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’s 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 she 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.”
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Nichols will be remembered chiefly for her role in the sci-fi adventure series, but she began her career as a dancer and nightclub singer.
US president Joe Biden paid tribute to Nichols, saying she “shattered stereotypes”. “Our nation has lost a trailblazer of stage and screen who redefined what is possible for Black Americans and women”.
“Our nation is forever indebted to inspiring artists like Nichelle Nichols, who show us a future where unity, dignity, and respect are cornerstones of every society.”
Co-star George Takei tweeted that his heart was heavy, “my eyes shining like the stars you now rest among, my dearest friend” and he would have more to say soon on the “incomparable” trailblazer.
Prominent Georgia Democrat and voting rights organiser Stacey Abrams, who is running again for the state governorship and is a long-time Star Trek fan, tweeted a picture of herself with Nichols.
“One of my most treasured photos — Godspeed to Nichelle Nichols, champion, warrior and tremendous actor. Her kindness and bravery lit the path for many,” she wrote. “May she forever dwell among the stars.”
Star Trek brought Nichols enduring recognition and helped to break down some racial barriers in the television business, as they were rampant elsewhere.
She shared one of the first lip-to-lip interracial kisses on television — with co-star William Shatner, aka Captain Kirk. The kiss at the time was considered a forward-looking move on the part of the actors, as well as Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry and the network that broadcast the show, NBC.
More recently, she had a recurring role on television’s Heroes, playing the great-aunt of a young boy with mystical powers.
Nichols was born Grace Dell Nichols in Robbins, Illinois, on December 28th, 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.
Her big break in the 1961 Chicago musical Kicks and Co. Nichols later appeared in the title role in Carmen Jones and in a New York staging of Porgy and Bess as well as in Jean Genet’s The Blacks, and landed small film roles.
Nichols was married and divorced twice, and is survived by her son, Kyle Johnson. — Guardian
