George Takei
Post-war Hollywood was reshaping itself through the 1950s and into the decades that followed, gradually opening doors — however slowly — to performers from backgrounds that had long been sidelined on screen. George Takei was born in Los Angeles on April 20, 1937, and grew up to become one of the American entertainment industry's more versatile figures, working across acting, voice acting, directing, singing, comedy, and writing.
Takei's education ranged widely. He attended Los Angeles High School before going on to the University of California, Berkeley, the University of California, Los Angeles, and the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television. He also studied at Sophia University and the Shakespeare Institute, building a foundation that cut across both American and international academic settings. That breadth of training fed a career that didn't stay confined to a single medium. He worked as an actor and voice actor, took on directing projects, and also established a presence as an author and blogger, engaging audiences in written form as readily as on screen.
His work in English-language film, television, and stage placed him within a creative landscape that was, for much of his career, still working out how to represent the full range of American life. Takei brought a voice to that space across several decades, appearing in roles that spanned genres and formats while also contributing as a singer and comedian.
The recognition that came his way reflects the range of what he did. Japan awarded him the Order of the Rising Sun, 4th class, an honor given for contributions to international relations and cultural exchange. He received the Inkpot Award, earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and was inducted into the California Hall of Fame. The Library of Congress catalogs him under the authorized label "Takei, George, 1937-," a designation that anchors his documented public record in the institutions that preserve it.
Quotes by George Takei
George Takei's insights on:
Those Tea Party people are crazy. I mean, they're lunatics. They close down the government, throw people out of their jobs - hundreds of thousands of people - and they say that they're doing it ultimately in the interest of creating jobs.
I think being optimistic is ensuring your success. If you start out saying 'I've got this problem,' or 'I'm angry at that,' you will not succeed.
I'm most comfortable with my computer. Yes, I have an iPhone, but I've reached that point now where to read e-mails on my phone, I need my reading glasses. I'm most comfortable with the big-screen computer.
One of the gifts of 'Star Trek' is my professional work colleagues have become my lifelong friends.
Radio dramas have disappeared. What we do have now is books on tape, which I find wonderful. I've done some of those. Otherwise, radio acting is now gone.
I grew up in the age of radio. That was my main boyhood form of entertainment: lying on the living room floor with my ears affixed to the radio. I loved shows like 'The Phantom,' 'Cisco Kid,' and even 'Happy Theater' when I was younger.
I don't consider it jumping ship. The 'Star Trek' philosophy is to embrace the diversity of the universe, and 'Star Wars' is part of that diversity. I also think 'Star Trek' and 'Star Wars' are related beyond both having the word 'Star.'
When I was going to gay bars in my 20s and 30s, the older guys there explained to me that the police would occasionally raid these places and march the clients out, load them onto paddy wagons, drive them down to the station, photograph them, fingerprint them and put their names on a list. They were doing nothing wrong, and it was criminalized.
Up until the time I was cast in 'Star Trek,' the roles were pretty shallow - thin, stereotyped, one-dimensional roles. I knew this character was a breakthrough role, certainly for me as an individual actor but also for the image of an Asian character: no accent, a member of the elite leadership team.