Farewell To The Cast Of Lieutenant Uhura In Star Trek, Nichelle Nichols Dies

Nichelle Nichols (Reuters via ANTARA)

JAKARTA - The actor of Lieutenant Uhura in the Star Trek television series, Nichelle Nichols has died at the age of 89 years. The Nichelle Nichols family announced in person.

"He died of natural causes. However, his light, like past galaxies now being seen for the first time, will remain for us and future generations to enjoy, learn and inspire," said son Kyle Johnson. , July 1st.

Star Trek has been a pop culture phenomenon since the 1960s, shattering common stereotypes on US television at the time by featuring black and minority actors in prominent roles on the show. In 1968 she and Star Trek star William Shatner broke cultural barriers when they had the first interracial kiss on television in the US.

Nichols had planned to leave Star Trek after one season, but 1960s civil rights leader Martin Luther King convinced him to stay on the project.

It was revolutionary to have a black woman serve as an important senior crew member at a time when black people were fighting for equality in American society.

Nichols also helps solve the race problem at NASA, whose leader is a Star Trek fan. In the 1970s, Nichols was invited to attract minority astronauts.

Some of the figures that Nichols drew at NASA include the US's first female astronaut, Sally Ride; the first black female astronaut, Mae Jemison; and the first black head of NASA, Charlie Bolden.

"Nichols epitomized so much of possibility and inspired a generation to reach for the stars," NASA said on Twitter.

Nichols' portrayal of the competent and level-headed Uhura also helped inspire future black actors, including Oscar winner Whoopi Goldberg.

The original Star Trek series, aired for only three seasons on the NBC network from 1966 to 1969. However, the series became immensely popular in the 1970s, inspiring an animated series that reunited the cast from 1973 to 1975 and then a series of films and films. show.

Nichols appeared in six Star Trek films ending with Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country in 1991.

His character, Uhura, deftly handles the starship Enterprise's communications with allied spaceships and alien races while interacting with Captain James T. Kirk (Shatner), Mr. Vulcan's first officer. Spock (Leonard Nimoy) and the helmsman of the starship, Sulu (George Takei).

"She was a beautiful woman and played an amazing character who did so much to redefine social issues both in the US and around the world," Shatner said on Twitter.

Nihols was born on December 28, 1932 in Robbins, Illinois. He trained as a singer and dancer and toured with jazz musicians Duke Ellington and Lionel Hampton before starting his acting career. Nichols, who is married twice and has one child, suffered a minor stroke in June 2015.