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WRITTEN BY
GEORGE TAKEI
ART BY HARMONY BECKER
ADAPTED BY
STEVEN SCOTT & JUSTIN EISINGER
For Brad, who turns every ordinary day into one that rhymes with “Takei” — extraordinary in every way.
KNOCK KNOCK
Mr. Takei, they’re ready.
Let’s talk about LGBTQ+ rights under attack…
There are people who think that talking about sexuality in schools is equivalent to grooming children to be gay.
What’s your response to that?
I dealt with the “Don’t Say Gay” bill about ten years ago in Tennessee…
…when a local politician tried to ban teachers--teachers of all people!--from using the word “gay.”
Please welcome the funny and fabulous George Takei!
It’s so important for teachers, who are working with young people who are making discoveries about themselves, to give them guidance and compassionate advice.
George, you’ve said that you were groomed your entire life…
…to be straight.
And what happened?
From about the time I was 9 years old, I knew I was different.
Even before that…
Well… I happened!
…I was imprisoned by my own government because I was different.
Having had that experience, when I turned 9, 10, or 11, I sensed that I was different from the others.
I could tell that society was against me.
I was an activist on almost all other issues-Civil Rights, the Peace Movement during the Vietnam War…
But the one issue that was so personal to me…
So I grew up with a consciousness of being different.
And I spent most of my adult life closeted.
But I wanted to be normal, so that I wasn’t imprisoned again for being different.
When did you come out, George?
in 2005… I was 68. WOW!
Very late.
So you can’t groom someone not to be gay.
Absolutely not.
Society groomed me to be closeted.
To show the world a character… that was almost my full self, but not quite.
Something similar, but not the same.
Almost like a rhyme.
I’m lending my name to the cause. Anytime you need to say the word “gay,” you can simply say, “Takei!”
That way they could talk about marching in a Takei Pride Parade with their grammar school students.
Rhymes can be potent. I utilized rhyme as a political weapon to respond when that Tennessee legislator, Stacey Campfield, attempted to ban teachers from using the word “gay” in classrooms.
Tennessee teachers could easily get around Campfield’s ridiculous effort by simply replacing “gay” with my rhyming name.
I love the fun poetry of rhyming.
Finding words that have similar sounds but could also be quite different in meaning. it’s okay to be Takei!
I lived life as a rhyme of my real self for so long.
My surname, Takei, also rhymes with sashay, a purposeful stride leading with a distinct forward hip movement.
Hey everyone, watch out for the fairy!
it also rhymes with May Day, a time of communal springtime celebrations.
But when the two words are joined together, while still rhyming with Takei…
Washington, D.C.
MAY 1971
… Mayday becomes an international distress signal.
A rhyme that remains too relevant.
And yes… Takei rhymes with gay.
I like the title it Rhymes with Takei because it has a light, humorous lilt to it.
I rhyme with that image. I sound like that person. I look like that guy.
Yet that was not quite my whole self.
People have known me as an actor and activist.
As an actor, I have performed in films, on television, and on the Broadway stage.
As an activist, I’ve made speeches at universities and written op-ed pieces.
But there was always a critical chunk of me that was left out.
By sharing this story, I fill in that gap I secreted away…
…in a closet filled with anxiety.
Hello, everyone-it’s so good to see you all again.
I lived life as a rhyme of my real self for so long.
Now with this story told…
…I am the whole George Takei.
PART ONE
Hurry, come to bed!
if you don’t hurry, you’ll miss it!
And now, the news...
it was a heady time and a fraught time.
George! I hear the music.
I’m right here.
A time of hope and a time of challenges.
Reporting now from Sacramento on the Legislature’s vote to recognize gay marriage…
George!
...a spokeswoman for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger tells us he may well veto the bill…
...“out of respect for the will of the people.”
How do you feel personally about gay marriage?
it’s perfectly fine with me.
I have no problem with it.
That his friendships with our community would make him an ally to our cause.
Now, George, he hasn’t done anything yet.
And he’d better not. How could he?
I remembered this man’s campaign rhetoric when he ran for the governor’s seat.
The implication being that he was different.
September 29, 2005
Sacramento
This bill simply adds confusion to a constitutional issue.
if the ban of same-sex marriage is unconstitutional, this bill is not necessary.
When he became governor, I was skeptical but hopeful.
A few of our gay friends had, in fact, supported him.
But now, two years later, Schwarzenegger vetoed fifty-two pieces of legislation in one day.
He refused to provide protections for our right to marry.
My blood slowly began to boil.
…while so many had sacrificed so much to speak out.
The governor has signed the veto for bill AB 849...
...anger is erupting like a volcano down Santa Monica Blvd.
I can’t believe it.
We were so close! So much work! So much time!
What can we do about it?
There must be something.
We can’t continue standing on the sideline. We got so close to making history.
But that night, we watched the news and saw all these young people…
They spoke for me…
I had been silent for decades…
How can that man undermine so many brave people?!
…on my most personal issue. We’ve got to take a stand.
...pouring into the streets, venting their rage...
You can’t!
What if… what about when, um… George?
Have you thought about what this means?!
Brad was always more cautious. And he was right.
We had so much to lose.
it’s happened before. You don’t think it can happen to you, too?
I know there are unknown risks.
if it can make a difference, then I have to do it.
I have to at least try.
…telling people you’re gay could be the end of your career.
But progress is being made right before our eyes.
I didn’t know it then…
And I hate not being actively engaged.
…but my decision that night changed my life… in ways I could not have imagined.
George…
Let’s bring those levels up…
Check one. Check one.
Going live in three.. two… one…
Check two.
Sound… check.
Okay, so, George and Brad...
What did you make of this--The Bachelor came out, and it turns out, he’s gay.
it’s sad that in our country--
Colton you’re talking about, the most recent star of The Bachelor.
Yeah, and he finally said, “Look, I’ve gotta come clean. I was ashamed.
“I was embarrassed. I was with these women, but I’m really not into women. I’m sexually attracted to men.”
But that’s sad in this day and age…
…and I think that you two guys make it more normalized.
The Howard Stern Show
You are. And I understand Colton’s position.
People are used to seeing two men together because you two are such a great couple.
Am I right on this?
I too was closeted for most of my adult life.
But I came out when I was 68. That’s very late.
Don’t you wish that when you were twenty, or thirty, that you could have had that freedom?
is that a great regret in your life, that you spent so many years in the closet?
in other words, it is liberating to be able to hold your partner’s hand in public, and go out on dates and not have to look over your shoulder.
I don’t believe in coulda, woulda, shoulda, because I lived the life I lived…
I sensed that I was different and felt keenly conscious of it.
I am Japanese American, so I was already different in an obvious way.
After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, solely because we resembled the people who attacked the U.S. on Dec. 7, 1941, we were looked at with suspicion, fear, and outright Hatred.
But then came this growing realization that I had another difference.
That I wasn’t like the other guys.
And for looking like the enemy, my family and I were imprisoned by our own government, first in a barbed-wire concentration camp in Rohwer, Arkansas…
...and later in northern California at the harshest, most heavily guarded camp, Tule Lake.
We were punished for looking different.
So the awareness of that difference was seared into me at a very young age.
I thought Bobby was so pretty, with his big brown eyes… and he had the sweetest smile.
I was a young boy when I made the discovery.
Richard was an athletic kid who I found attractive in a whole different way.
By the fifth or sixth grade, I became aware that I found boys much more interesting and exciting than the opposite sex.
But the other boys didn’t seem to feel as I did.
I felt so alone.
But I didn’t hate myself, as so many misfits are taught to do.
I remember a Sunday school teacher telling us about acceptance of the givens of nature.
Our family is Buddhist. Daddy’s family in Japan was Zen Buddhist and Mama’s was of the Shin Buddhist sect.
The Senshin Temple of the Jodoshu sect offered volunteer round-trip car service for Sunday school students, so our parents sent us.
imagine a vast ocean, with a multitude of natural forces working on it…
…all producing, for a brief moment, a whitecap wave… …the wind, the sun, the currents…
Senshin Temple
“we are like that whitecap… thinking of itself as an individual, as having an ego, as being an identity.
“…back to the great one-ness of the whole.”
“nevertheless, that wave will ultimately return into the immensity of the sea…
that whitecap’s existence is like our lives… made up of the tiniest parts of the vast entirety and only temporarily existing as a whitecap.
if I was a part of nature…
…maybe my feelings were a natural part of me.
When I reached Mt. Vernon Jr. High School, there was a girl in my class who was prematurely developing into full buxom womanhood.
Just look at her!
As it dawned on me once again that I felt differently than the others, I wondered:
Would I be punished for this difference, too?
I thought she was nice… but nothing to get all worked up about.
There were boys who sometimes got beaten up after school.
You gonna cry, sissy?!
I didn’t want to be different. I didn’t want to be beaten up.
Even at this early stage, I was an actor.
I was hiding my true self behind a character.
Monica is hot!
Wow! Monica’s hot!
My sexual awakening would occur one year during summer camp.
Welcome! if this is your first time, please be sure to take a map.
There was this blond camp counselor who I thought was gorgeous.
That led to my first sexual experience. This new sensation was exciting, delicious, and terrifying, all at once.
One night I was alone in the cabin. He came to visit and was very friendly.
A very confusing feeling… but then I started to focus on the delicious part more and thought to myself…
...maybe this is what I really like.
The next day, we acted like it hadn’t happened.
We didn’t want to talk about it.
Haven’t you heard of the Kinsey Report?!
What happened in the cabin stayed in the cabin.
Hey, boys!
I had not heard about this report.
I later learned about Doctor Alfred Kinsey, a biologist, professor of entomology and zoology, and sexologist.
in 1947 he founded the institute for Sex Research at indiana University.
Pretend we’re not here and do whatever feels right.
History would review his methodology with a critical eye…
...but in 1948 he published Sexual Behavior in the Human Male and became an overnight sensation.
The book suggested that homosexuality was far more common than the public knew.
in my mid-teens I discovered newspapers. We had the L.A. Times delivered, which would spark dinner conversation surrounding current events.
I read about “Operation Wetback,” an immigration enforcement initiative that restricted Mexican workers and forcibly deported many of them.
I invited several friends to pick strawberries, but the only one who accepted was Earl Gravely, a fellow cross-country runner.
As a result of this labor shortage, the strawberry crops would rot in the sun unless American workers stepped in to replace these braceros.
We reported for work at a strawberry farm in Orange County to help.
Growing up in a Mexican American barrio, I had picked up the Spanish language and enjoyed impressing my fellow pickers.
Este es This is trabajo muy backbreaking duro, ¿no? work, huh?
¿Eres
You’re Japonés Japanese pero hablas and you speak Español? Spanish?!
My idealistic vision of “saving” the California strawberry industry was shattered by my aching back… ...but it was good fun working with kindred people, even if I was far less experienced.
¡Oye Miguel, Hey Miguel, escuche a get a load of este niño! this kid!
Estoy agotado. That was exhausting.
¡Me duele todo! I’m sore all over!
彼らの給料 を少し削られるや。
We can shave a bit off their pay.
今言ってた事 聞いたよ。
I know what you're up to.
ちゃんと給料を 払わないつもりなら、
If you don't pay fairly, 警察に知らせるぞ！ I'll tell the police!
We lined up to receive our wages for the day. The ranch was owned and operated by several Japanese American men.
Take pay. Next.
What I overheard made my blood boil. They were shorting the pay of the Mexican workers!
That day on the farm I learned a sad truth: even my fellow Japanese Americans, who had been exploited themselves, were nonetheless capable of exploiting others...
We, err… make mistake. We fix it now. Come get pay.
...but more importantly, I learned the power of an individual voice.
One person can make a difference.
Volunteerism became a part of my life from then on.
I began doing a lot of work with the Junior Red Cross.
Every report of a flood, tornado, or firestorm sent me rushing down to their headquarters to help with relief efforts.
That work fulfilled my need to be a part of something. it also inspired me to go further.
Congratulations, George! The votes have been counted…
…and you have been elected president of the Junior Red Cross here at Mt. Vernon Junior High.
The next semester I ran for health commissioner.
I hope I can count on your vote!
This strategy proved successful… and I won by a landslide. it was a strange yet wonderful feeling, accepting congratulations after the election.
Congratulations on your victory, George! Thank you!
I gave away Red Cross buttons to help win over voters.
Way to go, George!
I had always thought congratulations should come after a hard struggle... but the election had been fun.
Congratulations on the big win!
You’ll serve us well!
The adulation felt great, and I wanted to feel it again.
The only office left to ascend to was student body president.
As the end of the semester approached…
…it was time for students seeking office to declare their candidacy.
And there was just one other student considering a run for president.
My friend Lee Young was
incumbent vice president. He was easygoing and popular. Tough competition.
I don’t know. You really think I could win?
I’m formally entering the race for student body president.
I think these are all in order.
Sure enough, on filing day, Lee declared his candidacy too.
Why did it have to be a good friend?
the
Daddy could get me little hard candies at wholesale.
The real showdown would take place at the assembly.
None of this is right!
Sure, George, you’ve got my vote.
Lee was witty and a good storyteller. He would campaign on his personality.
But I had a secret weapon.
Thank you!
Students discovered that every one of my handshakes had a little something sweet.
I wrote and rewrote my speech over and over.
I wondered what Lee would do with his.
Ungh.
Don’t worry about Lee.
How’s your campaign speech coming along?
He’s a good boy, and so are you.
I’m not sure what Lee is going to do.
What you have to do is tell the other students who you are, what you stand for…
...and why you want to serve as student body president.
I knew he was right.
I wasn’t going to worry about Lee’s speech anymore.
Keep counting, people. We don’t have all day!
After the votes were all counted, we were told it was close.
Very close... ...but I had won.
You ran a great campaign, Lee.
Please join me in congratulating your new student body president… ...George Takei!
Another highlight of my time at Mt. Vernon Junior High School was being recognized for academic and service achievements with the coveted American Legion Award.
Little more than a decade before…
We are proud to recognize George Takei with this distinguished award...
...the American Legion had been one of the most virulent voices for the removal of Japanese Americans from the West Coast.
After you! Thank you, George.
I didn’t realize at the time how much the recognition meant to Daddy and Mama.
Now I was standing on this stage, accepting the highest award given to a member of the graduating class…
...by that same organization.
The clock tower’s bells marked the hours, days…
…where I met a teacher that greatly inspired me: Mr. Ruby.
Double, double toil and trouble! Fire burn and cauldron bubble!
...and, before we knew it, the years, at L.A. High…
Okay, class, let’s continue our discussion of Shakespeare.
What does this scene from Macbeth mean? Pencils out for a pop quiz!
You can use this one.
Dang, I don’t have a pencil.
