Known or Suspected Famous Trekkies/Trekkers

[trekz 7]

 

Barack Obama is a big fan of Star Trek. He said himself: "I grew up on Star Trek. I believe in the final frontier." And, when Leonard Nimoy was the guest on NPR's "Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!" in September, he said that he had run into "one of the presidential candidates" and that that candidate had, upon seeing Nimoy, given him the Vulcan salute. He refused to name the candidate, but said he "was not John McCain." (Ed. Note: not to mention, he is the best example of the strength of IDIC we've seen in a long time)

Link: http://blog.wired.com/geekdad/2008/11/5-signs-preside.html

 

Last Friday, at a campaign event in Wyoming, presidential hopeful Barack Obama said the following: "I grew up on Star Trek. I believe in the final frontier."

Link: http://trekmovie.com/2008/03/09/the-next-space-frontier/

Very cool Dabo Girl! I had missed that. Thanks for the links and mentioning it! You rock!

Edited November 16, 2008 by trekz

[DaboGirl 7]

More Obama is a Trekkie quotes:

 

According to the actor Leonard Nimoy, who played Mr. Spock in the series, Obama flashed him the split four-fingered Vulcan salute when the two crossed paths last year. In May in Des Moines, Newsweek caught Obama teasing wife Michelle about her belt buckle, saying it was studded with Star Trek-powering dilithium crystals and adding, "Beam me up, Scotty!" As he laughed at his own joke, Michelle Obama rolled her eyes, as geek wives often do.

 

 

As a youngster, Obama collected Spider-Man and Conan the Barbarian comic books. His Senate website used to have a photo of him posing in front of a Superman statue, and in October at New York's Alfred Smith dinner he joked: "I was actually born on Krypton and sent here by my father Jor-El to save the planet Earth." Jor-El was the father of Superman, born on the planet Krypton.

 

 

Link to entire story: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/ga...nt-1215625.html

[He Who Shall Not Be Named 2]

(12-25) 04:00 PST Washington - --

 

Get ready for the geek-in-chief.

 

President-elect Barack Obama used to collect comic books, can't part with his BlackBerry, and once flashed "Star Trek" star Leonard "Mr. Spock" Nimoy the Vulcan "Live Long and Prosper" sign.

 

That and other evidence has convinced some of Obama's nerdier fans that he'll be the first American president to show distinct signs of geekiness. And that's got them as excited as a Tribble around a Klingon.

 

Obama is good at "repressing his inner geek, but you can tell it's there," especially when he goes into nuanced explanations of technical matters, said Benjamin Nugent, author of the book "American Nerd: The Story of My People."

 

"One imagines a terrifying rally of 'Star Trek' people shouting, 'One of us!' " Nugent said, in an interview conducted by e-mail, of course.

 

Others see only some geek qualities, qualifying the president-elect as merely "nerd-adjacent." After all, he's an athlete and kind of cool, some experts demur. Still, there's enough there for geeks to celebrate.

 

Psychology professor Larry Welkowitz of Keene State College in New Hampshire speculated that there's a shift in what's cool and that "smart can be in. Maybe that started with the computer programmers of the '90s. The Bill Gateses of the world are OK."

 

The Obama transition team would not comment on the president-elect's geek qualities, even when it was suggested those could be positive. And his old college friends give the geek idea a split vote.

 

While Margot Mifflin, now a journalism professor in New York, said she saw no geeky signs in Obama as a freshman at Occidental College in Los Angeles, Amiekoleh Kimbrew Usafi recalled it differently, despite the lack of technology in 1979.

 

"He's a geek because he was smart," Usafi said, noting that Occidental was a geeky school to start with, billing itself as the Yale of the West. "I remember he would be hitting his books. I would see him in the library. ... There were a lot of girls that liked him because he was cute, but he kept his head in the direction he was going in. I would see him studying all the time."

 

Wired magazine first crowed about Obama the geek, complete with five reasons in its GeekDad blog. A lot depends on the definition of geek, which to Wired is more compliment than insult.

 

GeekDad contributor Matt Blum, a software engineer in Reston, Va., defines geeks as having high intellects, embracing technology, "getting excited about things in the future especially, particularly fiction," having a science viewpoint and being steeped in the geek culture of science fiction and fantasy.

