George Takei
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George Hosato Takei (last name pronounced [təke]) (born April 20, 1937 in Los Angeles, California) is a Japanese-American actor. He is most famous for his role in the TV series Star Trek, in which he played the helmsman Hikaru Sulu on the USS Enterprise. On January 9, 2006, Takei became the announcer for The Howard Stern Show, after that show's move to satellite radio.
Early life
In 1942, the Takei family was sent to Rohwer, an internment camp in Arkansas, then were later transferred to Tule Lake War Relocation Center in California. Despite this experience his family developed a renewed dedication to remain involved in the American democratic process. He and his family returned to Los Angeles at the end of World War II, where he became politically active and eventually served 11 years on the board of directors of the Southern California Rapid Transit District, making him part of the team that initiated and planned the Los Angeles subway system.
In Hollywood during the 1960s, he pursued his ambition to be an actor at a time when Asian faces were rarely seen on television and movie screens; Takei appeared alongside such actors as Richard Burton in Ice Palace (1960), Alec Guinness in A Majority of One (1962), and Cary Grant in Walk Don't Run (1966).
Star Trek
In 1966, he met with a young producer named Gene Roddenberry who cast him as Mr. Sulu on the television series Star Trek. While working on the show he appeared as Captain Nim in the John Wayne film The Green Berets (1968).
George Takei has since appeared in numerous TV and film productions, including the first six Star Trek motion pictures, and today is a regular on the sci-fi convention circuit throughout the world. He has also acted and provided voice acting for several science fiction computer games, including Freelancer and numerous Star Trek games.
Reportedly, Takei is one of a number of Star Trek cast members who disliked William Shatner (see the entry for James Doohan for more comment). However, in an interview in the 2004 DVD set of "Star Trek: The Original Series: The Complete Second Season", Takei appears to have settled things with Shatner. He says, "He's just a wonderful actor who created a singular character. No one could have done Captain Kirk the way Bill did. His energy and his determination, that's Bill. And that's also Captain Kirk."
Later life
In 1972 Takei was an alternate delegate from California to the Democratic National Convention. In 1973, he ran for Mayor of Los Angeles, finishing second in a field of seventeen to Councilman Tom Bradley. During the campaign, Takei's bid for the mayor's seat caused one local station to stop running the repeats of the original Star Trek series until after the election and KNBC-TV to substitute the premier episode of the Star Trek animated series scheduled by the network with another in which his character did not appear. The other candidates in the race complained that Takei's distinct and powerful voice alone (besides his image) on television every week created an unfair advantage.
Mayor Bradley later appointed him to the board of directors of the Southern California Rapid Transit District, and he was called away from the set of Star Trek: The Motion Picture in 1978 to cast the tie-breaking vote for the creation of the Los Angeles subway system.
Also during this period Takei began his friendship with the future Mayor of West Hollywood and current Assemblyman Paul Koretz.
He co-wrote the science-fiction novel Mirror Friend, Mirror Foe with Robert Asprin in 1979.
In the 1990s and early part of the twenty-first century he had guest star appearances on some science fiction television series. He played himself in a 3rd Rock from the Sun episode about a science fiction convention, and an episode of Malcolm in the Middle. He also provided the voice of his own head in a jar in the Futurama episode "Where No Fan Has Gone Before". More recently he guest starred on an episode of Will & Grace playing himself as an openly gay man for the first time television.
In November 2004, was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun from Emperor Akihito for his contributions to U.S.-Japanese relations.
In October 2005, Takei revealed in an issue of Frontiers magazine that he is gay, and has been in a committed relationship with his partner, Brad Altman, for the last eighteen years. He said "It's not really coming out, which suggests opening a door and stepping through. It's more like a long, long walk through what began as a narrow corridor that starts to widen." [1][2] Nevertheless, Takei's sexuality had long been an open secret among Trek fans, and Takei did not conceal his active membership in gay organizations including Frontrunners where Takei met Mr. Altman and fellow runners and soon to be friends Abbe Land, Kevin Norte and Don Norte.
"We are masculine, we are feminine, we are caring, we are abusive. We are just like straight people, in terms of our outward appearance and our behavior. The only difference is that we are oriented to people of our own gender." (During a December 2005 telephone interview with Howard Stern, and revealed during the same interview that Altman was "a saint" for helping to take care of Takei's terminally-ill mother.)
Alex Cho, editor of Frontiers has stated that the Takei article was initiated from someone in the Takei camp when a close personal friend called the papers to ask them if they would be interested in the story. The friend remains unidentified but according to Cho, Takei's story was voluntary and not given under any pressure from the media. Kevin Norte and Don Norte, when asked if they were involved in initiating the article, declined to comment.
Due to Takei's very distinctive voice and enunciation, his voice had been frequently used in soundbites on the Howard Stern radio show (primarily in excerpts from his audio book, which would be cut together and repurposed for humorous effect.) As such, he had become something of a cult figure on the show. On January 9, 2006 it was announced that Takei would be the official announcer for the Howard Stern Show on Sirius Radio. He would be live in the studio for the first week and thereafter he would have pre-recordings done for the show.
Takei serves as chair of the council of governors of East West Players, the nation's foremost Asian Pacific American theater. He is chairman emeritus of the board of trustees of the Japanese American National Museum and on the advisory committee of the California Civil Liberties Public Education Program.
In 2006, the Human Rights Campaign announced that George Takei would embark on a nation wide speaking tour entitled "EQUALITY TREK" throughout various cities, speaking about his life as a gay Japanese American, his 18 year relationship with Mr. Altman, Frontrunners, Star Trek, and encouraging others to share their own personal stories. It was also announced that Takei will serve as a spokesman for HRC's Coming Out Project.
Finally, it has been reported that when Takei was asked if his character Sulu was gay, Takei responded that he would like to believe that sexual orientation would not even be an issue in the 23rd century.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Takei
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