Mr. Hoffman, let’s have some quiet in the back row.
it introduced me to a new mix of students, like Dustin Hoffman…
The move from Mt. Vernon to L.A. High symbolized my matriculation into adulthood.
it also meant my parent’s hopes were transforming into expectations.
I was their eldest son.
...alongside former junior high classmates, like Johnnie Cochran.
You sure saved my bacon.
I just hope my essay was all right.
They expected I’d go to a good university––a distinguished one--then enter a profession and succeed.
Downtown
Los Angeles
I arranged with her to let me volunteer as an usher.
And I can watch for free? Yes. But you must come dressed in a suit and tie.
Here you go, ma’am… sir.
I would see plays at the Biltmore Theater with some regularity.
Five minutes to curtain, everyone…
One day I noticed Mrs. McManus, the House Manager.
Please follow me to your seats, folks…
That’s how I discovered my own secret aspiration. I wanted to be an actor.
As a teenager, my heartthrob movie star was Tab Hunter.
He was my hero… my secret passion.
in 1955, the scandal sheet Confidential exposed him as being gay.
They called him box office poison and made him a pariah.
Can you believe that pervert?!
But I was just like him...
I wanted an acting career just like his.
...driven by the same urges. The same hunger. it was so cruel… so unjust. And yet, that was the way it was.
That was Hollywood. No way he comes back from this.
You gotta be really messed up to throw away a career like that.
if I was to be an actor… I had to remain closeted.
My father and I particularly enjoyed a show called Playhouse 90.
We would watch episodes together...
Daddy knew of my love for theater and actors, and he approved.
Despite my hidden dream…
Everyone should have culture in their lives… ...it’s enriching.
But I knew he didn’t mean culture as a career choice.
...I chose a college preparatory course of study at L.A. High.
He meant it as a hobby.
...as I secretly fantasized about being one of the actors.
GO, GEORGE!
in the spring I joined the track team...
...to solve this equation we first need to establish other variables...
ignoring the clear but invisible lines of distinction that existed all around…
Dinner ready!
Keep pushing, Harry! HMPFF!
…I checked my personal aspirations and worked to fulfill my parents’ expectations.
...and ran crosscountry in the fall.
All while keeping up my math and science grades.
I’ll be right there!
I studied hard to be accepted by a great university.
One day I came home to a surprise…
That’s not what he said--
Yes, it is!
Mail come for you.
Let’s open it! We open envelope together.
...it was a response to my application to architecture school at U.C. Berkeley!
He said--
GEORGE!
it seemed like an eternity before Daddy got home.
I don’t know! Mama wouldn’t let us open it without
you.
So hurry up!
The envelope from Berkeley arrived!
Did you get in?
I’m in!
The next day, Mama went to Little Tokyo…
Have good tuna?
Mama, in her way, was sending her first son off to be an architecture student at a great school hundreds of miles away.
College cafeteria not serve sashimi.
Spring semester of ‘56! So proud! My boy!
...and bought all the fixings for a sashimi dinner.
This was their dream. Their expectations and aspirations were being realized.
Eat lots before you go Berkeley.
I tasted that dream, and their love, in every bite of that delicious meal.
I was off to face newer, higher expectations.
Mmph. it’s very good!
Hrrrrk!
I moved into my dorm at Collegian Hall...
University of California, Berkeley
The first few days were dizzyingly hectic.
Where bathroom?
registered for classes... ...and opened a bank account.
Next student!
Next customer!
Hey gorgeous, where you headed?
George? is that you?
I quickly made a new group of friends around Collegian Hall.
Oh, don’t be like that!
Each impressive in their own way.
Tommy! Hey, how are you doing?
Occasionally, I’d bump into friends from Los Angeles.
...but they were quickly engulfed...
it was good to see familiar faces in a bustling new environment...
...by the swirl of new people that came into my life.
College life was wonderful and special.
Discussions that began over dinner in the dorm dining room continued on, drifting upstairs to our quarters…
…and more often than not, winding up in my room. We talked about religion, philosophy, existentialism, politics, and whatever else might be on our minds.
My psych teacher said that 10% of American males are homosexual. Which suggests any of us could be the one.
Okay, who is it? George?
Don’t look at me!
I felt vulnerable. I knew I was different.
My Buddhist upbringing had taught me to accept all parts of myself and be a part of society.
But I had to protect my secret.
I spent many hours alone, studying in the great reading room inside Doe Library. I loved the immense silence it commanded… ...despite the occasional ambient noise.
Not that I was too concerned. There was so much to look at in that vast room.
No, not here.
No one can see us back here. No, someone could pop up.
Okay, then where do you want to go?
I don’t know. Somewhere more private.
I didn’t really understand what had just happened. But I felt different.
My mind was racing.
And sort of aggressive.
And so abrupt.
He was so gorgeous.
I found a secluded bench along Strawberry Creek to gather my thoughts.
What a strange guy.
...and hearings conducted by Wisconsin Republican Senator Joseph McCarthy.
He was on a witch hunt for Communists in the State Department and the U.S. Army…
February 9, 1950
Then I remembered reading several years earlier about the House Un-American Activities Committee…
The State Department is infested with communists.
I have here in my hand a list of 205--a list of names that were made known to the Secretary of State as being members of the Communist Party and who nevertheless are still working and shaping policy in the State Department.
...making wild, unsubstantiated allegations.
Soon the hearings expanded beyond the government to public figures of all kinds, like poet Langston Hughes.
March 24, 1953
I never read the theoretical books of socialism or communism, or the Democratic or Republican parties for that matter…
...and so my interest in whatever may be considered political has been non-theoretical, non-sectarian, and largely emotional…
...and born out of my own need to find some way of thinking about this whole problem of myself.
People’s careers, reputations, and lives were ruined by Joseph McCarthy’s reckless accusations.
His search extended to homosexuals…
…the first writers blacklisted for refusing to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee.
“Those who engage in acts of homosexuality and other perverted sex activities are unsuitable for employment in the federal government…
“...persons who indulge in such degraded activity are committing not only illegal and immoral acts, but they also constitute security risks in positions of public trust.”
…people he claimed would be vulnerable to recruitment as spies under threat of exposure.
Like the Hollywood Ten…
U.S. Senate
That was it!
I had read about undercover agents who ferret out gays to recruit as spies!
Don’t move, freak!
The fright I’d felt in the library stacks turned ice-cold.
You’re gonna do exactly what I say from now on...
...or I’ll expose you to the world.
That Adonis could have been an undercover agent! it was dangerous to be gay.
Los Angeles
The first summer back from Berkeley…
I was their sole employee.
George, it’s time to head over to Jeanette MacDonald’s place.
...I worked for a small company run by a young couple named George and Betty Filey.
I think so. it’s the turn past the stop sign?
That’s the one.
A garage down an alley was the production factory, and their living room was the office.
Please pay attention… the woodwork is all handcrafted.
I’ll be careful.
in these luxurious homes, even the window frames cast a spell over me.
I didn’t say I didn’t love you. I said, “Stay away from me.”
it’s just off Sunset. You remember where it is?
I was being sent to install blinds in the private sanctums of movie stars.
I was actually hanging blinds in Eva Marie Saint’s home, staring wistfully through the window the way she did in On The Waterfront.
George?!
it wasn't long before I decided to cast this bothersome infatuation aside, once and for all.
I’d register for summer-session acting classes at Berkeley’s sister campus, right here in L.A.
I’ll take these classes, get it out of my system, and go back to Berkeley in the fall.
University of California, Los Angeles
That’s all right. But keep your day job.
I was taken aback.
They should have evening classes at U.C.L.A.
I had expected a veto.
Before anyone could have time to rethink, I followed through.
I was now enrolled in my first formal acting class.
Mr. Taylor said the blinds look great! Thank you, George.
That’s good to hear. it was pretty straightforward.
Live that emotion!
Work was hard and left me exhausted.
One night I got home from class and Daddy surprised me.
But three nights a week, I found renewed energy for class at U.C.L.A.
I circled an ad here in the Rafu that might interest you.
Here, take a look at it.
I’ll check it out first thing tomorrow morning. Thanks, Daddy.
it gave almost no details, but that was all I needed.
The next day I called the number.
Before long I was reading for the famous King Brothers…
Yeah, that’s good.
Good! We’ll let you know.
King Brothers Productions...
I’m calling about the ad for voice casting…
So there’s a gigantic prehistoric flying monster, brought back to life after millennia because of radiation…
…and unbelievably, I was cast!
...and it’s terrorizing Tokyo.
it was far-fetched science fiction…
I had grown up watching him in Charlie Chan films.
Look, over there! He’s very precise.
Look at how he perfectly matches the actor’s lip movements!
…but it gave me the chance to work with distinguished Chinese American actor Keye Luke.
Watching Keye, I learned to individualize my eight or nine characters…
…giving them each a distinct voice.
I realized our work was the modern equivalent of the benshi I’d seen performing all the voices during movies while we were interned.
I thought of Daddy.
On the third and final day of recording, I got an unexpected compliment from Keye.
Fine work, George. You make me proud. it was really a treat working with you, Mr. Luke. Thank you very much.
Before I knew it, my enchanted summer was over.
You go be architect now.
I’ll write soon!
My dreams had been fulfilled beyond my expectations.
Well, if you’ve heard that Shakespeare soliloquy, how about some Tennessee Williams?
“What is straight? A line can be straight, or a street…
“...but the human heart, oh, no, it’s curved like a road through mountains.”
Berkeley, California
Hey look, George is back!
What a summer!
...so the red veins on the gums could be an early sign of gingivitis…
We all believed I had gotten the acting bug out of my system.
My brother Henry and I passed the time on the long drive back to Berkeley.
I returned to Berkeley determined to become a great architect.
There are many factors to consider when approaching a structural solution…
But the more I studied, the greater became my quandary.
Which one to build?!
I became acutely aware of the permanence of this art form.
I was only too aware of irresponsible architecture, which seemed to surround and diminish us... ...but on the other hand, how a structure can be an organic presence in society…
…that can enhance the quality of life.
The semester I returned to Berkeley, we saw one very special guest speaker.
These are good seats. WATCH it! HEY!
I know! I came early, in case architecture students didn’t get priority seating.
Suddenly, with no introductions...
Please,
People were still trying to squeeze into the aisles when the program began.
He’s here.
... Frank Lloyd Wright had arrived.
That makes it unanimous. I’m one too. Thank you.
Ladies and gentlemen... I understand that you are all students here tonight.
I’m not a professional. I’m an amateur, just like you.
Quite proud of it.
it was one of the most spectacularly theatrical entrances I had ever witnessed.
He was a forceful, passionate, absolutely mesmerizing speaker.
Genius means the essential virtue and character of the individual. A genius is a man who has an eye to see nature.
A genius is a man who has a heart to feel nature.
Of course, nature means the very intrinsic character of whatever it is.
it means this ability not to see at, but to see in.
And a genius is a man with the boldness to follow nature.
When he finished speaking, he responded imperiously to questions from the audience.
Moments later, as suddenly as he’d appeared, he was gone.
We broke out in thunderous applause to an empty stage.
What do you think about architectural education?
I don’t believe in it.
CLAP
I imagined myself in ten years working as an architect...
George, the proposal is due tomorrow!
year.
I was impressed by his strength and passionate dedication to his vision of the world.
I couldn’t make a complete and unreserved commitment to architecture.
But I was troubled by his strong advocacy of a total commitment to architecture.
...suppressing a nagging regret.
...suppressing a nagging regret.
Besides, I was acting every day of my life…
...and I must have been good, because no one had guessed my secret.
Frank Lloyd Wright’s words haunted me for the rest of the
Los Angeles, Easter 1957
I was home on a brief holiday visit, but I felt ill at ease.
…but I couldn’t find the right words or occasion.
The dinner table was too crowded.
I planned to have a serious talk with Daddy...
And he was too stressed out after work.
Finally, the moment came. George, come sit…
I felt the anxiety of time slipping away.
Daddy, I’ve been giving my future a lot of thought.
I love architecture, but I’m afraid to live my life with regret.
I’m so grateful for everything you and Mama have done for me… but I have to be true to myself.
Then I said, in one breath, something I had never before said aloud.
I want to go to New York and study at the Actors Studio.
Daddy, I want to be an actor.
A moment of silence hung like an eternity.
Then he said the words for which I had steeled myself.
You love acting, and you think becoming an actor will give you happiness.
All you know is the glamor you see on stage and on screen.
And as a Japanese American, the kinds of roles available to you will be limited. But there’s no security.
I knew that we would eventually be having this discussion.
There’s no dignity in that kind of life.
He had expected this!
I did not expect that.
You have been distressed. it has troubled me.
Your mother and I wish for our children to be happy.
We don’t think you’ll be happy with the kind of life an actor has to live.
I need you to have the same faith in this decision…
…as you did when I wanted to study architecture.
I know there are no guarantees for actors. I’m going into this with eyes wide open.
But I’m strong and determined, and I will not disappoint you.
Do what you are so determined to do. Become the best that you can be. We want you to be happy.
You’re determined, are you? Yes. Then do it.
But there is an alternative I want you to consider.
The Actors Studio is a fine acting school, but when you finish you won’t leave with an academic degree.
U.C.L.A. has a distinguished school of theater.
Study theater and acting there, and when you graduate you'll have a bachelor's degree.
I… I don’t know what to say.
I hadn’t expected Daddy to turn the tables by accepting my cause.
Daddy, I--
if you go to New York, you should be prepared to do it on your own.
You ought to know that New York is a tough place… ...a merciless place… ...an expensive place.
On the other hand... if you study acting at U.C.L.A., we would be happy to cover your expenses.
New York on my own…
There it was. The deal.
…versus U.C.L.A. with a subsidy.
it was the classic offer you couldn’t refuse.
I… I guess we can try that.
He knew I wouldn’t be able to resist the financial assistance.
I’m gonna do it. I’m going to U.C.L.A. to study acting.
Back at Berkeley, I filled out my transfer papers and readied myself to be an actor.
That summer of 1957, my determination to be an actor may have seemed unrealistic…
Now where is that number?!
it began when I looked up an agent I had met on the MGM studio lot while working on Rodan.
Yes, this is George Takei calling for Fred ishimoto...
....but even before starting at U.C.L.A., I caught lightning in a bottle.
I’d secreted the card away with other mementos of my theatrical dreams.
I never thought I would actually be using it.
I can meet Mr. ishimoto at his office. What’s the address?
A Japanese American man named Fred ishimoto.
Fred greeted me in his Sunset Boulevard office…
…yes, back when I was a beer salesman, I knew your father from his grocery store days...
So I went back to my old summer job.
George! Did you get the order for Mrs. Johnson?
George, go to school and get your degree first.
At least Fred said he would call if anything came up that was right for me.
You did a good job on Rodan. You handled yourself well on the soundstage.
I was impressed.
So would you consider being my agent?