 

Geeks know and use references from "Star Trek," Dungeons & Dragons and comic books. And, he added, they are nitpicky, unafraid to correct mixed science fiction metaphors, such as confusing the Andorians of "Star Trek" with the "Star Wars" Iridonians.

 

Here's a quick geek cultural check for Obama:

 

-- Technology. Click that icon. He's the candidate who tried to announce his vice presidential pick by text message and embraced Facebook as a campaign tool. He's seldom seen without a BlackBerry and talks of a chief technology officer for the nation.

 

-- Comic books. As a youngster, Obama collected Spider-Man and Conan the Barbarian comic books. His old Senate Web site posts a photo of him posing in front of a Superman statue, and in October at New York's Alfred Smith dinner he joked: "I was actually born on Krypton and sent here by my father Jor-El to save the planet Earth." Jor-El was the father of Superman, born on the planet Krypton.

 

-- "Star Trek," the long-running TV show. According to the actor Leonard Nimoy, who played Mr. Spock in the series, Obama flashed him the split four-fingered Vulcan salute when the two crossed paths last year. In May in Des Moines, Newsweek caught Obama teasing his wife, Michelle, about her belt buckle, saying it was studded with dilithium crystals, the energy source in "Star Trek," and adding, "Beam me up, Scotty!" As he laughed at his own joke, she rolled her eyes, as geek wives often do.

 

Yes, geeks have wives. That's one of the things that separates them from nerds and dorks.

 

"A geek is someone who has the knowledge of the geeky type stuff and has social graces," Blum said. "A nerd is someone who has the knowledge but not the social graces and a dork is someone who has neither."

 

Geek-in-chief

By that definition Obama is a geek, not a nerd or dork, Blum said. Nerds are the type who live in their parents' basements until they're 45, whereas geeks are more normal, he said.

 

"I'm a geek because I'm a dad," Blum said. "I managed to find a woman who wished to marry me and have children with me."

 

Blum said Obama qualifies as the first geek-in-chief because George W. Bush was too much a cheerleader and Bill Clinton too wonky and not technological enough. The other presidents came of age before geek culture did, so don't qualify.

 

But don't discount John Quincy Adams as a geeky guy who steeped himself in government as a teenager, contends author Nugent who by adding that historical reference reinforces his geek expertise.

 

In some ways, though, experts say Obama is just too cool, too athletic, too normal to wear the geek cape. Obama did use drugs and was a high school athlete, missing out on two prime nerd qualities, Nugent said.

 

Dan Sarewitz, a professor of science and society at Arizona State University, said calling Obama a geek is unfair both to the president-elect and geeks.

 

"He's too cool to be a geek; he's a decent basketball player; he knows how to dance; he dresses well," Sarewitz said. "It's too high a standard for geeks to possibly live up to."

 

All the nerds at home can at least try, though, courtesy of a heavily muscled "beach blanket Obama" action figure selling for $29.95.

 

So is Obama a geek?

 

In the words of Alan Leshner, president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, which had two past leaders appointed by Obama to high posts: "I hope so."

[Stephen of Borg 2]

not sure, but this one may have been said

 

 

Vic Mignogna (voice of Edward Elric in popular anime Fullmetal Alchemist)

[DaboGirl 7]

 

Nerdiness comes naturally to Dawson

 

LOS ANGELES -- Because we don't know Klingon, we'll spell it out in English: Rosario Dawson is a comics-adoring, Star Trek-worshipping geek.

 

This may not come as a revelation if you've followed Dawson's choices in recent years -- co-creating the 2006 comic series Occult Crimes Taskforce, signing on for Frank Miller's Sin City -- but what may is the depth of her, well, nerdiness.

 

Whether she's articulating how each cinematic Batman through the decades has reflected the comics as well as the political climate of the time, or raving about the trailer for May's Trek reboot, she's the real deal.

 

"As a kid, I was always around comics; my uncle is a comic-book artist. He would keep them in plastic; there was this sacred ritual of reading comics that was so important.

 

"I can't believe that now that's translated to a compliment about my persona. I'm like, 'Really?' It's something I bond with my brother about. There's definitely something in the blood

 

"My grandmother used to collect comics when she was younger, actually, and her mother threw out all her originals which is awful because she had the first Superman. I still cry about that sometimes. That's so messed up. That could've put me through college."

