{"id":20173,"date":"2022-08-02T16:26:06","date_gmt":"2022-08-02T20:26:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/?p=20173"},"modified":"2022-08-08T15:25:05","modified_gmt":"2022-08-08T19:25:05","slug":"star-treck-actress-nichelle-nicols-helped-lead-costar-william-shatner-to-christ","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2022\/08\/star-treck-actress-nichelle-nicols-helped-lead-costar-william-shatner-to-christ.html","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Star Trek\u2019 Actress Nichelle Nicols Helped Lead Costar William Shatner to Christ"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Joe Seer\/Shutterstock.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As word of Nichelle Nichols\u2019s death on Sunday was shared by her son, Kyle Johnson, tributes from former costars like George Takei and William Shatner as well as people who she impacted like director JJ Abrams and Levar Burton came pouring into social media. Nichols was most famous for her role as Lt. Uhura on the popular show, \u201cStar Trek.\u201d One notable tribute came from Dylan Novak, who goes by the name \u201cCelebrity Evangelist\u201d online. Novak is known for traveling around the world with the intention of sharing the Gospel with celebrities like Nichols and posted on his Facebook<\/a> about his encounter with her in 2016 at a comic con convention. After sharing the Gospel with her, Nichols revealed she was already a Christian but was deeply touched by his efforts, saying, \u201cNo fan has ever cared about my eternal life before.\u201d She then asked if he would be speaking to her costar, William Shatner, whose line was next to hers. Nichols gave Novak $100 to cover the cost of being in Shatner\u2019s line, saying, \u201cIt\u2019s on me. Go show him Jesus\u2019 love.\u201d She later said she would pray for Shatner.<\/p>\n

Born Grace Nichols in Robbins, Illinois in 1932, Nichols first started out at 16 singing with Duke Ellington. Landing the role as Lt. Uhura was particularly notable at the time because it was one of the first times a black woman was featured in such a major role on television. The role was also one of the first to show an interracial kiss between Nichols and Shatner in the 1968 episode, \u201cPlato\u2019s Stepchildren.\u201d Despite the weight her role played in opening the doors to other black actors, Nichols revealed in an interview for the American Archive of Television<\/a> that she had been tempted to leave the show after the first season to pursue a career on Broadway. However, a fan by the name of Martin Luther King, Jr. convinced her to stay.<\/p>\n

The Civil Rights leader met with the star while she was on a break to consider her resignation from the show. When Nichols told him about her plans to leave, he was adamant that she remain so that people like his children could see the possibilities for a black person in America. \u201cIf you leave, that door can be closed because your role is not a black role and is not a female role; he can fill it with anybody even an alien,\u201d he told her. Thankfully, Nichols listened and remained on the show until its cancellation in 1969 and continued to play Lt. Uhura in subsequent movie and television adaptations. She had a stroke in 2015 and retired from convention appearances after a diagnosis of dementia in 2018. She was 89 years old and passed away from heart failure in Silver City, New Mexico, survived by her son, Kyle.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As word of Nichelle Nichols\u2019s death on Sunday was shared by her son, Kyle Johnson, tributes from former costars like George Takei and William Shatner as well as people who she impacted like director JJ Abrams and Levar Burton came pouring into social media. Nichols was most famous for her role as Lt. Uhura on…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":664,"featured_media":20179,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20173","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-television"],"yoast_head":"\n\u2018Star Trek\u2019 Actress Nichelle Nicols Helped Lead Costar William Shatner to Christ<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Following 'Star Trek' actress Nichelle Nicols death, many share heartfelt stories including helping lead costar, William Shatner, to his faith.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2022\/08\/star-treck-actress-nichelle-nicols-helped-lead-costar-william-shatner-to-christ.html\" \/>\n<meta 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