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George Takei

National Portrait Gallery
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Object Details

Artist
Unidentified Artist
Sitter
George Hosato Takei, born 20 Apr 1937
Exhibition Label
Born Los Angeles, California
In 1966 actor George Takei became the first Asian American to play a major, nonstereotyped character on an American television series when Gene Roddenberry cast him as astrophysicist-turned-helmsman Hikaru Sulu on Star Trek. Takei rode to fame along with the crew of the Starship Enterprise in the short-lived but immensely popular television series, appearing in fifty-one of seventy-nine episodes that aired during Star Trek’s three seasons on NBC (1966–69). He later reprised the Sulu role in six Star Trek feature films released between 1979 and 1991.Takei spent his early childhood in Japanese American internment camps in Arkansas and California, where his family was imprisoned during World War II. That experience inspired Allegiance, the musical that Takei brought to Broadway in 2015. Long active in politics and civic affairs, he “came out” in 2005 and remains a vocal advocate for LGBTQ and social justice issues.
Nacido en Los Angeles, California
En 1966, el actor George Takei fue el primer asiático-americano que interpretó un personaje principal alejado de los estereotipos en una serie televisiva estadounidense. Esa oportunidad llegó cuando el productor Gene Roddenberry lo seleccionó para el papel de Hikaru Sulu, un astrofísico que sería el timonel de la nave en Star Trek. Takei saltó a la fama junto al resto de la tripulación de la nave espacial Enterprise en esta serie que, a pesar de su corta duración, tuvo un éxito enorme. Su personaje intervino en cincuenta y uno de los setenta y nueve episodios transmitidos durante las tres temporadas de Star Trek por la cadena NBC (1966–69). Luego volvería a interpretar a Sulu en seis películas de Star Trek realizadas entre 1979 y 1991.Takei pasó su niñez temprana en campos de concentración para japoneses-americanos en Arkansas y California, donde fue recluida su familia durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial. Esta experiencia inspiró el musical Allegiance que el actor presentó en Broadway en 2015. Ampliamente activo en causas políticas y cívicas, Takei se declaró gay en 2005 y continúa siendo un visible defensor del sector LGBTQ y la justicia social.
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of an anonymous donor
1966
Object number
NPG.2015.114
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Type
Photograph
Medium
Gelatin silver print
Dimensions
Image: 21.8 × 16.5 cm (8 9/16 × 6 1/2")
Sheet: 23 × 18.1 cm (9 1/16 × 7 1/8")
Mat: 45.7 × 35.6 cm (18 × 14")
See more items in
National Portrait Gallery Collection
National Portrait Gallery
Topic
Interior
George Hosato Takei: Male
George Hosato Takei: Performing Arts\Performer\Actor
George Hosato Takei: Society and Social Change\Reformer\Activist
Portrait
Record ID
npg_NPG.2015.114
Metadata Usage (text)
Usage conditions apply
GUID (Link to Original Record)
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm4001fd125-08b4-4f5e-9fa5-967cc76f34be

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