Nichelle Nichols | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Nichols in 1979 | |
| Born | Grace Dell Nichols (1932-12-28)December 28, 1932 Robbins, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | July 30, 2022(2022-07-30) (aged 89) Silver City, New Mexico, U.S. |
| Education | Englewood High School |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1959–2020 |
| Notable credit | Nyota Uhura inStar Trek |
| Spouses | |
| Children | Kyle Johnson |
Grace Dell "Nichelle"Nichols (/nɪˈʃɛl/nish-EL; December 28, 1932 – July 30, 2022)[1] was an American actress, singer and dancer whose portrayal ofUhura inStar Trek andits film sequels was groundbreaking forAfrican American actresses onAmerican television.[2] From 1977 to 2015, she volunteered her time to promoteNASA's programs and recruit diverse astronauts, including some of the first female and ethnic minority astronauts.[3][4]
Born in the Chicago suburb ofRobbins, she trained in dance, and began her career as a dancer, singer and model in Chicago. As an actor, she appeared on stage, in television and in film.
Grace Dell "Nichelle" Nichols was born the third of six children on December 28, 1932,[5][6][7] in Robbins, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, to Samuel Earl Nichols, a factory worker who was elected both townmayor of Robbins in 1929[8] and its chief magistrate, and his wife, Lishia (Parks) Nichols, a homemaker.[9] Disliking her name, Nichols asked her parents for a new one; they suggested Nichelle, which they said meant "victorious maiden" (fromNike and the suffix-elle).[10] The family later moved into an apartment in theWoodlawn neighborhood of Chicago, where Nichols attendedEnglewood High School, graduating in 1951.[11][12] From age 12, she studied dance at the Chicago Ballet Academy.[13]
Nichols began her professional career as a singer and dancer in Chicago. She then toured the United States and Canada with the bands ofDuke Ellington andLionel Hampton. In 1959, she appeared as the principal dancer in the film version ofPorgy and Bess.[13] Her acting break was an appearance inKicks and Co.,Oscar Brown's highly touted but ill-fated 1961 musical.[14] In the thinly veiled satire ofPlayboy magazine, she played Hazel Sharpe, a voluptuous campus queen who was tempted by the devil andOrgy Magazine to become "Orgy Maiden of the Month". Although the play closed after a short run in Chicago, Nichols attracted the attention ofHugh Hefner, the publisher ofPlayboy, who booked her as a singer for his ChicagoPlayboy Club.[15][16] She also appeared as Carmen for a Chicago stock company production ofCarmen Jones and performed in a New York production ofPorgy and Bess. Between acting and singing engagements, she did occasional modeling.[17]
In January 1967, Nichols was also featured on the cover ofEbony magazine, and had two feature articles in it in five years.[18] She continued touring the US, Canada, and Europe as a singer withDuke Ellington andLionel Hampton.[19] On the West Coast, she appeared inThe Roar of the Greasepaint andFor My People, and garnered high praise for her performance in theJames Baldwin playBlues for Mister Charlie. Prior to being cast as Lieutenant Uhura inStar Trek, Nichols was a guest actress on television producerGene Roddenberry's first seriesThe Lieutenant (1964) in the episode "To Set It Right", which dealt with racial prejudice.[20]
OnStar Trek, Nichols was one of the first Black women featured in a major television series. Her prominent supporting role as abridge officer was unprecedented.[2] She was once tempted to leave the series; however, a conversation withMartin Luther King Jr. changed her mind.
Towards the end of the first season, Nichols was offered a role onBroadway. Preferring the stage to the television studio, she decided to take the role. Nichols went to Roddenberry's office, told him that she planned to leave, and handed him her resignation letter. Unable to convince her to stay, Roddenberry told her to take the weekend off, and if she still felt she should leave, he would give her his blessing. That weekend, Nichols attended a banquet organized by theNAACP, where she was informed that a fan wanted to meet her.[21]
I thought it was a Trekkie, and so I said, 'Sure.' I looked across the room and whoever the fan was had to wait because there was Dr. Martin Luther King walking towards me with this big grin on his face. He reached out to me and said, 'Yes, Ms. Nichols, I am your greatest fan.' He said thatStar Trek was the only show that he, and his wifeCoretta, would allow their three little children to stay up and watch. [She told King about her plans to leave the series because she wanted to take a role that was tied to Broadway.] I never got to tell him why, because he said, '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 go to space… who are professors, lawyers… 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."
