#Grace Dell Nichols

[perfettamentechic]

30 luglio … ricordiamo …

30 luglio … ricordiamo … #semprevivineiricordi #nomidaricordare #personaggiimportanti #perfettamentechic

2022: Nichelle Nichols, pseudonimo di Grace Dell Nichols, attrice, cantante e ballerina statunitense nota soprattutto per avere interpretato il personaggio del tenente Uhura nell’universo fantascientifico di Star Trek. Tra gli impegni di recitazione e canto, la Nichols svolse occasionalmente anche l’attività di modella. Nel 2007 entrò nel cast della serie tv Heroes nel ruolo di Nana Dawson, nonna…

[bitter69uk]

Born on this day ninety years ago: innately regal actress, singer, dancer and gutsy trailblazer Nichelle Nichols (née Grace Dell Nichols, 28 December 1932 - 30 July 2022). Nichols’ portrayal of Lieutenant Nyota Uhura in the original Star Trek series (1966-69) ensured her pop culture immortality. Damn – she was great!

Nichelle Nichols photographed by Joe Shere in 1967

[carmenvicinanza]

Nichelle Nichols

Nichelle Nichols è l’attrice passata alla storia per aver interpretato la tenente Uhura in Star Trek.

Una delle prime donne nere a ottenere un ruolo da protagonista in una serie famosa è stata anche la prima attrice a girare una scena di un bacio interrazziale, nel 1968, con William Shatner che interpretava il capitano Kirk.

Il personaggio interpretato, in un ruolo di primo piano e di comando, accanto a maschi bianchi, è stato di incoraggiamento e ispirazione per tante donne che non si erano mai viste rappresentate in questo modo.

Tra i suoi ammiratori c’era stato Martin Luther King che era intervenuto personalmente per convincerla a non abbandonare la parte dopo la prima stagione, ritenendola fondamentale per la rappresentazione delle persone afroamericane sullo schermo. 

Nacque col nome di Grace Dell Nichols a Robbins, un sobborgo di Chicago, il 28 dicembre 1932, da Lishia Parks e Samuel Earl Nichols, operaio e futuro sindaco della città dell’Illinois.

Aveva esordito, negli anni Cinquanta come attrice e ballerina. Dopo diversi ruoli a teatro, al cinema e come cantante nelle orchestre di Duke Ellington e Lionel Hampton, aveva recitato in un episodio della serie televisiva The Lieutenant, incentrato sulla discriminazione razziale e mai trasmesso in televisione perché considerato controverso.

È stata protagonista di diversi musical e occasionalmente anche modella.

Dopo l’enorme successo di Star Trek, andato in onda dal 1966 al 1969, denunciando la mancanza di donne e persone di colore in campo aerospaziale, aveva deciso di collaborare in maniera volontaria in un progetto speciale con la NASA per reclutare personale. Un impegno durato dal 1977 al 2015, gestito insieme alla società Women in Motion che ha portato all’arruolamento di centinaia di persone e contribuito a formare celebri carriere come quelle di Sally Ride e Mae Jemison, prima afroamericana a viaggiare nello spazio.

Entusiasta sostenitrice dell’esplorazione spaziale, è stata nel consiglio di amministrazione del National Space Institute (oggi National Space Society), organizzazione educativa per la difesa dello spazio.

Nel 1992 le è stata assegnata una stella sulla Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Nel 1994 ha pubblicato la sua autobiografia, Beyond Uhura: Star Trek and Other Memories.

Ha partecipato a numerosi film e serie tv come attrice, doppiatrice, produttrice e coreografa, oltre agli spin off cinematografici della serie che le aveva portato fama mondiale.

Ha pubblicato anche due dischi Down to Earth, nel 1967 e Out of This World, nel 1991.

Nel 2007, in Heroes ha interpretato Nana Dawson, la matriarca di una famiglia di New Orleans devastata dall’uragano Katrina. L’anno successivo ha recitato nel film The Torturer, seguito da The Cabonauts, una commedia musicale di fantascienza.