Thanks for taking the time to meet, and the great advice.
Of course! if anything should come up in the meantime, I’ll be happy to let you know.
He sounded a bit like my father.
About a month later, he called.
Hello, Takei residence.
George, it’s Fred.
Something has come up that you might want to check out.
it’s Playhouse 90. Now don’t get all worked up over it. There’ll be competition for this one… ...but I thought the interview process might be a useful experience for you to have.
I couldn’t believe my luck. Playhouse 90 had helped inform my love of acting.
As I walked onto the sprawling new CBS facility dubbed “television city,” Fred's words stayed with me.
during my reading with the show’s casting director...
Okay, George, let’s take it from the top…
…I wondered if I should be represented by someone with more confidence in my capabilities.
But soon Fred called with more good news.
I had a callback to read for the director, Herbert Hirschman.
Give him a good reading.
Even if you don't get this one, he'll be casting other projects.
CBS delivered a scene from the script for me to look over and prepare. My part was that of a young Japanese soldier returning to a devastated post-war Japan.
They say the Americans are the conquerors…and the conquerors are the mighty… ...and the mighty are the right.
The test scene was between my character and the defense attorney, in a grim jail cell.
it was a strong, dramatic scene. The kind I would have loved doing in my acting workshop.
But now I was to read the scene before a distinguished director for Playhouse 90…
…a name I recognized from the show’s credits.
I hungered for the part, but my fervor was mixed with anxiety….
...after all, this was Playhouse 90!
Hey there, George. Thanks for coming.
George, we’ll have you read with William here…
Are you ready, Mr. Hirschman?
The young assistant recited his lines in a flat monotone voice.
Hot tears of frustration streamed down my cheeks.
There’s evidence that suggests you were the last person she...
I resented it, but as he droned on, an uncontrollable anger began to well up inside me.
I wish to see my father and my sister.
A long beat followed my performance…
That was very nice, George. Thank you.
I exited as quickly as I could.
A few days later, Fred called to deliver the news.
Young man… it looks like we’re starting out from the top.
I landed a role in an episode called “Made in Japan.”
During our two weeks of rehearsals, I worked with many outstanding talents who taught me a great deal.
Playhouse 90 was an hour and a half of the best live original drama on television.
We’re going to have a great performance.
And now I was a part of it.
I’m really proud of you.
I guess he thought I’d forgotten about the doubt he’d expressed earlier on.
HARRY GUARDiNO
NOBU McCARTHY
DEAN STOCKWELL
E. G. MARSHALL
ROBERT VAUGHN
DiCK YORK
After Playhouse 90, the rest of the summer was something of an anticlimax.
These should look great with the wallpaper.
Hanging venetian blinds was just an intermission before the next act.
I was now a veteran of live television and sci-fi dubbing…
…eager to take on the challenges of academic theater.
I am the opposite of a stage magician. He gives you illusion that has the appearance of truth. I give you truth in the pleasant guise of illusion.
As the only Asian American student in the Theater Arts Department, I had many good casting opportunities.
Thank you to everyone for this great honor!
it was fun and engrossing. But I worked hard and I was lucky.
I earned back-to-back recognition in 1959 and 1960 as U.C.L.A.’s Best Supporting Actor of the Year.
My acting pursuits showed me that the harder I worked, the luckier I seemed to get.
Tennessee Williams, The Glass Menagerie
But I was about to learn…
…that luck didn’t always follow me into the political arena.
here we are…
I’m going to show you democracy in action. if you say so.
…Adlai Stevenson campaign headquarters!
Once all settled into the rhythm of the tasks, we got to chat with the other volunteers.
I’m
studying poli sci.
I study theater arts.
But… What will you do for a living?!
I’m Getting close to completing my journalism requirements.
We were impressed with the diversity of the volunteers as well as their commitment to Governor Stevenson.
Well, I’m going to be an actor.
What about you?
What kind of films are you thinking about?
I plan to be very selective about the films I do.
You know, looking for scripts with Academy Award potential. Actually, I see him making a good drama teacher.
Ah! Of course!
With that, focus drifted and we returned to the regular routine.
George, can you give me a hand with these?
I continued to go back to the Stevenson headquarters and became a regular volunteer on the campaign.
Soon I had the job of “spontaneous” rally coordinator.
The night of the party’s official nomination vote…
I held events at the Biltmore Hotel…
…and then the Los Angeles Sports Arena…
...which played host to the 1960 Democratic National Convention.
I submit to you a man who is NOT the favorite son of any one state.
Let’s hear it for Adlai! Hooray!
I submit to you the man who is the favorite son of FIFTY states…
I was moved by Eugene McCarthy’s impassioned speech placing Adlai Stevenson’s name in contention.
Well, we did our part.
it’s in the delegates’ hands now.
The campaign had shown me the power of people working together. it was a great lesson.
I’m so nervous, I can’t look!
...we watched from Stevenson Campaign Headquarters.
Of course, the Democratic nomination of 1960 did not go to Stevenson…
The torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans…
…unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this nation has always been committed…
...but to an eloquent young politician named John Fitzgerald Kennedy.
ADLAi STEVENSON of illinois!
Acting and activism were keeping me busy off campus…
...but I remained engaged with on-campus thespian activities.
Our show Portraits in Greasepaint featured vignettes from landmark theatrical productions.
That is what I know how to do.
That’s how I met a friend named Michael Colfax.
Michael was wonderful in a dramatic scene from Lillian Hellman’s Watch on the Rhine.
hoThough related to a peer, I can r u hand, reef, and steer…
u And ship a ho selvagee!
And I had great fun singing “I am the Captain of the Pinafore,” a Gilbert and Sullivan classic, in my best, clipped, upper-class English accent.
We had a lot of fun with that production…
Let us get a picture! Snap!
...and out of that grew our long friendship.
George, come have lunch with me at my father’s place across the street.
By “the street,” he was referring to Sunset Boulevard!
Any home over there would be in ritzy Bel Air.
Okay, sounds good.
I
had always had the sense Michael’s family was well-off…
Wow!! Michael! Your father lives here? Yeah.
...but I had no idea my friend came from such astonishing wealth.
Let’s have lunch on the terrace.
Hello, sir.
Hi, Edwin. This is George.
Hello, Edwin.
This is really good!
The cook makes great food.
Over lunch, Michael told me that his father was the president of a pharmaceutical company.
Wow! Michael, that sounds so glamorous!
Terrace. Sure.
I’m quitting U.C.L.A. and moving to Rome!
if you’re ever in Europe, look me up. We could have some fun together.
He then surprised me with an announcement. it sounded like the work I’d already done on Rodan. But in Rome!
An italian studio needs help dubbing English dialogue into their sword and sandal movies.
I hoped to take him up on that someday.
h.m.s. pinafore. u.c.l.a.
and I’m never, never sick at sea!
one indispensable part of an actor’s career, like a key to a locked door, is a good agent.
what, never? Well, hardly ever!
what, never?
no, never!
I had that in fred ishimoto, who agreed to find other projects for me while I worked toward my degree.
hoyt bowers, warner brothers casting agent
But the labyrinthine corridors of Hollywood have many locked doors.
hey, george!
I heard warner brothers wants you to call. it’s urgent!
oh, I’m sure.
so an actor requires more than one friend with a key to open them.
no, really, there’s a message for you in the office!
someone said I have a message waiting? {puff}
call warner brothers right away!
do you mind if I use your phone? I need to call my agent.
fred, it’s george. I’ve got a message here from a hoyt bowers at warner bros.
can you check it out for me?
thanks very much for the phone. have a great day.
I strolled out as nonchalantly as I could, while inside I prickled with excitement like an electric current.
a major film studio--the same studio where tab hunter had become a star-had asked for me by name!
that was the start of a good run of motion picture opportunities.
in my very first film, ice palace, I worked with the iconic british thespian richard burton.
I was very fortunate.
His presence brought a great deal of experience to the production... and a precious opportunity for me to pepper him with questions.
how did they teach shakespeare in england when you were growing up?
I grew up, george, in the warm bosom of wales. speaking the honeyed sounds of god--welsh.
you didn’t grow up speaking english?!
this master of shakespeare and i had more in common than a love for the bard.
we had grown up bilingual, and learned to work professionally in a second language.
england! grow up in england! do you take me to be english?!
in our own ways, we were both outsiders.
a majority of one (1961)
ice palace (1960)
hell to eternity (1961)
june 9, 1960
but what I remember most from that exhilarating day…
…happened after the ceremony.
graduation day was a bright, sunlit, perfectly cloudless day...
did you think it would be so hot?
...if a bit uncomfortable under my cap and gown.
you did it. I’m so proud of you.
we did it. this belongs to you and mama, too.
you a real college graduate now.
this was a day they had been dreaming about for many years.
oh, we have a gift for you.
we just can’t hand it to you.
I don’t have a package to hand you.
well, you did it. you earned your bachelor of arts…
Oh, Daddy, you and Mama have given me so much already.
you had your heart set on going to new york…
this is the best gift you’ve given me.
...but you came here to u.c.l.a. because we wanted you to earn a degree.
…but now we want you to study some more.
you have talked about staying at u.c.l.a. for a master’s… and we fully support that. but that’s not all…
stratford-upon-avon was shakespeare’s birthplace.
I… I don’t know what to say. you don’t have to say anything.
go there and study to be the best actor you can be.
in england!
…we’ve also arranged for you to attend a summer session at the shakespeare institute in stratfordupon-avon.
I was stunned.
I sensed the profound meaning of this extraordinary graduation gift. daddy and mama believed in me!
I felt a surge of joy, gratitude, and overwhelming love.
thank you.
we agreed that I would join the u.c.l.a. master’s program that fall, and then study abroad in england the following summer--1961.
but as time passed and I began my graduate studies, I felt torn in a new way.
two of my professors, dr. james hatch and c. bernard jackson, were working to create a new musical called fly blackbird! we came to know them as “jim” and “jack.”
america of the early sixties was stirring with activism…
...and an emerging idea that the country must come to grips with the social corrosion of racial segregation.
greensboro, north carolina, 1960
montgomery, alabama, 1961
washington, d.c., 1963
the powerful lunch counter sit-ins demonstrated that rising resistance.
The Freedom Rides followed, traveling deep into southern states to challenge racism at great personal risk.
all the while, dr. martin luther king jr. focused the nation’s attention with charismatic speeches and large-scale nonviolent protests.
fly blackbird! grew out of this social ferment, opening just one year after the greensboro sit-ins.
the show depicted, in song and dance, the high-spirited adventures of a shock troop of idealistic college students…
now! not another day…
…as they struggled to right old wrongs.
the diverse cast, working in close collaboration with the writers, put a lot of ourselves into the show. I played “george.”
an oriental detective is always accompanied by a gong…
now! not another hour…s m t and a melody built on a pentatonic scale…
daddy, I’m very proud of this show… but there’s a problem.
it’s going to run through the dates of the summer stratford program.
hmm… what are you going to do?
and the message is too important! and temple blocks s n h s t j
my number with josie dotson was an opportunity to parody some of the frustrating stereotypes I faced as an asian actor.
…I’d like to stay and fulfill my role in the show. the character is called “george,” after all!
as usual, he allowed me to make my choice. but confronting his possible disappointment was never easy.
if that’s what you want to do… then I’m sure stratford will still be there when you’re ready.
that was daddy. always so supportive.
the production opened to thunderous ovations and great notices.
we enjoyed a good run in los angeles.
the rights had been sold to a new york producer.
it’s their show now, so they’re going to do it their way.
any of you that want to be considered for roles are welcome to try out.
but after six months, the show was closing.
the auditions are being held in new york city.
fly blackbird! was soaring across the country to newer heights in the big apple.
december 1961
for all my success in l.a., new york was still the focal point for all my stage fantasies.
I decided to dip into my savings and chase the blackbird.
josie! camille! thank you for meeting me!
I had passed up one chance to pursue acting there. I didn’t want to let this one slip away.
a number of my fellow cast members also decided to take a good bet and go to new york.
As I walked out into the cold, Josie’s big brown eyes were an especially welcome sight.
we would be the l.a. blackbirds.
george! welcome to new york! this must be it!
we rattled by subway into manhattan to my first address in the city…
..the tasteful-sounding sloanE house…
…which was actually the 34th street ymca.
when my turn came to audition at the mark hellinger theater, I was struck by the vastness of the space.
my voice grew louder. when I finished, I felt like an opera singer.
We gathered at the studio apartment I shared with Palmer Whitted and Jack Crowder...
...waiting anxiously for Jack Jackson to arrive with the casting news.
we are ready for miss dotson now. where is he?
thank you, mr. takei.
I knew the audition could go either way.
everyone, jack’s here!
he said “10 p.m. at the latest,” but it’s already past that…
I’m really sorry to report that only one of you was cast.
jack, you made the cut.
I watched as my roommate secured a part.
I’d have a front row seat to watch him live our dream.
george, I’m truly sorry it didn’t work out the way we wanted.
they have their own concept, and decided to go with another actor in the role of george.
I created the character! george is me! there was nothing we could do about it.
it took me a long time to come to grips with the fact I wouldn’t be part of the production.
I was now just another out-of-work actor in this big, cold city.
I knew josie would provide me with some comfort and met her at our usual spot.
why don’t you move in with me?
I’m not going to be able to make rent. I only have enough left in my savings for plane fare back to los angeles.
my sweet josie, whom I wanted to protect from this unforgiving city, was offering to be my guardian angel.
george! it’s jack!
believe me, I know how it must feel to you now. but the producers want to find out if you would consider stepping in.
A few months later, my “angel” delivered surprising news.
george, we’ve had a little problem with the show.
the actor we hired to play “george” is leaving.
let me think about it. i’ll call you back in an hour.
I spent that hour walking the streets.
finally I walked to a phone booth, swallowed my pride, and called jack.
in central park I saw the branches of trees, weathered and gray from cold blasts of winter...
...starting to sprout tender leaves.
I’ll do it. I’ll do “george.”
when is the blocking rehearsal?
the new york production of fly blackbird! was in its final weeks.
fly blackbird, fly blackbird! fly blackbird, rise into the air! v kl n hm
I played george until it closed.
nothing else had happened with my career besides a couple tv guest spots, like on the u.s. steel hour…
for my 25th birthday, josie threw a party at our apartment.
almost a year in manhattan… without much to show for it.
...and a few photo modeling gigs.
happy birthday, george!
The only theater work had been the last few weeks of Fly Blackbird!
in los angeles there had been a steady, upward progress to my career.
and most of all, I missed my family.
josie and I both decided it was time to go home.
oh, I’ve missed the sun! me too! los angeles
the first thing we did when we got back was drive up the coast to santa barbara.
the ocean breeze tasted so sweet. it was sublimely liberating after the overwhelming press of humanity in new york.
it also felt great to pick up where I had left off at u.c.l.a.
