Happy Birthday George Takei! A veteran actor of the television screen, Takei’s first film role was in Ice Palace (1960). He was in the production of the civil rights musical Fly Blackbird (1961). One of his first genre roles was in “The Encounter” (1964) episode of The Twilight Zone. Then, he had an iconic part as Sulu in Star Trek (1966-1969). Takei worked on the John Wayne war film, The Green Berets (1968). He returned to voice Sulu in Star Trek: The Animated Series (1973-1974). Takei co-wrote with author, Robert Asprin, the science fiction novel, Mirror Friend, Mirror Foe (1979). He also reprised the role of Sulu for film in Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979). He appeared as Dr. Marcus in a 1980 episode of the tv series, Beyond Westworld. Then, continued as Sulu in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982), Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984), and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986). George Takei was in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) and Star Trek V: The Final Frontier. In 1990, Takei co-wrote with Peter David, Star Trek Annual #1 that involved Sulu.
The final adventure for the original crew was in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991). This is also where we find Sulu is captain of his own ship, the U.S.S. Excelsior. He also started voicing parts in The Simpsons from 1991 and continuing on several episodes. Takei wrote his autobiography, To The Stars, in 1994. He appeared as Captain Sulu in “Flashback” (1996) episode of Star Trek: Voyager. Takei provided a voice in the Disney animated film, Mulan (1998). In 2002, Takei voiced his own head in Futurama and would continue to voice the character in other episodes. He was the voice of Sensei in the Kim Possible (2003-2007) animated series. Takei played Kaito Nakamura in the sci fi series Heroes (2007-2008). He voiced an alien general, Lok Durd, in a 2009 episode of Star Wars: Clone Wars. Takei returned as Kaito Nakamura in a 2010 episode of Heroes. In 2014, a documentary was released on the life and activism of George Takei, To Be Takei. Takei played the grandfather, Oji-chan, in the musical based on his life, Allegiance, the Broadway production was filmed in 2016. It was interesting to hear Takei voicing Hosato in Kubo and the Two Strings (2016). He has recently appeared as Yamato-san in horror series, The Terror. George Takei co-wrote with Justin Elsinger and Steven Scott about his childhood in the graphic novel, They Called Us Enemy. Happy Birthday George Takei!
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