actress and singer Nichelle Nicholsknown for her role as the communications officer of star trekLt. Uhura, passed away Saturday night in Silver City, New Mexico, at the age of 89.
“I am sorry to inform you that a great light in the sky no longer shines for us as it has for so many years,” his son Kyle Johnson wrote on the official website Uhura.com on Sunday. “However, the light from it, like the ancient galaxies now being seen for the first time, will remain for us and future generations to enjoy, learn from and inspire,” he added at the farewell.
“Star Trek” original cast member Nichelle Nichols poses at the 2017 premiere of the new television series “Star Trek: Discovery” in Los Angeles.
Nichols was one of the first African-American women to appear on a major television series, and her role as Lieutenant Nyota Uhura in the original television series was groundbreaking: an African-American woman whose name comes from Uhuru, which in Swahili means as “freedom”.
“Here I was projecting into the 23rd century what should have been pretty simple,” Nichols told NPR in 2011. “We’re on a starship. I was the head of communications. Fourth in command on a starship. They didn’t see this as being, oh, it doesn’t happen until the 23rd century. The young and old saw it as now.”
He changed his name
Nichols was born Grace, but she didn’t like her name, so she took Nichelle as a teenager.
In 1968, Nichols made headlines when Uhura shared an intimate kiss with Captain James T. Kirk (played by William Shatner) in an episode called “Plato’s Stepchildren.” His interracial kiss on the lips was groundbreaking, one of the first such moments on television.
“However, its light, like the ancient galaxies now being seen for the first time, will remain for us and future generations to enjoy, learn from and inspire,” his son recalled.
Nichelle Nichols, Lieutenant Uhura in the series ‘Star Trek’.
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Nichols was born Grace Dell Nichols near Chicago in 1932. She didn’t like her name, so she took Nichelle as a teenager. Her grandfather was a white southerner who married a black woman, causing a rift in her family.
Blessed with a four-octave vocal range, Nichols was performing in local clubs by the time she was 14 years old. Among the artists she met was Duke Ellington, who later took her on tour. She also worked extensively in Chicago clubs and on the stage. She moved to Los Angeles in the early sixties and landed a role in a series that brought her worldwide fame.
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Nichelle Nichols, the actress known as Lieutenant Uhura in the series ‘Star Trek’, dies