Nichelle Nichols, who played Lt. Uhura in the original Star Trek, dies aged 89 | star trek

Nichelle Nichols, who played communications officer Lt Nyota Uhura on the original star trek series and helped create a new era for television in the 1960s, died in New Mexico at the age of 89.

Nichols’ son, Kyle Johnson, announced his death on Sunday via Facebook, saying: I regret to inform you that a great light in the firmament no longer shines for us as it has for so many years. Nicholss’ death Saturday night in Silver City was later confirmed by his agent.

Johnson said her mother succumbed to natural causes, seven years after suffering a stroke.

Its light however, like the ancient galaxies seen now for the first time, will remain for us and future generations to enjoy, learn and be inspired by.

Nichols will be remembered primarily for her role in the sci-fi adventure series, but she began her career as a dancer and nightclub singer.

Co-star George Takei tweeted that his heart was heavy, my eyes shining like the stars you now rest among, my dearest friend and he would soon have more to say about the incomparable trailblazer.

Prominent Georgia Democrat and voting rights organizer Stacey Abrams, who is run again for state governor and longtime Star Trek fan, tweeted a photo of herself with Nichols.

One of my most treasured Godspeed photos to Nichelle Nichols, champion, warrior and formidable actress. Her kindness and bravery paved the way for many, she wrote. May she dwell forever among the stars.

Star Trek brought Nichols lasting recognition and helped break down some racial barriers in the television industry, as they were rampant elsewhere.

She shared one of the first interracial lip-to-lip kisses on TV with co-star William Shatner, aka Captain Kirk. The kiss at the time was considered a forward-looking gesture by the cast, as well as Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry and the network that aired the show, NBC.

The episode in question, titled Platos Stepchildren, aired in 1968 and was designed to give those involved some sort of escape from any potential discriminatory backlash: Uhura and Kirk did not choose to kiss, but were instead forced to do so after being manned. by aliens.

Roddenberry reportedly insisted on an embedded crew for Starship Enterprise, a bold move considering interracial marriage was still illegal in 17 US states. Just a year earlier, Variety reported, Sammy Davis Jr went no further than kissing Nancy Sinatra on the cheek in Movin With Nancy.

The original Star Trek premiered on NBC on September 8, 1966. Its multicultural, multiracial cast was creator Gene Roddenberry’s message to viewers that in the distant future, the 23rd century, human diversity would be fully embraced.

I think a lot of people understood that what was being said on television at the time was cause for celebration, Nichols said in 1992 when a Star Trek exhibit was on display at the Smithsonian Institution.

She often recalled how much of a fan of the show civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr was and praised his role.

She met him at a civil rights rally in 1967, at a time when she had decided not to return for the shows’ second season.

When I told him I was going to miss my co-stars and I was leaving the show, he got really serious and said You can’t do this, she told The Tulsa World in a 2008 interview. .

You changed the face of television forever, and as a result, you changed people’s minds, she said, the civil rights leader told her.

Nichols said: This foresight of Dr King was a lightning bolt in my life.

More recently, she had a recurring role on the TV series Heroes, playing the great-aunt of a young boy with mystical powers.

Nichols, trained as a dancer and also worked as a nightclub singer, with the Washington Post reporting that she thought the Star Trek cast would be a good stepping stone to Broadway stage fame, not realizing that the TV show and her character would be an iconic and lasting success.

Actor Wilson Cruz wrote on Twitter that representation matters.

Nichols modeled it for us. With her very presence and grace, she shone a light on who we are as people of color and inspired us to reach our potential, he wrote. Rest well, sparkling diamond in the sky.

The Smithsonian tweeted a photo of Lt. Uhura’s signature red mini dress and noted that Nichols made history for African American women in television and film. Nichols also volunteered to recruit women and people of color for Nasa.

Nichols was born Grace Dell Nichols in Robbins, Illinois on December 28, 1932. According to the National Space Societyshe sang at the age of 16 with the great jazzman Duke Ellington, her career began very early in a ballet she created, and then joined his group.

His big breakthrough in the 1961 Chicago musical Kicks and Co. Nichols later appeared in the title role of Carmen Jones and in a New York production of Porgy and Bess as well as Jean Genets The Blacks, and landed small film roles.

Nichols has been married and divorced twice and is survived by her son, Kyle Johnson.