Takara_Soong 4 Posted December 28, 2004 Nichelle Nichols was born in Robbins, Illinois, near Chicago. Her father was both the town mayor of Robbins and its chief magistrate. She has studied in Chicago as well as New York and Los Angeles. During her time in New York, Nichelle appeared at the famous Blue Angel and Playboy Clubs, as a singer. She also appeared in the role of Carmen for a Chicago stock company production of "Carmen Jones." She has twice been nominated for the Sara Siddon Award as best actress and is an accomplished dancer and singer. Her first Siddon nomination was for her portrayal of Hazel Sharp in "Kicks and Co.," and the second for her performance in "The Blacks." Nichelle toured the United States, Canada and Europe as a singer with the Duke Ellington and Lionel Hampton bands. On the West Coast, she appeared in "Roar of the Grease Paint, Smell of the Crowd," "For My People," and garnered high praise for her performance in the James Baldwin play, "Blues for Mr. Charlie." Prior to being cast as Lt. Uhura in Star Trek, Nichelle had guested on Gene Roddenberry's first series, The Lieutenant. At the end of Star Trek's first season, Nichelle was thinking seriously of leaving the show, but a chance and moving meeting with Martin Luther King changed her mind. He told her she couldn't give up...she was a vital role model for young black women in America. Needless to say, Nichelle stayed with the show and has appeared in first six Star Trek movies. She also provided the voice for Lt. Uhura on the Star Trek animated series in 1974-75. Following Star Trek's cancellation in 1969, Nichelle went on to appear in films like, "Mister Buddwing," "Made in Paris," "Porgy and Bess," and "Doctor, You've Got to be Kidding!" Turning her sights toward her music, Nichelle released a single, "Shoop Shoop," on 20th Century Records and often sings at her convention appearances. She has also released an album, "Dark Side of the Moon," which includes the song she wrote in tribute to Gene Roddenberry, "Gene." Nichelle sang the song at Roddenberry's memorial service. Always interested in space travel, Nichelle flew aboard the C-141 Astronomy Observatory, which analyzed the atmospheres of Mars and Saturn, on an eight hour, high altitude mission. She was also special guest at the Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena on July 17, 1976 to view the Viking probe's soft landing on Mars. Along with the other cast members from the original Star Trek, Nichelle attended the christening of the first space shuttle, Enterprise, at Cape Canaveral. Nichelle also spends much time recruiting minorities for NASA. A few years ago, Nichelle toured in a one-woman play where she portrayed many famous black female singers of the 20th century. Some of her hobbies are oil painting, designing her own clothes, reading science fiction and sculpting. She has also acted as spokesperson for her favorite charity, "The Kwanzaa Foundation." Her biography, "Beyond Uhura," was published in 1994. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Capt_Picard 0 Posted December 28, 2004 (edited) YAAAAAAAA! I always liked her and I think the sceens from ST:5 were some of her best in Trek. Edited December 28, 2004 by Capt_Picard Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
A l t e r E g o 9 Posted December 28, 2004 HAPPY BIRTHDAY Nichelle Nichols! No one could open hailing frequencys like you! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mr.Picard 12 Posted December 28, 2004 Happy Birthday, Nichelle Nichols Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gotabite 0 Posted December 28, 2004 :huh: :) :huh: ....And Happy Birthday........ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Mike_Hines01 Posted December 28, 2004 Happy Birthday Nichelle Nichols. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mike 5 Posted December 28, 2004 Happy Birthday Nichelle !! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Miss Satoire 0 Posted December 29, 2004 Uhura is one of my favorite characters. Happy Birthday! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lursa 0 Posted December 29, 2004 I would like to wish a happy birthday and many more to come! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HRH The KING 0 Posted December 29, 2004 Yeah, Happy Birthday. Even though her role was mostly limited to saying: "Hailing Frequencies Open, Captain" or "Hailing Frequencies Closed, Captain" Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LoveMalePecs1 0 Posted December 29, 2004 Happy Belated Birthday Nichelle Nichols u did a Fine Job as Uhura in both the T.V series and the VI ST Films. :huh: :) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WEAREBORG4102 0 Posted December 30, 2004 :) :huh: :huh: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mj 7 Posted January 2, 2005 Happy birthday (a little late). You gave me a lot of good memories. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites