Nichelle Nichols' latest spin re MLK

[tafkats]

I Spy didn't inspire Mae Jemison to become the first African American woman in space. Of course, that has more to do with Star Trek's longer-lasting legacy, but ...

1. The existence of one other TV show with a black lead is not incompatible with Uhura being an important figure.

2. As someone savvy enough to become the leader of a major social movement, Martin Luther King Jr. surely understood that pop culture and the arts in general can influence society in ways that other things cannot.

 

[LMFAOschwarz]

I Spy didn't inspire Mae Jemison to become the first African American woman in space. Of course, that has more to do with Star Trek's longer-lasting legacy, but ...

You mean, you've never been to any I, Spy conventions?

 

[The Old Mixer]

In the context of the times--which is more on-topic--Bill Cosby being the co-star of I, Spy was a more significant step forward than Nichelle Nichols answering the telephone on a show that nobody was watching.

 

[Greg Cox]

I Spy didn't inspire Mae Jemison to become the first African American woman in space. Of course, that has more to do with Star Trek's longer-lasting legacy, but ...

But we'll never know how many African-American secret agents Cosby inspired . . . because it's classified!

 

[Mudd]

This story has been enlarged and embellished so much that any resemblance to fact is accidental.

 

[Marsden]

For the reason mentioned above: this is not the early 70s, where she, Roddenberry & Doohan could spin largely BS stories on the convention circuit and watch as fresh-minded ST fans lapped it up. History has debunked almost every TOS myth ever created--including her 700,000 acts of re-imagining the MLK story.

Further, MLK literally laid his life on the line for a great cause bigger than himself, or any other individual, so I find it the height of self-serving behavior for N.N. to continue to tie her acting career to the man, as though he placed such value on her presence on a series. Hell, Bill Cosby was already on I Spy a year earlier, which--considering the idea of a black agent in the very white world of 1960s filmed espionage (and at the height of the real life Cold War) was just as--if not more significant.

Her fans can defend her as much as they like, but when all is said and done, not one biography will be free of the fact she's used the life and legacy of MLK to piggyback her endless reimaginings of the now highly questionable story.

Well, alright, then. I see what you're saying. I still don't think it's that bad, so please don't blast me with your force lightning.

 

[drt]

I am fascinated by the way the story grows in the retelling.

I've been trying to properly source Nichols' various versions of the story. Does anybody have any particularly early (and modest) examples, like that chat show where she offered it as conjecture?

Nothing in the most recent interview contradicts what she wrote in her autobiography 20 years ago. The autobiography doesn't say that her next move would have been trying to make it on Broadway, but given her pre-Trek background, it would have been a logical move.

The King story doesn't happen to feature in any of my usual go-to books, the GR-authorized "The Making of Star Trek," the unauthorized "Gene Roddenberry: The Myth and the Man Behind Star Trek," or Solow and Justman's "Inside Star Trek."

It seems to have popped up again lately because I think she tells a very similar story about her time in Star Trek in the new "Return to Tomorrow" book (about the making of TMP, the interviews for which were conducted in the late 70s), but doesn't mention MLK at all.

 

[toonloon]

Can anyone actually prove that she was at an event that Dr King attended during that period or if Dr King was in LA around that time?

 

[Maurice]

I haven't been able to locate an interview with her mentioning the story prior to 1979, but then that's not conclusive, since not everything Star Trek from the 70s has been scanned.

 

[Admiral Bear]

She's also getting older and her recall might be affected.

She was at Star Trek London last October, and a few people there said she appeared to be quite forgetful during the stage talk she did. But at her age, that's only to be expected.

 

[Shaka Zulu]

The fact of the matter is Trek as she had/has will ever have had and she just can't accept that.

TREK and TRUCK TURNER.

Plus Doctor, You've Got to Be Kidding!, The Supernaturals, and a few others.

 

[Maurice]

Plus a stage career prior to Trek. Some fans need to get over the idea that Star Trek is some kind of pinnacle. Sure, it means you'll be remembered in some capacity (at least for a while), but that's not what everyone is after. Some people are interested in just doing challenging work, after all, regardless of if it has "legs".

 

[Sybok Was Wrong]

She might have had aspirations of Broadway in addition to wanting to leave "Trek"- so its not that big of a deal;

However, along with the " interracial kiss", and "letter writing campaign" of season 3, we've heard these stories a Zillion times too many!

 

[jayrath]

I agree with the many above who don't mind how she tells it. My only note is that it's unfortunate that she recalls saying, "Whatchoo talkin' 'bout, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.?" Shades of "Diff'rent Strokes"!

 

[Iamnotspock]

Particularly when the more notable a sci-fi/fantasy role is for the actor, the greater likelihood he'll be typecast by unimaginative casting agents.

This is, unfortunately, a tautology.

I agree with the many above who don't mind how she tells it. My only note is that it's unfortunate that she recalls saying, "Whatchoo talkin' 'bout, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.?" Shades of "Diff'rent Strokes"!

Yes, the story has evolved so much over the years that the most recent version has been filtered through her memories of watching Gary Coleman.

 

[The Old Mixer]

Perhaps there's a variation of the story out there where she responds to MLK, "Up your nose with a rubber hose!"

 

[garamet]

The fact of the matter is Trek is she had/has, will ever have had, and she just can't accept that.

You mean aside from an almost 20-year career as a dancer beforehand? (Yes, she was dancing with Duke Ellington's troupe at 16.)

If her MLK story gets embellished a little with time, so what?

 

[LMFAOschwarz]

Perhaps there's a variation of the story out there where she responds to MLK, "Up your nose with a rubber hose!"

People I've known for years tend to embellish certain stories over time. I always look forward to the latest versions.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

Ms. Nichols was on MeTV Saturday night, in a short spot on Black History Month shown between the opening credits and first act of "A Taste of Armageddon," saying that uhuru (in Swahili) means "truth," which AFAIK it doesn't; it means "freedom." I guess I too suspect that she is getting forgetful.

 

[jayrath]

It's less-known that Martin Luther King, Jr., once very seriously considered leaving the American Baptist Church.

He changed his mind when Nichelle Nichols pointed out that he was an important role model for young people.