 

 

Link: http://www.winnipegsun.com/entertainment/2...898076-sun.html

 

 

Rosario Dawson was born in New York City, the daughter of Isabel, a plumber of Puerto Rican and African descent, and Greg Dawson, a construction worker of Native American and Irish descent. She is perhaps best known for her roles in the films Sin City, Rent, Men in Black II, The Adventures of Pluto Nash, Josie and the Pussycats, and Death Proof.

[Sara_Paris 0]

Anyone that works at Microsoft or N.A.S.A.

 

That was funny!

[vgrbabe 1]

Has anyone mentioned Joss Whedon? We've been rewatching Buffy recently and there's SOOO many trek references

[Theunicornhunter 2]

Did we mention the writers of the show Psych? Somebody there likes Star Trek

[trekspawn 0]

I knew of Rosario Dawson's affinity for comics, but did not know she was a Trek fan. I wonder which character is her favorite?

I like several of her films. I just recently saw the 25th Hour, which was really good.

[Takara_Soong 4]

Here's the list updated once again:

1. Colin Powell
   
2. Dahlai Lama
   
3. Tom Hanks
   
4. Dr. Mae Jamieson
   
5. Neil Armstrong
   
6. Jean Simmons (actress)
   
7. Paul Sorvino
   
8. Mira Sorvino
   
9. Berkeley Breathed (cartoonist - Opus, Bloom County)
   
10. Bill Amend (cartoonist - Fox Trot)
    
11. Seth McFarlane (creator of Family Guy)
    
12. Bill Gates
    
13. Al Gore
    
14. Eddie Murphy
    
15. Jason Alexander
    
16. Dr. Stephen Hawking
    
17. Scott Adams (cartoonist - Dilbert)
    
18. Isaac Asimov
    
19. Kelley Armstrong (author)
    
20. Douglas Adams
    
21. Carol Moseley Braun
    
22. Christan Slater
    
23. Whoopi Goldberg
    
24. Most, if not all, of NASA
    
25. Most, if not all, of Microsoft
    
26. George Noory
    
27. Art Bell
    
28. Marc Scott Zicree
    
29. Ben Browder
    
30. Rockne S. O'Bannon
    
31. Charles M. Schulz
    
32. King Abdullah of Jordan
    
33. Vin Diesel
    
34. John Glenn
    
35. Mel Gibson
    
36. Sally Ride
    
37. Mick Fleetwood
    
38. James Worthy
    
39. Bebe Neuworth
    
40. Kelsey Grammer
    
41. Tom Morello
    
42. Martin Luther King Jr.
    
43. Arthur C. Clarke
    
44. Rod Serling
    
45. Trey Parker
    
46. Matt Stone
    
47. Howard Stern
    
48. Will Smith
    
49. Iggy Pop
    
50. Ben Stiller
    
51. Conan O'Brien
    
52. Kirstie Alley
    
53. Tom Bergeron
    
54. Beastie Boys
    
55. Kevin Newman
    
56. Richard Dean Anderson
    
57. Drew Carey
    
58. Eric McCormack
    
59. Weird Al Yankovic
    
60. Joss Whedon
    
61. Mel Brooks
    
62. Robert Atkins
    
63. Kathy Lee Gifford
    
64. Paul "Big Show" Wight
    
65. George Lucas
    
66. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson
    
67. Tim Allen
    
68. Neal McDonough
    
69. Barry Manilow
    
70. Robin Williams
    
71. Paul McGillion
    
72. Jim Meddick (cartoonist - Monty)
    
73. Dave Foley
    
74. David Hewlett
    
75. Number of people at Pixar Animation
    
76. late Douglas Adams
    
77. Alan Keyes (Repulican Senate candidate, Illinois)
    
78. Dennis Haysbert
    
79. Brad Paisley
    
80. Jim Davidson
    
81. Jonathan Ross
    
82. The Wiggles
    
83. Someone working on the kids' series Big Comfy Couch
    
84. Jane Wiedlin (formerly of the GoGo's)
    
85. David Reddick (cartoonist)
    
86. Kevin Sorbo
    
87. Tony Danza
    
88. Bryan Singer
    
89. David X. Cohen
    
90. Alec Newman
    
91. Jon Stewart
    
92. Rick Rashid, the top researcher at Microsoft
    
93. Prime Minister Stephen Harper (Canada)
    
94. Quentin Tarantino
    
95. Andy Dick
    
96. Mark Hamill
    
97. Angelina Jolie
    
98. Graeme Edge, Moody Blues' drummer
    
99. Kirsten Dunst
    
100. Robin Curtis
     
101. Jolene Blalock
     
102. JJ Abrams
     
103. Scott Bakula
     