Nel 2015, ha volato a bordo dello Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, un Boeing 747 modificato per osservazioni astronomiche condotte, che analizzava le atmosfere di Marte e Saturno in una missione ad alta quota.

Ha ricevuto la sua prima nomination agli Emmy per il suo ruolo in The Young and the Restless nel 2017.

Dopo un ictus che ne aveva rallentato gli impegni, nel 2018 le è stata diagnosticata la sindrome di demenza senile.

Si è spenta a Silver City, il 30 luglio 2022, aveva 89 anni.

Vincitrice di numerosi premi internazionali, ha ricevuto anche una laurea ad honorem dal Los Angeles Mission College ed è stata la prima donna a ricevere il Life Career Award, dall’Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films, nel 2016. 

A lei è stato anche dedicato l’asteroide 68410 Nichols.

La sua vita e l’impegno per lo spazio sono stati protagonisti del documentario Woman in Motion.

La sua autorità sullo schermo in un mondo alternativo e futuro, ha esercitato un’enorme influenza in un momento storico in cui la popolazione afroamericana stava combattendo per i diritti civili.

Grazie al suo attivismo ha aiutato la NASA ad abbracciare la diversità, contribuendo a cambiare le esplorazioni spaziali.

[kips-laboratory]

Woke ist nichts Neues!

von KIP SUPERNOVA

Wir leben in einer Zeit, wo sich erwachsene Menschen über eine Arielle die Meerjungfrau aufregen, die von einer farbigen Schauspielerin gespielt wird. Ein Disney Anmationsfilm mit dem Titel "Strange World" wird der Aufreger Nummer Eins, weil man "woke Themen" wie gleichgeschlechtliche Liebe, veganes Essen und Patchwork-Familien "in die Fresse geklatscht" bekommt.

Star Wars - Young Jedi Adventures : Hat die Hauptfigur Kai eine dunkle Hautfarbe und die Figur Nash Durango zwei Frauen als Eltern, weil hinter der Serie "woke Gutmenschen" stecken oder ist das Ziel einfach kreative, interessante Charaktere zu zeigen und Kindern Toleranz und Empathie zu lernen? (Bildquelle: Disney Plus)

Ich kenne Leute persönlich, die tatsächlich sagen: "Wenn ich sehe, dass es nur so eine Woke-Scheiße ist, dann schaue ich mir den Film erst gar nicht an."

Das sind harte Worte, ist doch der Film eine wundervolle Kunstform seit über 100 Jahren. Und in dieser Zeit hat sich die erzählende wie darstellende Kunst immer wieder weiter entwickelt, und zwar nicht nur technisch, sondern auch inhaltlich. Klar, man kann nicht alles gut finden, und Geschmäcker sind verschieden, aber wenn es vor rund 20 Jahren noch völlig okay war, bestimmte Genres oder Filmreihen gut zu finden und andere nicht zu mögen, ist der Maßstab heute immer mehr die politische Kombonente. Oder besser gesagt: Man will vielleicht eine politische Aussage in Dingen sehen, die vielleicht gar keine politische Aussage haben wollen.

Wenn wir die Aussage von meinem Bekannten nochmals heranziehen - einfach der totale Boykott bei Filmen, die "woke" aussehen - dann grenzt dies schon an den Glauben einer Verschwörung: Dass irgendwelche Gruppierungen im Hintergrund die Fäden ziehen und bestimmen, dass "Arielle" jetzt mal dunkelhäutig, "Spiderman" schwul oder der neue Captain der "Enterprise" eine Frau sein soll. Weil man ja gerecht und "gut" sein möchte. Nehmen wir mal an, das wäre wirklich so: Was wäre so schlimm daran? Klar, manche Helden so zu verdrehen, dass sie jedem Zuschauer_In gerecht werden, widerstrebt der Kunstfreiheit und würde manche Filme ins Absurde führen: Ein veganer James Bond, der nicht ein "Bondgirl" hat und mit dem Superganster dessen Schandtaten bei einer Tasse Tee durch diskutiert und am Ende dazu bewegt, dass Blofeld oder Goldfinger sind selbst der Polizei stellen? Na ja, das wäre ja dann kein James Bond mehr. Und ein Actionfilm ohne Action … wäre schon sehr fahde und lächerlich zugleich.