Calling Nichols a "vital role model", King compared her work on the series to the marches of the ongoingcivil rights movement.[2][22][23][24] The next day, she returned to Roddenberry's office to tell him she would stay. When she told Roddenberry what King had said, tears came to his eyes.[25]
Former NASA astronautMae Jemison cited Nichols' role of Lieutenant Uhura as her inspiration for becoming an astronaut.Whoopi Goldberg has also spoken of Nichols' influence,[26] saying she asked for a role onStar Trek: The Next Generation, and her characterGuinan was specially created, while Jemison appeared on an episode of the series.[27]
In her role as LieutenantUhura, Nichols kissedwhite actorWilliam Shatner (as CaptainJames T. Kirk) in the November 22, 1968Star Trek episode "Plato's Stepchildren". It has been cited as the first example of an interracial kiss on U.S. television, although several earlier instances have been identified.[28] The Shatner/Nichols kiss was considered groundbreaking, even though it was portrayed as having been forced byalientelekinesis. There was some praise and almost no dissent. In her autobiographyBeyond Uhura, Star Trek and Other Memories, Nichols cited a letter from a white Southerner who wrote, "I am totally opposed to the mixing of the races. However, any time a red-blooded American boy like Captain Kirk gets a beautiful dame in his arms that looks like Uhura, he ain't gonna fight it." During theComedy Central Roast of Shatner on August 20, 2006, Nichols jokingly referred to the kiss and said, "What do you say, let's make a little more TV history ...and kiss my black ass! "[29]
Despite the series' cancellation in 1969,Star Trek continued to play a part in Nichols' life. She provided the voice of Uhura inStar Trek: The Animated Series; in one episode, "The Lorelei Signal", Uhura assumes command of theEnterprise.[30] Nichols noted in her autobiography her frustration that this never happened on the original series. She co-starred in sixStar Trek films, culminating inStar Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991).
In 1994, Nichols published her autobiography,Beyond Uhura: Star Trek and Other Memories. In it, she claimed that the role of Peggy Fair in the television seriesMannix was offered to her during the final season ofStar Trek, but producer Gene Roddenberry refused to release her from her contract. Between the end of the original series and theStar Trek animated series and feature films, Nichols appeared in small television and film roles. She briefly appeared as a secretary inDoctor, You've Got to Be Kidding! (1967),[31][17] and portrayed Dorienda, a foul-mouthed madam inTruck Turner (1974) oppositeIsaac Hayes, her only appearance in ablaxploitation film.[32]
Nichols appeared in animated form as one ofAl Gore's Vice Presidential Action Rangers in the "Anthology of Interest I" episode ofFuturama,[33] and she provided the voice of her own head in a glass jar in the episode "Where No Fan Has Gone Before".[34] She voiced the recurring role ofElisa Maza's mother Diane Maza in the animated seriesGargoyles,[35] and played Thoth Khepera in an episode ofBatman: The Animated Series.[36] In 2004, she provided the voice for herself inThe Simpsons episode "Simple Simpson".[37] In the comedy filmSnow Dogs (2002), she appeared as the mother of the male lead, played byCuba Gooding Jr.[38][17] In 2006, she played the title character in the filmLady Magdalene's, the madam of a legalNevadabrothel in tax default.[39] She also served as executive producer and choreographer, and sang three songs in the film, two of which she composed. She was twice nominated for the Chicago theatricalSarah Siddons Award for Best Actress, first for her portrayal of Hazel Sharpe inKicks and Co., and again for her performance inThe Blacks.[40][17]