I had most of my credits for a master of arts degree. and an agent to reconnect with.
fred started off by listing all the TV and film projects he believed I’d missed during my time in new york.
fred, I don’t believe in crying over spilt milk.
boy, oh boy! send the kid to new york and he comes back dictating orders.
but I do believe in making sure the new milk I get has plenty of cream in it.
that’s your job-to get me the cream.
thanks to his efforts, I landed parts on The Eleventh Hour...
well, sir, yes, sir!
but he got right back to it.
...and a two-character episode of the twilight zone.
...mister roberts…
...my three sons…
...the gallant men…
on the set of walk, don’t run, I worked with screen legend cary grant.
study, study, study.
you’re such a studious young man, george.
why do you want to be a smart actor when all you need to be is dumb and handsome like me?
since I’m not as handsome as you…
...I thought I’d hedge my bet by trying to be a bit educated.
good idea. get educated. you’ll be so smart that you’ll become a producer.
and if you’re a really smart producer...
...you’ll be paying me millions to act in your movies.
study on, I say.
it didn’t work out quite like that…
…but I finally received my m.a. from u.c.l.a. in 1964.
I’m so proud! a master’s!
acting in television, film, los angeles, new york… and now two degrees. you’ve made us proud.
I couldn’t have done any of it without you, daddy. thank you!
that may be, but you put in the hard work and discipline.
now… how about that shakespeare program?
well, george, I have to admit that your plans seem to have worked out.
PART TWO
okay, we’re live in three… two…
now, you enunciate in real life.
george, I’ve got to ask you a question first before we get to your book.
you are the most enunciating guy I know. like, you say how-ar-d.
you are really into enunciating every word.
ha! ha! how-ar-duh.
right, on star trek you never did that.
as a kid, did you do that?
no, because I’m acting!
I’m not being me…
…I’m
being someone else.
as I headed to england, I was so excited. I couldn’t wait to learn about my true self.
but there was a mistake. we had nowhere to stay and no one to contact.
what should we do, george?
I thought you said we had a room tonight?
I arrived in london with another traveling student named duncan.
we had reservations at a bed-and-breakfast before proceeding to our final destinations.
that’s what I thought! did they double-book us?
pardon me, sir. we’re students from the united states. I’m traveling to stratford-upon-avon, but we’ve had trouble with our accommodations...
I’ve got an idea.
in a sign of true english hospitality, this employee led us into the side tracks…
george, do you think it’s safe?
we found an employee and I explained our situation.
...showing us to an offduty, side-track train.
this should suit you chaps.
this is more than adequate. thank you so much.
it was not the arrival I had imagined.
Two days later, after some sightseeing in London, I arrived at my original destination...
...a warm bedand-breakfast in stratford.
Everyone was hospitable, but as we gathered for evening cocktails...
what a relief…
what time do you want me to knock you up?
I’d soon learn…
…some unexpected phrasing put me on edge. mum, I’m off to the chemist.
darling, while you’re there, pick up a couple of fags for me.
ah, the american! welcome! did they suspect my secret?
sure thing.
cuppa, anyone?
aye, right chuffed he was. it was a proper cock-up. I’ll take one, mum.
…that british and american slang had important differences.
stratford itself was everything I’d imagined.
I made my pilgrimage to the old trinity church...
I jogged the three miles that shakespeare walked...
...to court anne hathaway at her family cottage.
I fed bread crumbs to the descendants of swans that have glided on the river avon since time immemorial.
...where Shakespeare’s aged bones lay moldering.
anyone hungry?
hey–ouch!
but I had no idea these graceful birds would be so angry and vicious.
travel is enriching and enlightening…
...and sometimes rather painful.
regardless, here in this sacred site...
...the birthplace and resting place of so much human drama...
…surrounded by lives that loved and fought, suffered and celebrated...
the course of true love never did run smooth.
at this post-graduate summer session, run by the university of birmingham…
...lectures were taught by an eclectic mix of visiting scholars.
...by entering this “green world,” Shakespeare's characters are transformed...
the small student body was mostly british...
...I was in heaven.
...with a sprinkling of international visitors like me.
Among this crowd, one young man caught my attention.
he always wore a black leather jacket and came to class riding an ear-splitting motorcycle.
He seemed quiet and shy. I didn’t usually see him mingle with others.
But when I spoke to him, he was quite friendly.
I’ve seen you around campus.
I’ve never met an American that was also an Asian who loved Shakespeare.
Well, we do exist. I may be from Los Angeles, but my father raised me as an Anglophile.
I’ve got an idea.
I think so. I’d love to see the countryside.
what do I do? hang onto you? are you okay with it? on your motorcycle?! are you okay with it?
you love england so much… want to go for a ride to the cotswolds?
yes. but I was thinking: are you kidding?
I’m george. what’s your name?
I’m colin. I think you’ll like the cotswolds.
I met colin the next saturday afternoon at the institute.
get on. what a perfect day to enjoy the outdoors.
okay, but I’ve never done this before.
there’s nothing to it. just get a good hold of me. here we go.
I was thrilled on so many levels.
...clinging onto this man’s leatherclad body…
the beautiful landscape… ...and the sheer terror over our speed with nothing to protect me.
this was my first-ever motorcycle ride!
and a lot of physical contact with another man in public.
we passed what looked like clusters of white cotton balls on the far grassy hillside.
we roared through charming little villages…
those are sheep.
I saw many along the way.
...groups of honey-yellow stone cottages made of the famous limestone unique to the cotswolds.
and passed through hamlets with beguiling names.
it was late afternoon by the time we returned to stratford-upon-avon.
The ride had been a wonderful experience... literally transporting in every way.
I wanted to get to know this hospitable man of few words a little bit better.
thank you so much for a fantastic tour.
I, uh… I really loved it.
I have a date with my girlfriend tonight. oh, I’m so sorry.
what do you think, let me buy you dinner tonight…
...to say thanks?
ah! no trouble. … thank you again for the great ride.
the vibrating motorcycle engine had stirred up pulsating fantasies that slowly subsided.
colin was straight.
Of course, the best part of Stratford-upon-Avon, and the crown jewel for all Shakespeare lovers, was the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre...
this massive 20th-century art deco structure dominated the banks of the river avon.
its size and style made it seem like an architectural showoff…
That year, the company was adapting Shakespeare’s history plays as an epic trilogy, The Wars of the Roses.
VI EDWARD IV RICHARD III
...home of the magnificent royal shakespeare company.
...but what was contained within those walls more than justified its demand for attention.
That season was truly--to quote Richard III in his opening speech--my...
...glorious summer by this son of york.
I saw all three memorable productions. despite my disappointment with colin…
…this summer would open up a whole new view of the world…
…as well as a whole new series of sensory experiences.
HENRY
york! next stop, york!
first, the walled city of york, where richard III had ruled.
after summer session at the shakespeare institute, I had a mad dash planned through the u.k….
...and then visits to some of the most interesting attractions I read about in my copy of arthur frommer’s europe on five dollars a day.
heading south again, I stayed in a bed-andbreakfast at windermere, in the fabled beauty of england’s lake district.
from york I took the train up to scotland and the fabled edinburgh international festival of performing arts.
I visited birmingham and its university to pay homage to their famous collection of shakespeariana.
...boarding shall begin in just a moment...
Then, after drinking my fill of the Bard, it was off to Spain to explore more of Europe.
Madrid was a major discovery.
¿Qué desea What would you el señor? like, sir? me gusta I’d like la tortilla, the tortilla, por favor. please.
I had assumed my time growing up in a Mexican American barrio would make me well-equipped for Spanish-speaking Madrid.
Ahora mismo I’ll bring it se lo traigo. right away.
For example, “tortilla” in Spain means “egg omelet.”
I found “tortilla” on the menu and thought: how wonderful, a familiar taste from my East L.A. days!
¡Buen Enjoy your provecho! meal!
¡Gracias… Thank you… señor! sir!
However, there were misunderstandings I didn’t anticipate.
¿Cómo está How is la tortilla? the tortilla? No es lo que esperaba, it’s not what I expected, ¡pero es deliciosa! but it’s delicious!
on my last night in madrid, I had something specific in mind.
flamenco is so singular to spanish culture.
The receptionist at my pensión had recommended a basement club called Cava de Flamenco.
¿puedo ofrecerle algo? can I get you anything?
quisiera una jarra de rioja. I’ll have a jug of rioja.
I had to see it performed.
bienvenido. welcome. hola. hello.
my drink arrived, then the entertainment commanded our attention.
and just as suddenly, it all stopped.
silence.
dancer appeared.
her body and arms writhed and twisted and gyrated.
then hard, pulsating stamping behind the curtain got louder and closer.
the rhythm changed and the men joined in, clapping to the beat of her pulsating feet.
the tempo and the graceful writhing built to an explosive finish.
it was electrifying!
a
oh, you’re american! thank god.
I haven’t spoken english in ages.
during a break in the performance, I spotted someone across the room.
eres de japón?
he thought I was from japan.
no, soy americano. japonés americano de los angeles.
how often was I going to have to go through this in europe?
I’m from boston... been living here for three years now. it’s good to hear english.
how’re you enjoying flamenco?
and I’m loving it.
I have a friend from japan who’s been here studying flamenco…
…so I took you to be like him.
actually, this is my first flamenco experience.
nope, I’m just a tourist devouring this wonderful culture.
and what do you do, living here in madrid for three years?
oh, I’m alfred, by the way. I’m an artist.
I paint and sculpt.
how did you learn your spanish?
I actually grew up in a mexican american barrio of east los angeles… the dancer’s eyes blazed.
for a brief flash our eyes locked.
that touch wasn’t accidental.
she glared.
I was thinking the same thing.
¡Qué fiera! She's wild!
My heart began to pound in rhythm with the flamenco beat.
after she’s finished, come see my art in my apartment.
his voice was deep and inviting.
the stamping, strumming, and clapping continued...
his hand followed and rested on mine.
my hand slipped under the table and rested on his muscular thigh.
our hearts
I’m an art lover. I’d love to… experience
your art.
my last night in madrid was as artful and as passionate and as rhythmic as flamenco.
alfred the sculptor had the face of a sculpture.
...and
throbbed together to the beat.
while madrid was steeped in formal tradition…
church of la sagrada fam í lia
I spent hours studying the incredible vision of architect antoni gaudi.
it had been under construction since 1882.
quedan diez there are ten torres más more spires por construir. still to be built.
... barcelona was bold, innovative, and proudly individualistic.
next stop, lyon! now boarding, lyon!
…though I fell asleep and missed my transfer…
then it was off to my next destination…
…waking up in lyon, france, instead of rome.
the attendant and I conversed in spanish, because he spoke no english and I didn’t know any french!
¡señor, está en el sir, you are in the lugar equivocado! wrong location!
benvenuto Welcome a roma! to Rome!
¡estoy intentando I’m trying to llegar a roma! get to rome!
michael!
it’s so good to see you, george!
ora in arrivo a roma--
I finally made it to the italian capital to reconnect with a good friend, Michael Colfax.
After dropping out of U.C.L.A., he was still living in Rome.
it really was good to see him.
you haven’t changed a bit!
you mean I’ve been here two years and not turned into an italian yet?
ha! you rascal!
how far to your flat? it’s a quick cab ride.
still the same over-the-top character I met on a production of portraits in greasepaint.
after graduation, when my parents offered to send me to europe…
...one of the first things I did was write to michael that I’d be visiting rome for a bonus excursion.
he wrote back telling me that I could stay with him there.
he said he had plenty of space.
thank you so much for having me.
the cab dropped us in front of a massive hunk of crumbling ancient history piled four stories tall.
here we are!
{hff!}
want a hand with the bags?
we’re almost there.
his letter said he had plenty of space and character.
sorry about the mess. this is it. he was right about that.
fortunately, michael’s place was only one floor up.
I’m totally free to be your personal guide!
I was grateful. I had a gig until yesterday. but you’re in luck. I’m now at liberty, as we actors like to say.
yeah, we actors also call that unemployment, I thought.
you must be famished and fatigued after that long journey.
so, how many days do I have with you here?
well, I have four days here, and then four in paris.
then I’m on a flight back to l.a.
let’s go to my favorite ristorante just around the corner.
o n t h
I’m yours, heart and soul I am yours!
a friend that passionately loves their city can be a wonderful guide.
oh my god, that’s not enough! that’s the only way this can work.
you’ve got to take two days away from paris and add it to your italian visit.
my friend said he can give us a ride to venice!
and you can throw away that “europe on $5 a day” book. you won’t be needing it in my italy. you’re my guest.
he’s a film critic for il Messaggero, the big newspaper in rome, and is serving on the jury of the venice film festival! but that leaves only two days for me in paris, of all cities!
you’d give up the magical floating city of venice entirely for two more days of paris?!
he was right, I decided. george! where are your values?!
now then... back to my place? you rascal, you.
that is so incredibly generous of you, michael.
thank you. I accept.
I knew I’d return to europe for a longer visit.
oh, what a relief! I was already spending more than I should have.
he was… a very welcoming host.
rome was a parade of pizzas, piazzas, palazzos, and countless fontanas… punctuated by pasta in myriad shapes, flavors, and presentations.
the experience was at once exhilarating, exhausting, and unforgettably enriching.
giorgio!
of course, all tourists in rome visit the ruins of the coliseum and the roman forum.
on my third morning in rome, we met michael’s film critic friend, guglielmo biraghi.
so much history.
my favorite piazza was the magnificent piazza navona.
these brawny bodies. every defined muscle…perfection!
this is the fountain of the four rivers by the great sculptor gian lorenzo bernini.
michael, you know so much! you’re a splendid host.
michael told me all about you. benvenuto a roma.
he acted as though we had known each other for ages.
Pile in, boys.
wait until you see venice!
and we were off for venice.
it was clear from the outset that Guglielmo loved and was passionate about his country. he provided running commentary on the many cities and regions as we passed….
in september they hold a festival…
see that road? if you follow it you’ll see...
over there is a fantastic vineyard with the best wine in italy!
I can’t ever thank you enough. what an informative tour!
how far does he have left to go to the film festival? not too far. it’s on lido, a big island outside the city.
now let’s get to it-the clock is ticking!
michael wasted no time showing me venice.
it feels like we’re in a movie. I knew you would appreciate it.
I was grateful he’d suggested I sacrifice two days in paris.
...eventually dropping us off at the Venice railway station, Stazione Santa Lucia.
michael, this has been fantastic. I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you.
...my denselypacked italian adventure came to an end.
it was a wonderful visit.
rialto bridge
LA fenice opera house ducal palazzo
guggenheim museum
europe’s crowning jewel is often considered to be paris. the city is a treasure trove of timeless art.
place de la concorde
unfortunately, when I visited the louvre to spend most of my precious day, it was packed with fellow tourists...
excusez-moi. excuse me.