Sprechen wir aber von einer farbigen Arielle, einem schwulen Charakter in einem Disney Film oder einem James Bond, der nicht mehr raucht … wer will uns da was "aufzwingen" und wenn ja, wieso? Dass wir gefälligst gesünder leben sollten? Dass Menschen mit dunkler Hautfarbe auch positive Identifikationsfiguren brauchen oder auch schwule Teenager sich aufführen wie weibliche Teenies, die verrückt nach ihrem Schwarm sind? Ich bin der Meinung: Es ist vollkommen okay und hat auch seine Daseinsberechtigung. Und … es ist nichts Neues!

Bereits in den 1960ern brach Gene Roddenberry mit "Star Trek" alle Rollenklischees und Konventionen, die in dieser Zeit völlig normal waren. Zu einer Zeit, wo Farbige nicht jeden Platz im Bus nehmen und nicht jede Toilette und jeden Trinkbrunnen benutzen durften (in den USA), taucht plötzlich eine farbige Frau in einer Science Fiction Serie auf. Und sie spielt keine Putzfrau oder die "dicke Mami", sondern einen Leutnant in Uniform auf einem Raumschiff: Grace Dell „Nichelle“ Nichols, besser bekannt als Ltd. Uhura. Und um noch einen drau zu setzen findet in der Episode "Platons Stiefkinder" der erste Fernsehkuss zwischen einem weißen Mann (William Shatner / James T. Kirk) und einer farbigen Frau (Nichelle Nichols / Uhura) statt - zum Ärgernis aller aufrechter Patrioten und konservativen Politiker jener Zeit, wo es Begriffe wie "Woke" oder "Gutmensch" noch gar nicht gab.

Doch warum ist der Aufschrei gerade in der heutigen Zeit, wo vermeintlich so viel Aufklärung und Toleranz herrschen, so groß, wenn eine Regenbogenfahne geschwungen wird oder Filme boykottiert werden, weil sie schwule Charaktere haben? Ich kann nur Vermutungen anstellen, Beweise habe ich leider keine, dafür aber zumindest Indizien: Es ist ein gezieltes Aufbauen eines vermeintlichen Feindbildes. Der "Gutmensch", der aus Güte einfach zu jedem gerecht sein will macht Traditionelles und Vertrautes "kaputt": Die vegane Currywurst, Harry Potter in türkischer Fassung, farbige Schauspieler die vermeintlich "weiße Charaktere" verkörpern. Dabei sind dies alles Dinge, die keinem schaden - und die auch niemand in Anspruch nehmen muss! Niemand ist gezwungen, einen "Arielle Film" zu schauen und darf weiterhin seine Wurst vom Metzger essen, aus echtem Fleisch. Es existiert kein Gesetz, das Gendern verpflichtet oder Fleischkonsum verbietet. Doch bestimmte Gruppierungen lassen es so aussehen, als würden "links grün versiffte Gutmenschen" die Welt überrollen und uns anständigen Bürgern ihre gesunde und empathische Weltanschauung aufzwingen wollen.