Nichols had a recurring role on the second season of theNBC dramaHeroes, first in the episode "Kindred", which aired October 8, 2007. She portrayed Nana Dawson, the matriarch of aNew Orleans family financially and personally devastated byHurricane Katrina, who cares for her orphaned grandchildren and her great-nephew, series regularMicah Sanders.[17] In 2008, Nichols starred in the filmThe Torturer, playing the role of apsychiatrist. In 2009, she joined the cast ofThe Cabonauts, a sci-fi musical comedy that debuted onDailyMotion. Playing CJ, the CEO of the Cabonauts Inc, she was also featured singing and dancing.[41] On August 30, 2016, she was introduced as the aging mother of Neil Winters on the long-running soap operaThe Young and the Restless. She received her firstDaytime Emmy nomination for "Outstanding Guest Performer in a Drama Series" for the role on March 22, 2017.[42]
Nichols released two music albums:Down to Earth, a collection of standards released in 1967, during the original run ofStar Trek;[43] andOut of This World, released in 1991, a more rock-oriented album themed aroundStar Trek and space exploration.[44][45]
As Uhura, Nichols sang on theStar Trek episodes "Charlie X", "The Changeling", and "The Conscience of the King".[46]
After the cancellation ofStar Trek, Nichols volunteered her time in a special project with NASA to recruit minority and female personnel for the space agency.[3] She began this work by making an affiliation between NASA and a company which she helped to run, Women in Motion.[47][48][49][50][51][52][53]
The program was a success. Among those recruited were Dr.Sally Ride, the first American female astronaut, andUnited States Air Force ColonelGuion Bluford, the first African-American to go into space, as well as Dr.Judith Resnik and Dr.Ronald McNair, who both flew successful missions during theSpace Shuttle program before their deaths in theSpace ShuttleChallenger disaster on January 28, 1986. Recruits also includedCharles Bolden, the formerNASA administrator and veteran of four shuttle missions,Frederick D. Gregory, former deputy administrator and a veteran of three shuttle missions andLori Garver, former deputy administrator. An enthusiastic advocate of space exploration, Nichols served from the mid-1980s on theboard of governors of theNational Space Institute (today'sNational Space Society), a nonprofit, educationalspace advocacy organization.[50]
In late 2015, Nichols flew aboard NASA'sStratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA)Boeing 747SP, which analyzed the atmospheres ofMars andSaturn on an eight-hour, high-altitude mission. She was also a special guest at theJet Propulsion Laboratory inPasadena, California, on July 17, 1976, to view theViking 1 soft landing on Mars. Along with the other cast members from the originalStar Trek series, she attended thechristening of the first space shuttle,Enterprise, at theNorth American Rockwell assembly facility in Palmdale, California. On July 14, 2010, she toured the space shuttle simulator and Mission Control at the Johnson Space Center.[54]
Nichols' work with NASA is given significant focus in the documentaryWoman in Motion about her life.[55]
In her autobiography, Nichols wrote that she was romantically involved withStar Trek creatorGene Roddenberry for a few years in the 1960s. She said the affair ended well beforeStar Trek began, when she realized Roddenberry was also involved with her acquaintance Majel Hudec (known asMajel Barrett).[56]
When Roddenberry's health was fading, Nichols co-wrote a song for him, "Gene", which she sang at his memorial service.[17]
She also wrote that she had "a short, stormy, exciting relationship" withSammy Davis Jr. in 1959.[56][57]
Nichols married twice—first to dancer Foster Johnson (1917–1981), whom she married in 1951 and divorced the same year. They had one child together,Kyle Johnson, who was born August 14, 1951. She married Duke Mondy, in 1968; they divorced in 1972.[58]
Nichols' younger brother, Thomas, was a member of theHeaven's Gate cult for 20 years. He died on March 26, 1997, in the cult'smass suicide that purposefully coincided with the passing ofComet Hale–Bopp.[59] Thomas frequently identified himself as Nichelle's brother in promotional materials released by the cult.[60][61]