...making it impossible to see Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece.
I drank deeply of the culture… the pushing and shoving by supposed art-lovers was an experience I would rather forget.
table for one, please.
bonsoir, monsieur.
superb!
on the last evening, I had a sumptuous experience at le relais voltaire.
…and reflected on my travels.
conciergerie
place de la bastille
arc de triomphe
eiffel tower
looking back on my whole european adventure...
ladies and gentlemen, welcome to los angeles, where the local time is--
it’s so great to see you all! the trip was wonderful!
please step forward when you are called!
...it was an effervescent and sometimes gloriously intoxicating high.
now… what was I supposed to do with my life?!
it meant waking up to the cold, hard light of reality.
coming home to america was the morning after the binge.
you have to tell us all about it!
europe had opened my eyes to so many new possibilities.
los angeles, 1965
settling back into my life as an actor, I needed to keep up with industry news.
...and that’s what I bought.
I’d spend over an hour looking at these bodybuilding magazines…
…wary of drawing too much attention. the consequences could be catastrophic.
the newsstand in hollywood had film trade magazines…
but at the far end, where there were fewer browsers…
maybe europe had broadened my horizons… and lowered my inhibitions.
whatever the reason, I felt a driving compulsion.
so
well, look at you…
...other publications were available.
…in my hometown, where I lived with my family and career…
I took those risks.
on las palmas, right off hollywood boulevard, heavy with pedestrian traffic…
back then, l.a. had free newspapers throughout the city.
they mostly advertised local retail businesses.
in one issue, I saw a small ad near the back page that caught my attention.
sensational headlines enticed readers and increased exposure for advertisers.
the bar’s address was on melrose avenue. not in the hip restaurant and bar neighborhood of hollywood…
I had a good idea what “bar for men” suggested.
...but off to the shabby far eastern end.
so one night I went to see for myself.
…but the entire front of this business was painted black--even the door and windows.
go to alley?! what alley?
I found the address…
there was no identifying signage.
then, I noticed something written over the door handle.
…and I followed.
I noticed a lone dark figure cross the street...
are we one tonight?
welcome sir, to the gentlemen’s club.
…and he thinks he’s being so clever, hiding that he’s gay...
no use… all of hollywood knows he’s gay…
I’m
sorry. I think I’m in the wrong place.
I left quickly.
the place was so fearful.
back in my car, I felt scared.
I kept seeing that young man. he didn’t seem happy.
I couldn’t live like that!
the older men didn’t either.
why did they keep using that word...
...when they seemed so unhappy?
that secret, plush, clandestine life…
I didn’t want that!
And so, while my brother got married... I remained alone.
…gay…
…gay…
in 1965, I was working on director howard hawks’ red line 7000 at paramount studios. I’d been cast as a crack race-car mechanic, kato.
did you know there’s a faggot bar right near this studio? nah, how’d you know it was a faggot bar? you one of them?
I’m not kiddin’. joe was riding with me last week and he told me it was a faggot bar. I said “no way.” but today, I was drivin’ past that bar and saw two guys holding hands going in there.
they were faggots, no question.
it was inexplicable… this feeling of silent harassment.
why did I live with this fear and scorn and lust and, yes, rage too, all bound together and tightly held within myself?
instantly I felt shame wrap around me like a net.
I could feel it viscerally, creeping all over my body like a wave of stinging goosebumps.
Seeing, or hearing, or even thinking of the trigger...
...would set off that tidal wave of emotion...
...and that sense of degradation.
but as I walked away, I also felt a sense of curiosity… mixed with desire.
I decided I’d go there after the film shoot was completed. I couldn’t risk anyone from the cast or crew seeing me.
I thought I knew the bar he was talking about…
One night, I decided I would do it. I parked my car one block away and walked to the front of the plain-looking façade.
for many days after the production closed down, I drove by that bar. but I didn’t go in.
…and I had heard the same things.
I felt like a dog sniffing out his territory.
would this be another frightening disappointment, like that creepy, back-alley “gentlemen’s club” for sad old men?
one beer, please.
I don’t think so. I’ve never been there, never heard of it.
a few asian cats hang out there.
one of them looked like you.
I could’ve sworn...
did I see you at the red raven?
was he good-looking? because all us asians look alike, you know.
he was gorgeous.
what do you say to that?
heh… listen, kid, we just met. in a gay bar, you gotta get a feel for who you’re talking to before you get flirty.
there could be an l.a.p.d. plant sitting right here… just waiting for you to hit on him. he’ll arrest you on the spot!
you gotta be careful.
was he coming on to me already? so quickly? I didn’t know what to say.
do I look that virginal?
frankly, this is my first time in a gay bar.
here we all know each other. you’re all right here. but I guess you don’t know any of us, am I right?
it’s dangerous being innocent in a place like this.
if the police raid, they’ll arrest everyone inside. they take you down to the station in a paddy wagon, fingerprint you, take your photo, and put your name on a list.
I guessed as much. they can ruin your life.
I learned an important lesson that night. I listened and was chastened.
being gay meant you had to always be wary…
I didn’t go to a gay bar for a long time after that. It was a bitterly disappointing irony. …especially in a gay bar.
August 12, 1965
it was a sultry summer evening whose night brought no relief.
A riot against police brutality had broken out in the “black ghetto” of Watts...
...and was spreading to other parts of the city.
we felt the searing rage that blasted out from the screen.
in those days, I had a habit of dropping in on jack jackson to shoot the breeze and eat dinner.
we were witnessing the collapse of the great american illusion…
the full incendiary weight of this history was exploding before our eyes.
I should be out there with them right now!
jack, it’s not safe! people have been shot!
we saw the wrenching spectacle of our city in rampage.
...that separation and equality can be maintained…
But this time, he was visibly upset when he answered the door.
I’m so angry, I could pick up a brick and throw it at anything!
...with doled-out tokens and promises long-delayed.
but I, too, felt rage and fear burning inside me.
everything we had struggled for was going up in flames.
my friend was in pain and there was nothing I could do.
and I heard my sobs joining with his.
After the riots, Jack and Josie intensified their determination to create a multi-ethnic American theater.
They were joined by Elaine Kashiki and Jeanne Joe.
This is an important step for bringing unity to the theater’s rich diversity.
I wanted to throw myself into this challenge with them.
I’m so proud of you all! Unity in diversity is the core of America’s future.
I shared the vision and the goal.
But at this point another dream entered my life.
…that sent me soaring into the galaxy. it was a version of that same ideal world… but situated in, of all places, a spaceship.
Hello?!
This fantastical dream started with a phone call…
When Gene Roddenberry welcomed us to the Desilu Culver studio, it was like entering another world.
ladies and gentlemen… welcome to star trek!
we’re so excited to begin filming our pilot!
there was the excited bustle of a new project about to be launched.
I was part of a cast of actors as diverse as our characters.
we were of many backgrounds, experiences, and histories.
james doohan
paul fix
sally kellerman
didn’t I see you in fly blackbird!?
you were great!
william shatner
thanks!
fictionally, we were transported into the twenty-third century…
...a diverse, multiracial, multi-species crew of a futuristic starship.
hi, I’m lloyd haynes.
andrea dromm
leonard nimoy
Our primo uomo was William Shatner, who pulled all eyes like some gravitational force. leonard nimoy was cast as mr. spock.
Captain Bill was top-billed-“Captain” both in behavior and in the character he played.
but what’s my motivation here? why does kirk care?! is leonard ready to join us? I am here.
he commanded the hub of all activity on the set.
…and startlingly exotic. I was intrigued how leonard stepped onto set for the first time completely and compellingly in character.
The actor that emerged was a surreal presence…
I could relate to committing one hundred percent to a character.
it was something I did every day of my life.
steady at warp three, captain.
I saw that leonard was constantly feeding his thoughts to the producers.
so I began my lobbying campaign for sulu.
captain kirk, my instruments show we’re receiving a message on subspace frequency three, ship-to-ship.
thank you, mr. sulu.
lloyd took another job, so when we went to series, his role was replaced by nichelle nichols as uhura.
I was proud to be a part of the show, but I wanted sulu to be doing more.
gene, we’ve said that sulu was number one in his academy class and that he’s the best helmsman in starfleet.
wouldn’t it make sense for him to be promoted?
good thought, george. remember, this is just the first season, and we’ve got to establish the basics…
…but we can develop the characters more next season.
the first season filming star trek was turbulent.
september 8, 1966
after months of laboring, we had reached our midway point on filming season one, and the television debut of star trek was upon us.
nbc sent me to chicago to promote the show’s premiere.
...and I play mr. sulu, an officer on the starship enterprise, made up of a diverse crew on a five-year mission to explore new worlds and new civilizations…
…boldly going where no man has gone before…
as a proud new uncle, I cradled my nephew
aren’t you just the cutest thing in the world?
{gurgle} {coo}
that was… interesting. but I’m not really a science fiction buff so I really can’t say...
but you were very… interesting.
they pay you for that, huh? ...that’s good.
after a morning of interviews, I was overjoyed to be picked up by my brother henry, his wife june, and their newborn son, scotty.
…where henry was doing graduate studies in periodontics at marquette university. space. the final frontier.
june! hurry! it’s starting now!
my first reviews were in.
ba ba {gurgle}
on the ride back to their home in milwaukee…
after the first season of star trek wrapped, I was offered a role in the green berets, the first hollywood film about the vietnam war, starring john wayne.
wayne would also be directing, and I knew going into it that he was a supporter of the war.
I have to be honest with you, mr. wayne, I am strongly opposed to the u.s. military’s involvement in the vietnam war.
I respect your opinion, george. david janssen and jim hutton feel as you do.
but I want you guys in this film because you’re the best actors for the job. and I’ll try to do what I can to make this a good picture.
I decided to do the green berets and hope for the best.
as I was preparing for the trip, gene gave me a gift that sent adrenaline shooting through me.
good luck with the movie. here’s something to whet your appetite for next season.
thank you, gene!
as promised, the scripts for next season had much more sulu.
but the production was running behind schedule, and the hiatus on star trek was quickly coming to an end.
would it be possible to move my scenes up? I need to get back to los angeles!
we shot the film on location at fort benning in georgia.
first, kill all stinkin’ cong.
then go home.
okay, george, I reckon we can accommodate you.
any chance of getting back in time for the start of shooting season two of star trek was washed away by the rain.
by the time I returned, most of the scripts I’d taken with me had been shot, with another actor brought in to read my lines!
greg, why do I have two costumes?
lines I’d lobbied for, that were written for me, had been spoken by some actor I’d never met, but already hated… walter koenig!
we’re short on dressing rooms, so you’re doubling up with walter today. sorry I didn’t tell you.
I hate this!
well, I don’t like it any better!
well, at least you don’t have to wear it. I feel ridiculous with this on!
this bird’s nest feels like a shih tzu perched on my head!
I was kept apart from my rival actor, alternating episodes, until one day…
were they trying to incite mayhem with this insult upon injury?!
seeing a fellow actor reduced to humiliation endeared him to me…
…the hate I’d felt replaced by acceptance.
walter was now a part of the team… and someone I would come to befriend.
on fridays we’d have pizza and beer at a wrap party.
my star trek colleagues were sophisticated people, so I suspected that a few of them might know about my sexuality…
...but they kept it to themselves. I had to depend on our friendship and their integrity.
should they talk, my career might be over.
no, I insisted they rewrite it. the scene needed to match kirk’s energy.
some people would invite their significant others.
george! you two made it!
anyone need a drink?
I would sometimes bring a girl “friend,” other times a male “buddy.”
I hoped they were aware of that.
Nichelle!
october 1967 throughout production we got a chance to know each other, building a strong rapport.
one day…
...have you seen anything good lately?
so, george...
“
regrettable…
but it will leave me in command.”
ooo, that gives me chills!
I turned to look... and saw this gorgeous hunk of a guy. A future matinee idol. a face to break your heart.
my heart stopped.
nothing to recommend, ha ha. but, uh, I guess they’re about to film the next scene.
well… uh...
I thought a smile might make the situation seem ambiguous.
he was trying to do me a favor…
I realized walter had urged me to check the guy out.
…but it put me on edge.
see you at the wrap party tomorrow? sure thing! wouldn’t miss it.
later, gene roddenberry held a party at his home in the hollywood hills.
it’s such a perfect night.
several of us cast members were there having a good time.
I had a date with me.
he was always a gracious host.
with this many people around, I had to be careful.
nothing just yet, though we heard about this great restaurant…
it was a double life. it seemed impossible to bridge the gap between my two realities.
then I got an idea.
so, maxine, you and george have any plans this weekend?
for big premieres and industry parties, I would take a female friend, to keep up appearances.
unexpectedly, I saw the chance to have a conversation with gene…
so I took the plunge.
...on a topic that had been increasingly weighing on me.
hey there, gene…
it sure is. you know how to throw a party.
great night, eh, george?
what’s on your mind?
my pleasure.
was it that obvious?
gene, we’ve tackled so many important reallife issues with star trek.
I appreciate that an awful lot, george.
it’s important to me that we use our platform to educate as well as entertain.
...but we haven’t touched on the gay liberation issue at all.
I want you to know how proud I am to be part of a show with so much integrity.
are there plans to do anything to feature that?
star trek has dealt with all these controversial issues… ...civil rights, the peace movement, labor…
yes, you’re right…
...two men walking hand-in-hand down the corridors of the enterprise.
I’m already walking a very tight rope with the show, dealing with all these social and political issues. if I did a show on gay issues, even metaphorically, that would eliminate the show.
I wouldn’t be able to make the statements that I am making if we were off the air.
so to keep the show on the air, we have to stay away from that issue.
...but I don’t think we will get to the point where we will see…
“we got a lot of network scrutiny over the kirk/uhura kiss, after those stations in louisiana refused to air it.
I’m sure there is tremendous pressure from the network.
“if we ever get ratings that low again... we will get canceled.”
and that’s why we do what we can, when we can.
hoping that someday… it makes a difference.
I’ll see you back at the party…
I understood it was a high-risk thing for any producer to be dealing with the gay issue on television.
yes, it’s a shame that prejudice and bigotry are so prevalent in this day and age.
that is certainly the truth.
that’s what gene was like. you could really connect.
well, thank you for listening, gene.
I do appreciate all you’ve done.
he was a genuine human being.
stop or I’ll shoot! I don’t want to have to kill a woman!
star trek, season three “that which survives”
regardless, we finished our network commitment.
how can such people be, captain?
such evil… and she’s so, so beautiful.
okay everyone, good take. let’s bring it in for a quick announcement…
you do not understand. I have come for you. I want to touch you.
... star trek was getting canceled. argh!
While filming our third season, we got the news...
after all, we were professionals.
as a newly unemployed actor, I returned to the hollywood unemployment office.