Leider werden diese Hirngespinste, dass "Gutmenschen" "unsere Kultur" kaputtmachen würden, von vielen Menschen geglaubt. Und der automatische Boykott bei einem vermeintlich "woken" Film zeigt mir, dass zumindest latent ein Glaube an einer Art Verschwörung in den Menschen steckt. Und die automatische Verweigerung einer Sache, nur weil sie scheinbar aus einer bestimmten Richtung kommt, erfüllt für mich zumindest im Ansatz bereits den "Tatbestand" eines Vorurteils! Und Vorurteile lassen uns blind werden für Neues. Und wer Neues verweigert, verweigert Entwicklung. Denn heute wird verweigert, weil es vermeintliche "Woke Scheiße" ist, morgen wird bereits boykottiert, weil der Schauspieler schwarz ist (der spielt doch da bestimmt nur mit, weil ein Farbiger dabei sein soll), und irgendwann haben wir wieder das Selbe wie in den 1960ern, wo es normal war, Menschen nach Aussehen, Geschlecht oder Herkunft zu trennen und entsprechend zu beurteilen.

Dabei ist "Woke" nichts Neues, sondern das gab es schon immer! Und wer eine farbige Arielle oder einen schwulen Superhelden nicht sehen will, muss ihn nicht sehen. Doch sollte die Entscheidung, einen Film zu schauen nicht darin liegen, weil mit einer Konvention gebrochen wurde, sondern ob einem die Story des Films anspricht oder nicht. Denn darum sollte es doch am Ende gehen.

[wikiuntamed]

On this day in Wikipedia: Sunday, 30th July

Welcome, Willkommen, Bienvenida, שלום 🤗 What does @Wikipedia say about 30th July through the years 🏛️📜🗓️?

30th July 2022 🗓️ : Death - Nichelle Nichols Nichelle Nichols, American actress, singer and dancer (b. 1932) "Nichelle Nichols (, born Grace Dell Nichols; December 28, 1932 – July 30, 2022) was an American actress, singer and dancer whose portrayal of Uhura in Star Trek and its film sequels was groundbreaking for African American actresses on American television. From 1977 to 2015, she volunteered her time..."

Image licensed under CC BY 2.0? by Alan Light

30th July 2018 🗓️ : Death - Michael A. Sheehan Michael A. Sheehan, American author, former government official and military officer (b. 1955) "Michael A. Sheehan (February 10, 1955 – July 30, 2018) was an American author and former government official and military officer. He was a Distinguished Chair at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York and a terrorist analyst for NBC News...."

Image

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30th July 1973 🗓️ : Birth - Clementa C. Pinckney Clementa C. Pinckney, American minister and politician (d. 2015) "Clementa Carlos "Clem" Pinckney (July 30, 1973 – June 17, 2015) was an American politician and pastor who served as a Democratic member of the South Carolina Senate, representing the 45th District from 2000 until his death in 2015. He was previously a member of the South Carolina House of..."

30th July 1922 🗓️ : Birth - Henry W. Bloch Henry W. Bloch, American banker and businessman, co-founded H&R Block (d. 2019) "Henry Wollman Bloch (July 30, 1922 – April 23, 2019) was an American businessman and philanthropist who was the co-founder and (since 2000) the chairman emeritus of the American tax-preparation company H&R Block. He and his brother, Richard Bloch, founded H&R Block in 1955 in Kansas City, Missouri...."

30th July 1818 🗓️ : Birth - Emily Brontë Emily Brontë, English novelist and poet (d. 1848) "Emily Jane Brontë (, commonly ; 30 July 1818 – 19 December 1848) was an English novelist and poet who is best known for her only novel, Wuthering Heights, now considered a classic of English literature. She also published a book of poetry with her sisters Charlotte and Anne titled Poems by Currer,..."

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Patrick Branwell Brontë (died 1848)

30th July 🗓️ : Holiday - Christian feast day: Hatebrand "Hatebrand was a Benedictine abbot. A native of Frisia, Netherlands, he became the Abbot of Olden-Klooster, Frisia in 1183. He is famed for having revived the Benedictine order, in the area of Frisia. ..."