On February 29, 2012, Nichols met with PresidentBarack Obama in theOval Office. She latertweeted, "…[President] Obama was quoted as saying that he'd had a crush on me when he was younger… I asked about that, and he proudly confirmed it! President Obama also confirmed for me that he was definitely a Trekker! How wonderful is that?!"[62]
In June 2015, Nichols suffered a mild stroke at her Los Angeles home and was admitted to a Los Angeles-area hospital.[63][64] Amagnetic resonance imaging scan confirmed a small stroke had occurred, and she beganinpatient therapy. In early 2018, she was diagnosed withdementia,[65] and subsequently announced her retirement from convention appearances.[66]
Following a legal dispute over the actions of her manager-turned-caretaker Gilbert Bell, her son Kyle Johnson filed for conservatorship in 2018. Before a court granted his petition in January 2019, Nichols' friend Angelique Fawcette, who had already expressed concern in 2017 over Bell's control of access to her, pressed for visitation rights, including by opposing Johnson's petition. That dispute, and a 2019 court case by Bell over being evicted from the guesthouse on Nichols' property, were both ongoing as of August 2021.[67]
Nichols died of heart failure inSilver City, New Mexico, on July 30, 2022, at the age of 89,[68] and her ashes were launched into deep space along with those ofMajel Barrett andDouglas Trumbull.[69]
In 1982,Robert A. Heinlein dedicated his novelFriday to her.[70] Asteroid68410 Nichols is named in her honor.[71]
In 1992, she was awarded a star on theHollywood Walk of Fame, for her contribution to television.In 1999, Nichols was awarded aGoldene Kamera forKultstar des Jahrhunderts (Cult Star of the Century).[72][73] 2010, Nichols received an honorary degree fromLos Angeles Mission College.Nichols receivedThe Life Career Award, from theAcademy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films, in 2016, the first woman to receive it.[73] The award was presented as part of the42nd Saturn Awards ceremony. Nichols was awarded theInkpot Award in 2018.[74]
Nichols was an honorary member ofAlpha Kappa Alpha sorority.[75]
Udea nicholsae, a species ofsnout moths, was named in her honour.[76]
The second season ofStar Trek: Strange New Worlds began with a pre-credits dedication, referencing one of her recurring lines from the original series: "For Nichelle who was first through the door and showed us the stars. Hailing frequencies forever open..."
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | The Lieutenant | Norma Bartlett[77] | Episode: "To Set It Right" |
| 1966 | Peyton Place | Nurse | 2 episodes |
| Tarzan | Ruana[90] | 2 episodes | |
| 1966–1969 | Star Trek | Nyota Uhura[91] | Main role |
| 1970 | Insight | Ellie[92] | Episode: "Old King Cole" |
| 1973–1974 | Star Trek: The Animated Series | Nyota Uhura / Additional voices[93] | Main role |
| 1984 | Antony and Cleopatra | Charmian[78] | TV film |
| 1988 | Head of the Class | Nichelle Nichols | Episode: "For Better, for Worse" |
| 1993 | ABC Weekend Special | SS Stella | Episode: "Commander Toad in Space" |
| 1994 | Batman: The Animated Series | Thoth Khepera (voice)[94] | Episode: "Avatar" |
| 1994–1996 | Gargoyles | Diane Maza (voice)[91][94] | 4 episodes |
| 1996 | Star Trek: Deep Space Nine | Nyota Uhura | Episode: "Trials and Tribble-ations"; archive footage[95] |
| 1997 | Spider-Man: The Animated Series | Miriam (voice)[94] | 2 episodes |
| 2000–2002 | Futurama | Herself (voice)[91] | 2 episodes ("Anthology of Interest I" and "Where No Fan Has Gone Before") |
| 2000 | G vs E | Henry's Mother | Episode: "Henry's Mother" |
| Buzz Lightyear of Star Command | Chief (voice)[94] | Episode: "The Yukari Imprint" | |
| 2004 | The Simpsons | Herself (voice) | Episode: "Simple Simpson" |
| 2007 | Heroes | Nana Dawson[77] | Recurring role |
| Star Trek: Of Gods and Men | Nyota Uhura[96] | Fan production | |