I would often see the same out-of-work actors.
hey george, you back on the dole?
afraid so. how’ve you been?
…although we were never there for happy reasons. there was good camaraderie…
on the plus side, being “between engagements” gave me more time to spend with my brother’s adorable children.
You said City Hall used to be the tallest building in the city… But now there are so many taller ones?
and I was always happy to provide volunteer cab service after school.
Uncle George, you forgot us!
How can I forget my dear ones? My meeting ran over just a bit.
scotty enjoyed hiking and learning about the history of los angeles.
We now have {huff} engineering technology that can {puff} better withstand earthquakes… {wheeze} So the regulations--
I’m sweaty.
Akemi felt the opposite.
Still, I couldn't be a full-time uncle forever.
I had to keep my career momentum up.
I was only late that one time!
luckily I had my trusted agent, fred ishimoto.
I’ve got some feelers out there for you, george. we’ll get something lined up in no time.
while filming star trek, I’d used discretion. I’d avoided gay bars.
but it had been a long three years.
“...how do you think I’m holding up?”
how are you holding up? well, fred…
I’d driven by the windup every day on my way to the studio.
I yearned for the warm sense of safe refuge among friendly gay men.
the windup hadn’t changed.
but looks can be deceiving.
nice break!
I was greeted by the friendly aroma of beer.
cheer filled the air.
could anyone here be undercover?
this is where I’d learned about police raids on gay bars.
the risk was there…
…but the desire was stronger.
eight ball, corner pocket! it had been too long.
you must be thirsty. get you another?
please! it’s been so hot, but that is refreshing.
this is in greenwich village, in new york?
Suddenly, I heard two guys having an intense conversation.
yeah! the stonewall inn.
what’s this in the village?
police being attacked by gays?
the police raided the stonewall inn and the gays are fighting back.
it’s been going on since last night.
they’re standing up and fighting back! it’s incredible! the police are cowed by the rage of gays!
What I overheard was shocking.
gays are pouring out of their apartments…
...throwing beer bottles at the police!
how’d you find out?
a friend called me last night from new york. said the police raided stonewall.
“I guess it was a typical night until…
“it’s a war going on!”
wow! gays fighting back against the police!
you’re under arrest!
it’s a raid! run!
“the n.y.p.d. had to call for backup reinforcements.
and it’s still going on since last night?
then it struck me. fear!
A raid could happen right here, At the Windup!
I’ve got to get out of here!
I put my beer on the bar and rushed out.
thinking about the police raiding gay bars…
...it just seemed so hateful.
it reminded me of an earlier incident I’d heard about, at the Black Cat here in Los Angeles.
it was new year’s eve and people were celebrating.
no one was being hurt.
just after midnight, undercover l.a.p.d. officers raided the bar.
everybody, stay where you are!
patrons were beaten and dragged into the street.
the police were the ones assaulting.
don’t you move or speak! you do what I say!
it’s a raid! run!
it wasn’t arbitrary. They didn’t raid other neighborhood bars.
it was so prejudiced.
it also recalled the brutal police attacks on the demonstrators at civil rights marches.
fly blackbird, fly--
it’s unjust! outrageous!
Fly blackbird, rise into the air--
I myself had marched at civil rights rallies with the cast of fly blackbird.
And now… I was driving home in fear.
I was singing out against injustice! I was standing up for justice!
BUT I kept on driving home.
I felt shame. I felt scared. I felt cowardly.
I couldn’t be caught in a gay bar raid.
the next morning, guilt hung heavily over me…
those stonewall resisters were fighting… sacrificing their jobs and their careers.
who the hell did that?! leave us alone!
well, now what?
After three years of steady work on Star Trek, the days ahead looked empty.
...as well as the reality that I was now unemployed.
then I felt the panic of every unemployed actor-will I ever work again?
I am gay.
they weren’t hurting anybody!
and yet I was protecting my job…
but there I was, silent.
they were fighting for my rights.
that anxiety, merged with my sense of hypocrisy, was agonizing.
...a craft that I’d struggled so hard to build up.
if I spoke out, I might never work as an actor again.
once again I felt the torment coursing through my body.
when star trek began, I had been pursuing my own career ambitions. I wasn’t seeking to become an emblematic image.
but being of asian descent, I knew the responsibilities that came with my career choice…
...always mindful that, on screen, I represented more than just myself.
but in the real world, the “sides” were less clear-cut.
I came back from vietnam in 1967… and I still haven’t seen the end of the war in sight yet.
they’re asking me to shoot at people… but they look just like me.
I still see massive reports of casualties of vietnamese people, who I identify greatly with and consider them just as much human beings as americans.
I sympathized with the vietnamese as well as the veterans who were speaking out against the war.
still trying to run away from us, sir.
don’t lose him, mr. sulu.
sulu was one of our heroes, on “our side,” and I was proud to play the role.
I had my own statements to make on the course of events in our country.
but to do that, I couldn’t remain behind the guise of my fictional character.
like my father had demonstrated for me, I had to become politically engaged with the challenges of my time.
so in 1970, I threw myself into a larger political arena…
Congressman Brown was the first member of Congress to vote against the Vietnam war, and I supported him all the way.
We’re going to bring this war--this madness of our society--to an end.
Although in the end he was defeated...
…as a chair of the asian american committee in the george brown senatorial campaign.
There was a group of anti-war activists in Hollywood called the Entertainment industry for Peace and Justice (E.i.P.J.).
…the scope of my political aspirations was spreading.
I was a member, as were fellow actors jane fonda and donald sutherland.
what have we become as a nation if we are trying to exterminate an entire people?
but we saw very few asian americans in the crowd at these vietnam peace rallies.
their reticence was understandable due to past persecution.
we got incarcerated because we stood out.
they did not want to be visible.
we had to find a comfortable way for asian americans still bearing the scars of history to participate.
our democracy was dependent on it.
I went to jane for help, explaining how my community’s history had led to this reluctance to be seen in the open.
I know that asian americans feel strongly opposed to the war… …if the rally were held safely indoors, I think the community would show up.
the “biltmore bowl” filled up quickly with approximately 2,300 people in attendance.
I was the m.c.
I understand, george. here, let me write you a check. how much do you need?
may 16, 1971
we wanted to find an uplifting name that was not too sensational, so we settled on “peace sunday.”
japanese american u.s. representative from hawaii spark matsunaga, a decorated veteran of the 442nd regimental combat unit, was our keynote speaker.
welcome! thank you all for coming! the war must end.
jane’s generous donation made it possible to finance the event.
it was held at the dignified biltmore hotel in downtown los angeles.
jane showed her support by reading a poem, along with fellow thespian france nuyen.
japanese american citizens league regional director jeff matsui was also involved, as was a law student named mike murase.
it was a successful event that paved the way for more asian americans to be visibly engaged in political movements…
…like when I joined a group of japanese americans demonstrating outside the los angeles federal building to protest nuclear testing in the aleutian islands.
mr. takei, in view of the fact the president has decided to go ahead with this bomb blast, what do you hope to accomplish?
president nixon is the only one who can stop this bombing.
in 1972, when george mcgovern ran for president, a friend of mine owned an office building in little tokyo.
we have some here who are survivors of the bombing of nagasaki and hiroshima. I myself lost an aunt.
one of its walls had great visibility coming down first street from the civic center, so I got permission to put up a george m cgovern sign.
later I served the campaign as an official delegate at the democratic national convention in miami beach.
I got a small space there donated as m cgovern’s little tokyo headquarters.
when mrs. m cgovern arrived for the ribbon-cutting…
Don’t you look darling! What’s your name?
...my young niece Akemi greeted her dressed in a Japanese kimono.
tonight I accept your nomination with a full and grateful heart.
those who lingered on the brink of despair only a short time ago have been brought into this campaign, heart, hand, head, and soul.
I’m Akemi.
m cgovern ran on a platform of ending the vietnam war…
...and his most passionate issues included gay rights, health care, and support for low-income workers.
I have no doubt that president nixon can be defeated.
I think the people are sick and tired of a war that never ends, which president nixon has not ended...
…I think they’re tired of a tax system that favors the powerful and penalizes the rest of us…
…and I believe the people of this country will respond to the kind of leadership that appeals to what is best in us.
however, a majority of the electorate viewed him as too radical, and nixon won re-election in a landslide.
the presidency belongs to someone else, but we will shed no tears…
…because all of this effort, I am positive, will bear fruit for years to come.
we will press on with that effort until all the bloodshed and all the sorrow have ended once and for all.
...his campaign popularized and organized anti-war sentiment across the country.
Although McGovern lost the election...
Around this time, I had come to admire L.A. city councilman Tom Bradley.
GEORGE, I’m thinking about making another run for mayor. can I count on your help?
after a vigorous campaign, the voter numbers poured in on election night of 1973 as we gathered together to watch the results.
in a
…the man who, three decades prior, had stirred up fear and
During his first run for mayor of Los Angeles in 1969, I had led the Japanese Americans for Tom Bradley committee, and we’d become good friends. Four years later...
yorty just conceded. we won!
of course.
I, thomas bradley... do solemnly swear… ...do solemnly swear…
I’m proud of our victory. but more importantly I’m proud of you. your rejection of the appeals to racial prejudice will serve as a historic monument to the political process of this country.
history was made that evening as tom bradley was elected the first black mayor of los angeles.
twist of irony, mayor bradley was sworn in by chief justice earl warren...
hatred against japanese americans for his own political gain.
bradley’s win left a vacancy in his city council seat.
george, there has never been an asian councilman.
this would be a unique opportunity to bring diversity to the civic body.
FRIENDS I had made as a political volunteer began urging me to run.
but I had one gnawing, hidden qualm.
if “opposition research” came into play, would the fact that I am gay be exposed?
suppressing this secret fear, I moved forward…
the race and my career would be over.
I dove in, determined to inspire new voter participation…
ours is a people’s democracy, and the strength of our democracy…
…on a meaningful but high-risk venture.
thanks for all your help!
…is dependent on us actively participating.
...engage people on issues, and learn about their concerns.
but my caution over “opposition researchers” made me guarded with some people.
especially good-looking male volunteers. could he be an undercover plant ?
I assembled a crack team of campaign volunteers, including sharp political professionals, law Students, activists, and fans.
marj shinno, my campaign manager, was a savvy political strategist with a long history in electoral politics.
my family couldn’t have been more supportive. mama kept the volunteers well-fed…
george, I’m volunteering not for you but for your mother’s sushi!
I did notice you didn’t show up on “hot dog day,” david! {ha ha}
…george, they’re going to want you to speak. can you get a speech prepared?
my father pitched in wherever he was needed, exuding pride and taking joy in every detail of my candidacy.
george takei would be the first asian american councilman in los angeles history!
that alone made me glad I had decided to run.
…including star trek writers dorothy fontana and david gerrold.
plus, I loved campaigning.
I walked the precincts, going from door to door, listening to voters in their homes.
talking with neighbors about the concerns of the neighborhood is the foundation of our democracy.
what are your favorite subjects in school? do they offer drama?
my star trek family lent their support, with walter koenig speaking on my behalf at rallies…
gene roddenberry himself gave the keynote speech
my first fundraising dinner, setting just the right note for my candidacy.
george takei can bring us together for a common cause… ...to make los angeles better for all its citizens.
at
…and nichelle nichols brought the house down with a song.
the old pros told me that one of the first rules of running for office is never let people see you sweat.
as the faces in the crowd looked up at me, my secret fear prickled silently through my body.
during the campaign, the one thing that absolutely terrorized me, that I had to keep suppressed, was the fear of being exposed as gay.
suppress the dread… control yourself… rein it in… it won’t happen… it won’t happen to me, I prayed.
but, thankfully, it never happened.
living in constant fear of exposure during my run for office was draining.
mr. takei, are you worried…
…that your celebrity will distract from the issues?
every time I did a press interview, I was bracing for that question.
daddy? is everything okay?
what did happen was unforeseen.
my father was an activist and a democrat, the farthest thing from a communist.
thank you, mr. takei!
a rumor began circulating within the japanese american community, a significant part of my base.
me, a communist?! the idea is preposterous!
but if we make a statement denying the rumor, then it will become an issue.
george takei’s father used to be a communist!
we never found out how it got started.
he had no idea there were such evil-minded people, who stain people’s good name with lies.
it was a mean-spirited game.
so we showed restraint and said nothing. the rumor eventually faded away.
september 18, 1973
election night
running for office was an exciting, exhausting, exhilarating, and enervating experience… but enormously fulfilling.
as the numbers flowed in, the race began to seesaw between myself and cunningham.
congratulations on a trailblazing campaign!
with spirited exhaustion, I gathered with my campaign staff in the back of a coffee shop as the votes were counted.
he was ahead at one point, then I was.
The results are in for the 10th district...
it’s a two-man race between david cunningham and george takei...
After a hard-fought battle, I conceded the election. it was a sliver.
this is george takei for david…
I lost by just 1,647 votes. but I had learned so much in the process.
...david cunningham has won the race.
my friend leonard nimoy stood up for me in a different way that same year…
I don’t know, sir… you have to be inscrutable. 1973
...when I was hired to voice sulu in star trek: the animated series.
at first, the studio was going to hire james doohan to voice scotty and sulu…
...and majel barret to voice uhura’s sometimes-replacement lieutenant m'ress.
but leonard put his foot down.
george and nichelle represent the ethnic diversity of the 23rd century.
if they cannot be included in this project, then I’m not interested in doing this project.
it was an extraordinary stance…
see you tomorrow.
it’s more than just physical, you know.
he also knew we could use the money.
…an actor risking his gig to save two other actors’ gigs.
one day mayor tom bradley called on me.
sure, is r.t.d. holding some banquet that you need me to attend for you?
george, I’m asking you to be my appointee to a seat on their board of directors. George, I could use your help with something.
tom, I’d be happy to help you in whatever way I can.
...and you’re a citizen-activist who is a good, quick study.
you may even bring more background than some of the other board members.
mayor bradley was offering me the opportunity to influence urban planning in my home city of los angeles.
I’d like to ask you to represent me on the r.t.d. board.
the southern california rapid transit district, or s.c.r.t.d., was the government agency in charge of public transportation for the region.
but… tom, I’m an actor. I don’t have any experience--
if I remember your bio, you studied architecture and urban planning…
let me send you some material for you to look over, then you let me know.
it was an enticing challenge I couldn’t refuse.
I accepted.
initially, the press had fun with the mayor’s appointing an actor to the board.
mayor bradley, are you sure you’re not casting a movie?
…and that will provide easy access for l.a. city college students…
america has been watching george takei drive a public transportation vehicle called the u.s.s. enterprise all over the galaxy.
tom bradley’s mandate to me was to get the r.t.d. started on building…
george, I can’t wait to see what the board comes up with.
now you’re going to see how he can get the people from downtown l.a. to van nuys, and from east l.a. to culver city.