[lboogie1906]

Nichelle Nichols (born Grace Dell Nichols, December 28, 1932) is an actress, singer, and voice artist known for her portrayal of Nyota Uhura in Star Trek: The Original Series, and its film sequels. Her portrayal of Uhura was ground-breaking for African American female characters on American television. She volunteered her time to promote NASA's programs and to recruit diverse astronauts, including women and ethnic minorities. She is one of four surviving members of the original cast of Star Trek. Her break came in an appearance in Kicks and Co. In a thinly veiled satire of Playboy magazine, she played Hazel Sharpe, a voluptuous campus queen who was being tempted by the devil and Orgy Magazine to become "Orgy Maiden of the Month". She attracted the attention of Hugh Hefner, the publisher of Playboy, who booked her for his Chicago Playboy Club. She appeared in the role of Carmen for a Chicago stock company production of Carmen Jones and performed in a New York production of Porgy and Bess. She was featured on the cover of Ebony magazine and had two feature articles in the publication in five years. She toured the US, Canada, and Europe as a singer with Duke Ellington and Lionel Hampton bands. She appeared in The Roar of the Greasepaint and For My People and Blues for Mister Charlie. She was a guest actress in The Lieutenant. Robert A. Heinlein dedicated his novel Friday to her. Asteroid 68410 Nichols is named in her honor. She was awarded a star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame, for her contribution to television. She was awarded a Goldene Kamera for Kultstar des Jahrhunderts. She received an honorary degree from Los Angeles Mission College. She received The Life Career Award, from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Films. The award was presented as part of the 42nd Saturn Awards ceremony. She was awarded the Inkpot Award. She was a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence #alphakappaalpha https://www.instagram.com/p/CmtfY7MrvW-/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[super-oddity]

Nichelle Nichols, 1932-2022

[njtare]

[doyourememberrocknrollradio]

Fly Me to the Moon · Nichelle Nichols

RIP Grace Dell “Nichelle” Nichols Nichols started her career in musical theatre in Chicago IL.  She also toured with the Duke Ellington and Lionel Hampton bands throughout North America & Europe.

After Star Trek she formed Women in Motion, affiliating and volunteering time with NASA to recruit minority and female personnel for the space agency. Among those recruited were Dr. Sally Ride, the first American female astronaut, and United States Air Force Colonel Guion Bluford, the first African-American astronaut.

She will be missed.

[starqueen87]

Nichelle Nichols ( Grace Dell Nichols; December 28, 1932 – July 30, 2022) was an American actress, singer and dancer best known for her portrayal of Nyota Uhura in Star Trek: The Original Series, and its film sequels. Nichols' portrayal of Uhura was ground-breaking for African American actresses on American television. From 1977 until 2015, Nichols volunteered her time to promote NASA's programs, and to recruit diverse astronauts, including women and ethnic minorities.

May you rest in peace.

[ancientfaces]

Best known for her role as "Lt. Uhura" on the original  1960's television show "Star Trek" Nichelle Nichols, born Grace Dell Nichols in 1932, died Saturday in Silver City, New Mexico. Nichelle trained as an actress, singer, and dancer but it was her ground-breaking role as "communications officer" on Star Trek that truly defined her life. When she wanted to quit the show, Dr. Martin Luther King praised her role as being an inspiration to millions of women and urged her to stay. Nichelle is survived by one son and a motivational body of work. RIP Nichelle. Join us in remembering her at AncientFaces

[kwebtv]

Nichelle Nichols (/nɪˈʃɛl/, born Grace Dell Nichols; December 28, 1932 – July 30, 2022) Television  actress, singer, and dancer best known for her portrayal of Nyota Uhura in Star Trek: The Original Series, and its film sequels. Nichols' portrayal of Uhura was ground-breaking for African American actresses on American television. From 1977 until 2015, Nichols volunteered her time to promote NASA's programs, and to recruit diverse astronauts, including women and ethnic minorities.

Prior to being cast as Lieutenant Uhura in Star Trek, Nichols was a guest actress on television producer Gene Roddenberry's first series The Lieutenant (1964) in an episode, "To Set It Right", which dealt with racial prejudice.

