, Nichols revealed what else Dr. King had told her and why he thought her role in Star Trek was so vital. He told her: “You cannot, you cannot…for the first time on television, we will be seen as we should be seen every day, as intelligent, quality, beautiful people who can sing dance, and can go to space, who are professors, lawyers.” 

    He explained further: “If you leave, that door can be closed because your role is not a black role, and is not a female role; he can fill it with anybody, even an alien.”

    I heard this on NPR while driving home.  It is wild that this show was so ahead of it's time and was actually left on where Petula touched Harry Belafonte's arm earlier in the year and people lost their minds...

    RIP Nichols
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