…a modern heavy-rail rapid transit subway system in los angeles.
he had made this a priority in his mayoral campaign, vigorously advocating the need for improved public transportation, and I had campaigned on it myself during my city council race.
it was essential to making los angeles a strong urban center, but also to addressing air pollution, traffic congestion, and land use issues.
we went to london, dublin, paris…
many years later, I was offered a guest role on the simpsons for the “monorail” episode.
I turned it down because I felt it would be irresponsible of me, after making policy on public transit, to be making fun of it.
my friend and trek costar, leonard, filled in.
as part of our research, I visited subway systems in great cities around the world.
hong kong, and singapore.
well, my work here is done.
…tokyo,
building public transit is hugely expensive.
s.c.r.t.d. made many trips to washington, d.c., to lobby for federal funding...
casting a gray cloud over all of this was my constant fear of getting exposed as gay.
...before traveling to sacramento for state and county contributions.
...the county of los angeles would benefit greatly for generations to come with a subway system in place, reducing air pollution, traffic congestion…
but I had committed to a mission to build that subway system and was not going to let my fears get in the way of my promise.
thank you for your time.
like acting, or running for office, transit advocacy was a very visible, public business.
the ‘70s were one of the most active and productive periods of my public life…
...but also the most intensely torturous times of my private life.
at one regional transit conference in indianapolis, I was stretching my legs after a consuming day of meetings…
suppression of powerful sexual compulsion makes some take dangerous risks.
I became flushed with energy and desire.
the day had been draining, but suddenly, without any warning…
…when I noticed a building across the street.
…my secret compulsion
I took those risks.
hit me.
hi.
…hi.
…hi!
oh!
I saw a sudden flash of recognition across his face.
the sparkle of joy in his eyes yelled “sulu!”
I’d thought I was anonymous because star trek was done and off the air.
have a good time.
once again I felt trapped. I was a vocal, visible member of a public transportation agency… and a television celebrity.
I quickly got dressed and went back to my hotel room.
suddenly I felt chills.
I worried for days, months, then years about the repercussions of that event.
Would that young man talk? Might he be believed? What might happen to me?
I lived every day terrified that, at any moment, an article would come out exposing me as a gay man.
BUT MY LUCK HELD.
My duties to the R.T.D. were temporarily put on hold in 1978 for the filming of Star Trek: The Motion Picture.
...because it was important for me to be downtown to help a funding vote pass.
helm control restored.
I’ll be back as soon as possible!
one day I had to get excused from set for about three hours...
once the funding was all put together, we had dozens of public hearings on the new system to determine where exactly the routes and stations should be located.
we could use a station at vermont, for l.a. city college students.
once star trek: the motion picture reignited the franchise, fan conventions became a bigger and bigger part of life for me and my castmates.
I’m afraid that due to the weather conditions we are unable to land. We’ll continue circling, and once it’s safe--
what’s the next flight to chicago?!
I need to make my connection!
We had only minutes before our flight was scheduled to take off. Of course, the gate for our connection was the farthest from our landing gate.
We were traveling to one such event in Charleston, West Virginia, connecting through Pittsburgh... when a fierce storm threatened our plans.
if we don’t land soon, we’ll miss our connecting flight to charleston!
please! one at a time!
finally, we landed safely, but the airport was in confused chaos, with passengers fighting for nonexistent connections.
I’ll hold the plane!
where is nichelle?! {puff} and jimmy?!
I’ll get them while you plead with the flight attendant to hold the door! don’t let the plane take off without US!
they were right {huff} behind me!
we have to hurry! our plane’s about to take flight!
jimmy, you go ahead! I’ve got nichelle!
I’ll put one foot on the plane and one on the jetway until you’re back!
TAKE OFF YOUR SHOES!
sorry, I tried.
what do you mean all the hotels are full?!?
they told me the nearest motel with accommodations is an hour’s drive away.
an hour?!
after a harrowing drive on curvy mountain roads, we finally made it to the motel. having missed our connection, we were now stuck in pittsburgh for the night. we better hail a cab.
the motel only had two vacancies that night.
I drew the short straw. two rooms… four of us.
So how does this work? Draw straws?
here we are.
one of us would have to share a room with nichelle.
SEEMS FAiR TO ME.
looks like it’s you and me, george.
this isn’t much, but I guess it’ll do.
ah…one bed.
being a gentleman, I offered to sleep on the couch.
darling, get yo’ body in this bed… ...I know you’re not going to do anything.
maybe there’s an extra blanket--
george, I know who you are…
so yes, I slept in a bed with nichelle nichols.
she was a true friend, and I will always be grateful for the trust we shared.
I slept well that night.
or should I say “we”?
spring 1982
greg’s blue dot, los angeles
At some gay bars they had these free newspapers...
...and I spotted an article in one about a gay running club called los angeles frontrunners. it sounded interesting.
I’d loved running since my middle school days, but it was a solitary sport, and I’m a social guy.
I wanted to run with other runners.
one saturday morning, I showed up at a “fun run” hosted by the frontrunners.
it was a community of distance runners made up of an assorted mix of professionals… lawyers, accountants, writers, doctors, and so on.
I didn’t know it at the time, but this club would be a major turning point in my life.
the minute I arrived, I started hearing excited whispers...
welcome to the l.a. frontrunners! I'm the club president, Darrel.
I’d like to introduce you when I make some announcements before we begin the run. what’s your name?
I HAD BEEN RECOGNiZED.
gay bars were one thing. it was within four walls, with most people there living closeted lives themselves.
Could I risk being seen in public with a known group of gay people? this seemed verging on self-destruction.
Hi. Thanks for the welcome, but you can skip introducing me.
I’m just here to run with you guys, low-profile…
oh, don’t be silly. they already seem to recognize you. but I don’t know who you are… to bring your ego down to earth.
these guys are cool. they won’t talk, whoever you are.
so, who are you?
okay, you can introduce me as george.
…Star Trek… psst psst... Sulu...
...and our final order of business before we run...
I can’t {huff} believe it! sulu’s running with us!
It was Paul Chen, a flight attendant, who first recognized me.
then why are you running with a gay running club? {puff} you heard the applause after you were introduced.
...I’d like to welcome our newest member, george!
before I knew it, I was off on my first “gay” run.
we know who you are, so why are you so shy?
yeah, {pant} but I’m trying to be incognito, so keep it down for me, will ya?
I’ll chat with you later. I have to {puff} keep up my pace.
my delusion of anonymity was fading fast.
okay, I’ll come.
we saved you a seat… although some of us thought you wouldn’t show.
I’m paul, and this is my partner, chris.
hey, some of us guys are going for brunch. you’re more than welcome to join us! hi, george!
they already knew who I was, so I figured, “why not?” it could be fun.
this brunch quickly turned into a miniature star trek convention.
is the enterprise bridge really as futuristic as it looks?
I liked our natural conversation.
...and boy, did Walter detest wearing that silly wig…
how is the transporter effect filmed?
I was at ease talking to Star Trek fans... But this was something new!
For the first time in my life, I’d found a community of gay people--happy, athletic, and comfortable in their skins.
what’s william shatner really like?
I began showing up at their regular runs throughout los angeles.
george, why don’t we have dinner together tonight? we can talk about frontrunners.
shortly after that first run, I got an unexpected call from darrel, the club president. that waiter there is gay.
I’d be pleased to. where shall we meet?
don’t worry. I’ll pick you up. where do you live?
and see those gentlemen seated over there? they’re all gay.
do you know any of them?
no, but we know.
where are you taking me?
are you ready? I’m parked in your driveway.
there’s a lovely place downtown near my office.
Darrel told me the whole history of the club: that he’d been one of the co-founders just a few years ago and was still serving as the first president.
…somehow the word got out to gay runners via the gay bar circuit, and the membership just exploded.
there are frontrunners clubs in almost every major city in the u.s.
he was a fascinating guy.
From my own position in the closet, I respected his need for privacy and didn’t pursue it further.
is this where you come for lunch?
oh, my office is just a stone’s throw from here. but I usually have lunch at my desk. too much work.
oh, I’m a lawyer.
what do you do?
I sensed some evasion...
…but I also understood how this vague, secretive way of speech was a fact of life for gay people living in straight society.
the evening turned romantic… and that night, I went to bed with the president of the l.a. frontrunners.
one of these days, you’ll have to invite me over to your place.
would you like to come in for a glass of wine? I thought you’d never ask.
hey, did you hear about that new italian place downtown?
but over time, his persistent refusal to open up began to bother me.
from then on, we became a pair.
I asked other frontrunners who knew darrel before I met him.
tell me the truth. are you a lawyer?
no, darrel is a paralegal. a lawyer?
one night, I confronted him.
darrel… have you been lying to me?
why can’t you just be honest with me and say you’re a paralegal?
My gut told me that something was off…
…but his reaction shocked me.
after
that night, I never saw darrel again.
I was relieved not to see him.
Hey, everyone!
that was the day I first laid eyes on...
After a few weeks, I worked up the courage to attend another Frontrunners meetup, but I was worried.
brad altman! might he be there?
Ken Shapiro had taken over as club president.
before we begin, I wanted to introduce a veteran runner joining us…
I thought he was absolutely gorgeous.
I knew it wasn’t just my eyes that he caught.
from his very first run with us, brad quickly established himself as the club's fastest runner.
I wanted to chat with him as we ran, so I tried to catch up.
but he was far too fast for me.
you’re a {huff} fantastic runner, brad. {pant} {puff}
thanks. it was fun.
I’d like to, but I have to travel for work, so I don’t get to run as much as I’d like.
I’m a journalist at a trade publication… I just got back from anchorage, alaska. you must run {puff} every day.
same here. what do you do that requires travel?
I’d recently joined the board of directors of the Los Angeles Theatre Center...
...helping to open a grand new theater downtown.
our audience can expect first-rate productions of the classic works by american theater icons such as arthur miller, tennessee williams, and august wilson, plus emerging new talent.
well, whaddaya know, I was there for a star trek convention a few years ago.
I took my nephew, scotty, with me. he said it was the best trip ever in his whole life. his whole life was all of seven years at the time.
I was finding things in common with brad... and wanted to get to know him better.
converted from a 70-year-old bank headquarters, it was now a part of the revitalized spring street, buzzing with cultural excitement.
but first we need to raise funds and build an audience. that’s where you come in.
then I had an idea.
I first tested the idea with my new friend, brad.
I was thinking of organizing a theater party.
could be a fun group outing for the frontrunners.
I’ll check with the theater about reservations once we have a list of all the guys and gals who are interested.
at the next run, I made the announcement of the frontrunners’ first ever theater party.
arthur miller’s all my sons is coming up. what do you think?
yeah, what a great idea! I love theater.
that would be wonderful. thanks a lot. would you like me to help you with it?
I could keep that list for you. that would be terrific!
for anyone interested in seeing arthur miller’s all my sons, our wonderful new frontrunner, brad altman, will be taking your names and collecting the money.
brad was meticulously organized with a spreadsheet of names, phone numbers, number of seats, date paid, etc.
but I had only reserved ten seats.
yes, I’d like to reserve another ten seats.
I doubled our reservation, and we sold those out too.
the event was a smashing success!
almost overnight, he had ten people signed up.
a great time was had by all.
the new los angeles theater center’s audience base grew by twenty more that evening.
I could not have done it without brad’s thorough efficiency. his competence was as impressive as his graceful running style…
..and his handsome, newly-shaven face.
I
was falling in love.
one night, I had a dinner party at my townhouse for the guys…
you should have seen the look on his face, ha ha!
Ha Ha Ha
Ha Ha
…a chance for brad to get to know the other runners a bit better.
after dinner…
I wanted to get to know him better, too.
early flight tomorrow, you know how it goes.
thanks for having us, george! leaving so soon?
I think I’ll head out as well.
I had a great time, thanks.
I had planned the dinner for brad…
Ken, you devil!
…why did he have to leave so early?
I’m glad. you’re welcome anytime.
a week later, I asked brad out to dinner at a japanese restaurant in little tokyo.
He didn’t seem to like it.
it was a chance to get some time alone with him…
…as well as introduce him to sushi.
Then I remembered he was born in Arizona. Like me, Brad loved Mexican food… so I ordered hot, well-cooked dishes.
I’d like to order your tempura. mmmmm…
brad, I have to ask… why did you leave my dinner so early last week?
oh, I’m sorry about that. I have a sick friend. I had promised I’d look in on him, so I had to excuse myself early.
how compassionate.
brad is a really good-hearted person.
brad’s friend was not the only one getting sick. I remember when the rumors first began…
…the medical people are completely stumped. they think it came from africa…
I tried to find information on this “gay disease,” but the evening news had nothing.
at dinner after the run, our talk about the mystery disease resumed.
I read that people have died from it.
but why gay men ?
okay, everyone, let’s get started! today’s run…
...President Reagan has ordered research and development into 21st-century space-age weapons...
this strange menace, the unknown aspect of this sickness, was what made the whole thing so scary.
gay people were a stigmatized group to begin with.
was this another form of judgmental punishment?
our anxiety intensified.
The first mainstream newspaper article about it was buried on the back page of the paper!
I learned that our fellow frontrunner, randy peck, was also sick. I went to visit him the next day.
I went to where I was told randy’s room was, and was shocked to discover the size of it.
it’s terrifying how little the media is covering it!
my friend has it… and he’s getting sicker…
I’m going over to take care of him again tonight.
he’s lucky to have a friend like you, brad. please do be careful!
I will.
where is randy?
oh, he’s been taken for examination. he should be back soon.
why don’t you walk around the grounds for a while and come back?
inside me a fire started to burn. I knew what was going on.
...Probably because he was gay...
randy had been relegated--actually segregated --into that glorified broom closet… it was outrageous! ...sick with a mysterious gay disease.
is randy peck back? he’s back. go on in.
couldn’t he have been given a modicum of human dignity?
hi, randy… it’s george.
are you cold? would you like a blanket?
I’ll get blankets for you. just wait.
did you hear me?! that’s my friend in there shaking and trembling! do your job and get him blankets! you have a patient in there shivering to death! is this better, randy?
randy… we love you.
it was heartbreaking and terrifying.
Those were the last words I ever said to him.
the pain of the cruelty he was enduring...
…the cold inhumanity of people whose calling is to nurse the sick…
a few days later, when I called the hospital...
…I was told Randy had passed.
…TORE ME APART.
it was a horrible, torturous time.
when friends die, we die with them.
it’s mysterious, it’s deadly, and it’s baffling medical science: Acquired immune Deficiency Syndrome.
and we lost a lot of friends during those years.
Once thought to affect only promiscuous homosexual males, AiDS is now spreading in epidemic proportions to other segments of the population.