104. Sherrilyn Kenyon/Kinley MacGregor
     
105. Will Sasso
     
106. Tanya Huff
     
107. Daniel Craig
     
108. Someone in charge at Beavis and Butthead
     
109. Joel Hodgson, Mike Nelson and the rest of the cast of Mystery Science Theater 3000
     
110. Russell Crowe
     
111. James Marsters
     
112. President Barack Obama
     
113. Nicole de Boer
     
114. Iowa Senator Tom Harkin
     
115. James Kevin Brown (baseball player)
     
116. Vic Mignogna (voice of Edward Elric in popular anime Fullmetal Alchemist)
     
117. Rosario Dawson
     

[Voyager recruit 0]

Wow...what a list!Thank you, Takara, for that! The PRESIDENT is a fan? Cool. So many others...i'll have to either write down, or come back to that later. Keep up the good work!

[Voyager recruit 0]

I remember Kevin Newman who did a short stint as host of Good Morning America was a trekkie (I don't know what happened to him - I think he has gone back to Canada)

 

And, I don't see Richard Dean Anderson on the list, Anderson, star and executive producer of Stargate SG1, thinks it would be cool for the SG1 team to go to another world and find an "away team" on the planet.

I would like to see that kind of crossover event! Wild! Afriend of mine had said something to me about just that sort of scenario!I still recall that line of Jack's(Richard really made thecharacter, with his wit) when the Prometheus was about to be launched...''Sir'' Carter says, ''we can't name it the Enterprise''...... :lol:

[Yillara Skye 1]

At least a few of the guys who do Robot Chicken, though that probably has been mentioned a time or two (yeah a tad lazy and about to head to work so didn't re-read the entire thread). I think I have to go back and watch a few of the shows my daughter watches, because I swear it was a Nick Jr or Playhouse Disney character that referenced Trek somewhere

[DrWho42 13]

We should add Katee Sackhoff to the list:

KATEE SACKHOFF LOVES SCI-FI

[trekz 7]

Someone involved with the TV series The Big Bang Theory must be a Star Trek fan too. There are frequent references and Takei and Wheaton have guest starred on the show this season.

[Takara_Soong 4]

Add Mila Kunis to the list. Here's an excerpt from an article in GQ:

 

LOS ANGELES, Calif. --

 

Mila Kunis may have turned into a bombshell film star, but she is a geek at heart.

 

“I’m a massive Trekkie,” Mila told GQ’s August 2011 issue, after being asked about working with William Shatner in the film, “American Psycho 2,” in 2002.

 

“That was crazy,” she added of the experience. “He’s exactly what you think he is.”

 

As for that “Star Trek” obsession, Mila said she’s been a fan for years.

 

“I got into it in my late teens — 18, 19, 20. Something like that. I got into it later than most people. But let’s not talk about it in the past tense. I’m still a ‘Star Trek’ fan. You never stop being one,” she said.

 

While she may not use the now-accepted fan-approved word for “Star Trek” fans – “Trekkers” – she did admit to visiting a locale dedicated to memorabilia from the show.

 

“I went to the Star Trek Experience in Vegas maybe five years ago. I hung out with a bunch of fake characters inside Quark’s bar,” she told the mag. “There were all these actors there pretending to be the different characters from the different shows. Yes, I loved it.”

 

Beyond the visit to the franchise-related destination, Mila added that she has Leonard Nimoy’s autograph.

[Yillara Skye 1]

Im guessing a writer or someone on WordWorld may be, watching an episode where Duck is trying to fill in for Pig and he is trying to prepare food for the feast. Supposed to spell out CORN, but grabs random letters and spells out Gorn AND Dorn. Made me think of Trek immediately.

[NuclearWessel 0]

I know that Vic Mignogna(Voice of Ed in Fullmetal Alchemist) is one