| 2009 | The Cabonauts | CJ[97] | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2010 | Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster | Senator[98] | TV film |
| 2016 | The Young and the Restless | Lucinda Winters[99] | 4 episodes |
| 2017 | Star Trek: Renegades | Admiral Grace Jemison | Episode: "The Requiem"; fan production |
| Downward Dog | Deejay DeVine[100] | Episode: "Old" | |
| Sharknado 5: Global Swarming | Sec. General Starr[96] | TV film | |
| 2020 | Space Command | Octavia Butler | Episode: "Ripple Effect" |
| 2021 | 12 to Midnight | Devorah | Episode: "What Is and What Never Should Be" |
| 2021 | Renegades: Ominara | Ominara (elder)[101] | 42-minute proof-of-concept pilot film for TV[102] |
| 2022 | Star Trek: Prodigy | Nyota Uhura (voice)[103] | Episode: "Kobayashi"; archive audio |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Star Trek: 25th Anniversary | Nyota Uhura (voice)[94] | Video games (CD-ROM versions) |
| 1995 | Star Trek: Judgment Rites | ||
| 1996–1998 | Star Trek Adventure | Nyota Uhura | Amusement park feature; appeared in several revisions |
| Title | Publisher | Date | ISBN | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beyond Uhura[104] | G. P. Putnam's Sons | October 19, 1994 | 0-399-13993-1 | |
| Saturn's Child[105] | Penguin | October 17, 1995 | 0-399-14113-8 | withMargaret Wander Bonanno |
| Saturna's Quest | Planet X Books | 2002 | 978-0971915404 | with Jim Meechan |
Many astronauts have credited Nichols and the character of Lt. Uhura as an inspiration to them for seeking out opportunities with NASA, including: Ronald McNair, Sally Ride, Judith Resnik, current NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, and the first African American woman in space – Mae Jemison.
Actress Nichelle Nichols' grandfather, Samuel G. Nichols (a white man), was one of the village's original settlers who was married a black woman. Nichelle Nichols who portrayed Lt. Uhura in the original Star Trek television series also was hired by NASA to begin finding and recruiting qualified blacks for todays NASA Space program. Nichelle was born in a two-story frame house built by her grandparents in Robbins. Her father, Samuel E. Nichols, became the mayor of Robbins, IL in 1929.
Now, Gene Roddenberry was a 6-foot-3 guy with muscles. ... And he sat there with tears in his eyes. He said, 'Thank God that someone knows what I'm trying to do. Thank God for Dr. Martin Luther King.'
Ten years after "Star Trek" was cancelled, almost to the day, I was invited to join the board of directors of the newly formed National Space Society. They flew me to Washington and I gave a speech called "New Opportunities for the Humanization of Space" or "Space, What's in it for me?" In [the speech], I'm going where no man or woman dares go. I took NASA on for not including women and I gave some history of the powerful women who had applied and, after five times applying, felt disenfranchised and backed off. [At that time] NASA was having their fifth or sixth recruitment and women and ethnic people [were] staying away in droves. I was asked to come to headquarters the next day and they wanted me to assist them in persuading women and people of ethnic backgrounds that NASA was serious [about recruiting them]. And I said you've got to be joking; I didn't take them seriously. . . . John Yardley, who I knew from working on a previous project, was in the room and said 'Nichelle, we are serious.' I said OK. I will do this and I will bring you the most qualified people on the planet, as qualified as anyone you've ever had and I will bring them in droves. And if you do not pick a person of color, if you do not pick a woman, if it's the same old, same old, all-white male astronaut corps, that you've done for the last five years, and I'm just another dupe, I will be your worst nightmare.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)Top cast ... Nichelle Nichols: Ominara ... Release date December 4, 2021.