Nichols played a recurring role on the second season of the NBC drama Heroes. Her first appearance was on the episode "Kindred", which aired October 8, 2007.  In 2017 she appeared in four episodes of  The Young and the Restless as  Lucinda Winters.  (Wikipedia)

[cinema-tv-etc]

Nichelle Nichols, Lt. Uhura on 'Star Trek,' dies at 89 July 31, 2022

Nichelle Nichols made history for her role as communications officer Lt. Uhura on Star Trek.

Actress and singer Nichelle Nichols, best known as Star Trek's communications officer Lieutenant Uhura, died Saturday night in Silver City, New Mexico. She was 89 years old.

"I regret to inform you that a great light in the firmament no longer shines for us as it has for so many years," her son Kyle Johnson wrote on the website Uhura.com. "Her light, however, like the ancient galaxies now being seen for the first time, will remain for us and future generations to enjoy, learn from, and draw inspiration."

Nichols was one of the first Black women featured in a major television series, and her role as Lt. Nyota Uhura on the original TV series was groundbreaking: an African American woman whose name came from Uhuru, the Swahili word for "freedom."

"Here I was projecting in the 23rd century what should have been quite simple," Nichols told NPR in 2011. "We're on a starship. I was head communications officer. Fourth in command on a starship. They didn't see this as being, oh, it doesn't happen til the 23rd century. Young people and adults saw it as now."

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." Their interracial kiss on the lips was revolutionary, one of the first such moments on TV.

Nichols was born Grace Dell Nichols in a Chicago suburb where her father was the mayor. She grew up singing and dancing, aspiring to star in musical theater. She got her first break in the 1961 musical Kicks and Co., a thinly veiled satire of Playboy magazine. She was the star of the Chicago stock company production of Carmen Jones, and in New York performed in Porgy and Bess.

'To me, the highlight and the epitome of my life as a singer and actor and a dancer/choreographer was to star on Broadway," she told NPR in 2011, adding that as her popularity on Star Trek grew, she was beginning to get other offers. "I decided I was going to leave, go to New York and make my way on the Broadway stage."

Nichols said she went to Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek, and announced she was quitting. "He was very upset about it. And he said, take the weekend and think about what I am trying to achieve here in this show. You're an integral part and very important to it."

The Two-Way

For MLK Day: 'Lt. Uhura' On How Rev. King Told Her To Stay On 'Star Trek'

So that weekend, she went to an NAACP fundraiser in Beverly Hills and was asked to meet a man who said he was her number one fan: Martin Luther King, Jr.

"He complimented me on the manner in which I'd created the character. I thanked him, and I think I said something like, 'Dr. King, I wish I could be out there marching with you.' He said, 'no, no, no. No, you don't understand. We don't need you ... to march. You are marching. You are reflecting what we are fighting for.' So, I said to him, 'thank you so much. And I'm going to miss my co-stars.'"

"His face got very, very serious," she recalled. "And he said, 'what are you talking about?' And I said, 'well, I told Gene just yesterday that I'm going to leave the show after the first year because I've been offered... And he stopped me and said: 'You cannot do that.' I was stunned. He said, 'don't you understand what this man has achieved? For the first time, we are being seen the world over as we should be seen. He says, do you understand that this is the only show that my wife Coretta and I will allow our little children to stay up and watch.' I was speechless."

Nichols returned to the series, which lasted until 1969. She also reprised her famous role in six subsequent feature films, including Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, where Uhura was promoted to commander.

For years, Nichols also helped diversify the real-life space program, helping to recruit astronauts Sally Ride, Judith Resnik, Guion Bluford, and others. And she had her own science foundation, Women in Motion.

"Many actors become stars, but few stars can move a nation," tweeted actress Lynda Carter, who played Wonder Woman on TV in the 1970s. "Nichelle Nichols showed us the extraordinary power of Black women and paved the way for a better future for all women in media. Thank you, Nichelle. We will miss you."

