Hi everyone!
I just wanted to set the record straight.
I listened to another interview with Nichelle Nicolls, and I had
an incorrect version of the story between Gene and Nichelle before.
Gene introduced Majel and Nichelle when he was dating them both. He
took Nichelle to Majel's house for dinner, without telling either of
them who the other was until after the fact. To Gene's surprise,
Nichelle and Majel had met before. When Nichelle spoke with
Gene on the way home, she was shocked and angry. Gene explained, "It
was the only way I could tell the two women I loved that I was in
love with two women." Nichelle broke up with Gene shortly thereafter.
Also, this occurred a year or so before the
filming of Star Trek, and they did part friends.
Nichelle was not unhappy with the Uhura character (which Nichelle
named), but with the way the character was being treated by the
network; the racism was rampant, and Nichelle could only take so
much! Apparently, Gene fought tooth and nail to make advances for
the Uhura character. Maybe that is why Nichelle was able to forgive
Gene for his sexist nature.
I apologize for my earlier inaccuracies. I would like to see the
original interview I had seen many years ago just to see how bad my
memory really is.
On Mon, 10 Nov 1997 15:54:25 EST
Penelope Gibbs said:
>
> The anecdote I think you were referring to is not correct as you
> state it. Nichelle Nicolls (sp?) was having what she thought was a
> dating relationship with Gene R., and he invited her to his home.
> When she arrived, Majel Barrett (sp?) answered the door. When
> Nichelle asked "what are you doing here", Majel answered "I live
> here". Nichelle was crushed, as she was in love with Rodenberry. She
> wanted to quit the show for this reason, not because she was unhappy
> with the Uhura character. And yes, Dr. King did convince her to stay
> with the show. And yes, she was quite a role model for many, many
> people.
>
>
> > There's a famous anecdote (which I may have blurred the details of) that
> > Nichelle Nicolls (sp?!) was not real happy with Lt. Ohura, but Dr. King
> > convinced her to stay with the show, since she was a role model of a
> > reaponsible, respected black woman in the future.
> > One of the people who might not have has the same career without that
> > inspiration is Woopie Goldberg.
> >
> >
> > Neil Rest
> > NeilRest@tezcat.com
> >
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