George Takei, who costarred on Star Trek as helmsman Hikaru Sulu tweeted: "I shall have more to say about the trailblazing, incomparable Nichelle Nichols, who shared the bridge with us as Lt. Uhura of the USS Enterprise," her wrote. "For today, my heart is heavy, my eyes shining like the stars you now rest among, my dearest friend."

He also posted a photo of his longtime friend, both of them flashing the Vulcan greeting, and these words: "We lived long and prospered together."

[merelygifted]

Nichelle Nichols, who played Lt Uhura in original Star Trek, dies aged 89 | Star Trek | The Guardian

Actor achieved worldwide fame and broke ground for Black women while playing Nyota Uhura in the original TV hit

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

Nichols’ son, Kyle Johnson, announced her 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.” Nichols’s death, on Saturday night in Silver City, was later confirmed by her agent.

Johnson said his mother had succumbed to natural causes, seven years after suffered a stroke.

“Her light however, like the ancient galaxies now being seen for the first time, will remain for us and future generations to enjoy, learn from and draw inspiration.”  ...

...  Nichols was born Grace Dell Nichols in Robbins, Illinois, on December 28 1932. According to the National Space Society, she sang as a 16-year-old with jazz great Duke Ellington – her career getting under way at an early age – in a ballet she created, and later joined his band.  ...

She told her parents she didn’t like her name, so they changed it to Nichelle.

[jbird5by5]

Saddened to hear of the passing of Actress/Singer/Dancer Nichelle Nichols (1932-2022)

Nichelle Nichols, who broke barriers for Black women in Hollywood when she played communications officer Lt. Uhura on the original “Star Trek” television series, has died.

She was 89 years old.

Nichols died Saturday Silver City, New Mexico.

Cause of death listed as natural causes

Like other original cast members, Nichols also appeared in six big-screen spinoffs starting in 1979 with “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” and frequented “Star Trek” fan conventions. She also served for many years as a NASA recruiter, helping bring minorities and women into the astronaut corps.

More recently, she had a recurring role on television’s “Heroes,” playing the

great-aunt of a young boy with mystical powers.

Born Grace Dell Nichols in Robbins, Illinois Dec 28, 1932, Nichols first worked professionally as a singer and dancer in Chicago at age 14, On stage she was twice nominated for the Sarah Siddons Award as Best Actress of the Year while on film she danced with Sammy Davis Jr in Porgy and Bess, and opposite James Garner in Mister Budwing (1965) and in a complete change around soon after the Star Trek television series came to an end played a blousey madam in the 70’s Blaxploitation classic “Truck Turner” Opposite Issac Hayes, then co starred with Lynn Redgrave n Antony and Cleopatra. She's been married twice and has a son Kyle Johnson from her first marriage to a tap dancer. moving on to New York nightclubs and working for a time with the Duke Ellington and Lionel Hampton bands before coming to Hollywood for her film debut in 1959’s “Porgy and Bess,” the first of several small film and TV roles that led up to her “Star Trek” stardom.

Nichols was a regular at “Star Trek” conventions and events into her 80s, but her schedule became limited starting in 2018 when her son announced that she was suffering from advanced dementia.

My Condolence to Family and Friends.

#R.I.P. 😔🙏🥀

[bm2ab]

Arrivals & Departures 28 December 1932 – 30 July 2022 Nichelle [Grace Dell] Nichols

Nichelle Nichols (/nɪˈʃɛl/, born Grace Dell Nichols;) was an American actress, singer, and dancer best known for her portrayal of Nyota Uhura in Star Trek: The Original Series and its film sequels. Nichols' portrayal of Uhura was groundbreaking for African American actresses on American television. From 1977 until 2015, Nichols volunteered her time to promote NASA's programs and to recruit diverse astronauts, including women and ethnic minorities.