Just as gays were starting to make slow gains in public acceptance, AiDS struck as a double calamity.
not only was our community afflicted with this horrible sickness, but we also faced a new wave of public fear and hatred...
…seen as the very embodiment of death, and despised for it.
I remained tightly confined in my closet.
I had to suffer through it with emotions tightly controlled, because I had responsibilities both public and personal.
I was still mayor tom bradley’s representative on the s.c.r.t.d. board of directors.
Telling the truth would summon a storm of condemnation...
...jeopardizing a vital civic infrastructure project.
moreover, I was working on star trek films.
so much for the “little training cruise.”
my coming out would disrupt the production, damage the box office potential of the series, and could very well end the acting career I had spent a lifetime developing.
as I watched, friends drastically lost weight, grew grotesque lesions, and, before I knew it, were gone.
randy peck was gone.
The procession of dreadful news wouldn’t stop. The names kept coming. They became multitudinous.
my heart broke so many times that I felt there was nothing left to break. I became almost numb.
brad’s ill friend keith coleman passed.
got sick and died.
and we were told it was our fault.
The president has expressed no opinion about this epidemic?
I must confess I haven’t asked him about it.
so many. so young.
so hideously.
I don’t have it. do you?
ken shapiro
after many years of government apathy to aids, organizations such as act up staged dramatic protests, including “die-ins”…
meanwhile, high-profile cases drove aids further into the mainstream.
then I learned some terrible news about an ex-lover.
…I heard he passed, somewhere in the midwest.
Darrel? Really?
…representing the fallen as well as the many more who would suffer the same fate if the government continued to neglect them.
Yeah, I just thought you’d want to know, since you were close.
despite what had happened between us, I hoped darrel had found some peace.
yet I felt helpless to do more than quietly donate to aids care and research.
I was known as a vocal and engaged activist on so many issues… but on my most personal issue, I maintained an anguished silence.
the plague now felt even more terrifying. who would be next? would it be me? or… brad?
rock hudson was one of the first celebrities to go public about the illness.
in 1984, American and French scientists identified the cause. it was a virus--a human immunodeficiency virus ( HiV) that caused AiDS (Acquired immunodeficiency Syndrome).
a test was developed the next year.
finally, the test results came back.
with no hesitation, brad and I got tested.
the wait to hear our results was excruciating.
yes, we can be there in a half hour.
we were both negative!
brad… let’s go for a run.
a ten-ton weight was lifted from us. “negative.”
how can a word so dark and nullifying...
...be at the same time absolutely, rhapsodically life-affirming ?
GREAT IDEA!
I felt a new appreciation for being alive.
But it is! it so positively is.
you know, brad, I felt there was something missing from this run. I missed the guys... randy and ken especially... and so many others.
you’re right. I missed them too. they were great runners.
they loved running. it was their life. and here we are, running with joy for our lives. it makes me feel… I don’t know… guilty.
no, you shouldn’t feel guilty. we’re thinking of them. we’re remembering them. a strong marathoner.
Yeah, you’re right. We’re remembering them as runners. Ken was a marathoner.
I’ve
never run a marathon.
the l.a. marathon is coming up.
will you train me for it? I want… a life challenge.
you’ve run marathons before. I haven’t ever.
we could run it in memory of all those who perished of aids. we could make it our tribute to all of them.
that’s beautiful. we better get started!
of course! we’re on!
brad was as organized as ever. he set up a schedule for me.
every morning, we were up at five.
that was your personal best time! I’ll increase tomorrow’s run by another mile.
and every day, I felt myself getting stronger and stronger.
keep up the pace. you’re doing great! I feel great! {puff} bring it on! great job today!
Over the course of the three-month training period, we became very friendly.
all thanks to you, my disciplined trainer!
We were alive and training for a 26.2-mile run.
a run to celebrate life.
Finally, the day came.
Most beginners jump off like a jackrabbit at the gun. They expend their energy too early and exhaust themselves before the real race begins.
it’s a long-distance run. So, start slowly and pace yourself.
Great Advice.
Here to see us off…
We arrived at the historic Los Angeles Coliseum. This was the landmark venue of two past Olympics, and now Brad and I would make it the site of our own personal history.
I’m taking your good advice to heart and not taking off like a jackrabbit. Good. You’re a fast learner.
Our marathon of life.
Mayor Tom Bradley opened the race.
Brad swiftly pulled ahead.
…is our guest of honor: Muhammad Ali!
As I ran, the marathon’s route brought me past so many memories.
I passed the S.C.R.T.D. headquarters, where I served on the Board.
After my family was freed from internment, it was here in Chinatown that my father found his first job as a dishwasher.
We ran past the old Nishi Hongwanji Buddhist Temple…
Then we made a turn into Little Tokyo, my ethnic center.
...where Japanese Americans were assembled at gunpoint, then sent to barbed wire prison camps.
Another landmark of my past and my ethnic history.
Only other Asians would give us jobs back then.
Then on to the Hollywood Walk of Fame, past Musso & Frank's.
Only in Hollywood do the tourists look down instead of up, to see the stars…
We continued past the legendary Chinese Theater, where so many of my heroes had plunged their hands into cement…
…we ran past the names of
yours truly.
…and though I didn’t know it at the time, I would join them along with my Star Trek castmates in just a few years.
Gene Roddenberry… Leonard Nimoy… and
By the time I reached the halfway point, Brad was completely beyond sight, and I was starting to struggle.
I passed the Screen Actors Guild building, the place where I got my SAG card and officially became an actor. I had to keep going past the start of my career.
He’d warned me that a marathon would be a mental race with myself.
Every huff for air was for life. With each gasp for breath, I remembered Randy, then with each pant, Ken.
Keep on going. {huff}
Keep on going. {puff}
I was competing, not with other runners, but with my own will, to cross the finish line.
Every inhale, Randy, every exhale, Ken.
I’ve got to keep on going.
Their memory impelled me on. They were with me throughout.
I gotta keep going. {huff}
I gotta keep going. {puff}
{huff} {puff}
I can do it.
You did it, George! Congratulations!
Brad and I were negative… and had survived our celebratory epic marathon.
I felt so grateful to be alive…
Now here’s some potassium. We did it.
I can do it.
I can do it!
…and grateful for this beautiful, sexy man.
Around that same time, I had filmed a guest spot for Miami Vice, on location in Miami.
I invited Brad to come with me to the recording session. I was starting to want to be with him all the time.
Now his death looks like what it was: murder.
Soon after the marathon, I got a call from Universal to dub in additional voice recording for the episode.
And Ali is still wandering around out there with a tale to tell.
You let her get away.
That evening we had dinner…
…and committed ourselves to each other.
But the plague wasn’t over.
People were still getting sick.
Brad became my rock through this time of horror.
We loved each other, practicing safe sex.
We supported and comforted each other.
Throughout it all, we both remained closeted.
We were fearful.
AiDS had not made the prospect of coming out any less terrifying.
But I was torn. This was my issue. My core humanity was nagging at me to raise my voice. There had to be a way I could help… without coming out.
in 1985, an energetic young activist, Craig Miller, initiated a fund-raising campaign for AiDS Project L.A. called “AiDS Walk Los Angeles.”
We could use one more celebrity to co-host and bring excitement to the walk.
As a donator to AiDS Project L.A., I wanted to see if you’d be interested.
Good-hearted singer/dancer/actress
Ann-Margret had also agreed to be a co-host, and we welcomed the walkers.
This was an invitation to be visibly associated with a publicly despised “gay disease” fund-raiser. An opportunity to show my support.
Craig, I would be delighted to serve as co-host for the walk.
event
My closet door opened just a smidge…and I left it ajar.
And that was my debut as a visible “ally” of AiDS Project L.A.
The
kicked off at Paramount Studios, where I had just filmed Star Trek III: The Search for Spock.
Brad and I became seamlessly complementary, sharing many passions. Our common glue was running and theater.
He decided to bring shape and order to what he now called “our house.”
But when it comes to personal habits, we are polar opposites. in short: a slob and a neat-freak.
Oh, that’s a gift subscription that Henry gave me for one of my birthdays, years ago.
How many years ago was that? Look at all the stacks.
Wasn’t that nice of my brother? He either doesn’t know or he’s hopeful, haha! Ha ha ha!
This house is a mess!
What is this?
Speaking of family, why is your mother leaving so many messages asking you to bring her your laundry?
My mother still insists on doing my washing. She still considers me her little boy.
And frankly…it’s kinda convenient for me to be the good son and accommodate her.
Oh…
I know that might sound both charming and sad…and it is. She wants to see me more frequently, I guess… as well as have a sense of who she once was: my mother.
She doesn’t have much to do now.
Brad’s response touched my heart.
Well, maybe we should see her more often then. She seems to be lonely. She needs to see you.
Maybe we could take her out for lunch more regularly.
Yes, you’re so right. Let’s do that.
He understood my mother’s needs better than I did.
I love you, Bradder.
Brad was not only organizing my life, he was broadening and enhancing it.
Production had begun on Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, and I was filming on location in San Francisco.
One Sunday when I was not shooting, we decided to go for a long run across the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito.
it’s a miracle these people ever got out of the 20th century.
Every moment with him felt like magic.
it’s so beautiful.
Brad came up to visit me during the shoot and stayed with me at my hotel.
Well, I made it. I missed you!
in so many ways, Brad knew me better than I knew myself.
He became a part of me.
it’s really coming down !
Hurry! Ha ha
I arranged to meet Henry and June for dinner at a popular italian restaurant.
Brad was my most significant other.
I wanted to share this significance with my brother, Henry.
“La Strega”
is italian for “The Witch.”
I’d been his Best Man when he married June. I wanted them to know of my love for Brad, as I had seen theirs flourish.
I decided to tell them about Brad and come out to them.
Yeah, that’s great. Sorry I wasn’t there to cheer you on. I had to work. I want to tell you about something very important to me.
You know that I finished the L.A. Marathon this year.
That’s okay.
I was trained for that marathon by a terrific athlete.
I love him. I’m in love with Brad.
Yes, I’m gay. His name is Brad Altman. I couldn’t have finished it without his training.
You’re gay ?
The dead silence that followed was fraught.
it lingered oppressively.
Henry suddenly changed before my eyes. He became a totally different guy.
Oh, no...
...oh, no... …oh, no...
You’ve got to stop…you’ve got to stop!
I’ll call you tomorrow. We need to talk.
I’m the same me as before.
This is who I am…. who I’ve always been.
I’m the same person!
{sigh} Let’s go home. We should continue this in private. Or maybe you guys need time to think about it.
But let’s leave.
I sat there alone for a while. I was hurting just as much as Henry and June.
I wanted them to understand me.
The next morning…
I’m going to cancel my morning patients. I’ll come over and we’ll talk.
Come on over.
I couldn’t sleep all last night.
You know this is going to kill Mama.
Mama already knows Brad.
“She
knows him as my friend. We often have lunch together.
“Brad has driven her places. You know how Mama never fails to seize an opportunity for a free ride.”
You told Mama! You told her you’re gay ?!
But I haven’t yet told her. I wanted you to know first.
Being a gay man in our American society has required me-professionally and politically--to be closeted.
I regret keeping this part of my life hidden from my family, but I’ve always been confident of the love and support of Daddy and Mama…and you.
You’re my brother. I’m coming out to you because you’re my family.
I love you, June, and your kids. That’s why I want to share my entire life with you.
You’ll “take care” of me?!
Hospital bills, whatever.
But there’s one thing I have to ask of you. One thing.
You know, I couldn’t sleep last night. I kept thinking about you.
Someday… the day will come when you’re old and alone. I want you to know that when that day comes, I’ll take care of you.
Oh? And what is that?
I keep thinking of you and Brad parading up and down Larchmont…
Henry, I want to stop you right there.
I’m just as concerned about our family image as you are.
I’m also concerned about my personal image as well. That’s why I am closeted publicly.
You know what I mean.
No, Henry. Think! What is “damaging” to our family image?
Break it off with this Brad.
I beg of you, you’ve got to stop this.
Henry, I presume that your marriage is strong. Please don’t make any assumptions that my relationship with Brad is any less.
As a matter of fact, it is stronger because we’ve had to stand against implacable social pressure.
Brad and I have just as much right as you and June to “parade up and down Larchmont.”
We’re as discreet as anybody else. We behave no differently than anybody else.
I’m concerned about the image of our family. We have the kids to think about.
I love Scotty and Akemi. is that abnormal? What do you think is damaging to our family image?
You’re a homo! Don’t you understand that?!
Henry, I am gay! I have lived my life discreetly, but it is an undeniable fact.
I came out to you and June because I thought you would understand…
…but all that you’ve been telling me is how much sleep you’re losing because of me!
That evening, June called me.
George, this has put all of us in a terrible situation…
Her voice had a consoling but unmistakably distressed tone.
…but we have to work something out. We can’t live like this. Let’s try to work something out.
Believe me, June, I’ve tried...
I’m so sorry that you are being put through the wringer by us. But it’s up to Henry.
He’s the one who has the dysfunction. He’s irrational. He just doesn’t understand.
He’s not irrational.
He’s dysfunctional.
I understood poor June’s position. She was living with her husband’s inability to understand my life situation.
The following afternoon, my front gate buzzed.
I don’t want you talking to my children--
Henry, your kids aren’t your property, like something you own.
I’ve been thinking a lot. I’ve made some decisions.
I’m going to cut everything off with you…cut my family off from you.
Completely.
I couldn’t sleep again. And I’m breaking out in a rash all over my body.
They’re grown individuals with their own minds.
Scotty is now a student at Cal Berkeley, my alma mater. Akemi is about to graduate from high school. They’re great kids, and I love them.
I’ll come out to them and they’ll make their decision by themselves, but you don’t have that kind of ownership over your children.
You’re dead to me. I don’t want to have anything to do with you.
I never expected the extent of Henry’s blocked mind.
And deep down, my heart was broken.
Unfortunately… for gay people, family can’t always be counted on to provide love and support.
I kept expecting a call. I hadn’t given up hope.
We had spent a lifetime together... through anguished times, through determined struggles and many shared joyous occasions.
I had hoped that he would at least try to understand…
We’re family.
But I got no call from Henry.
I no longer had a brother.
A week later, I got a call from Scotty.
I think Dad is being silly. I told him so. You’re still my uncle. I just wanted to let you know.
I love you.
Thank you, Scotty… for this call.
This means so much to me.
I knew this was an excruciatingly difficult call for him to make.
And he made it.
Uncle George, I need to tell you something.
Okay.
1986
The same year that Brad came into my life…
Hello?
George! it’s Bruce.
…I got a call from my friend Bruce Kaji.
Bruce was the founder and president of a bank in Little Tokyo.
He had always been a generous supporter of the countless causes and non-profit organizations I brought to him.
George, this time, I’m going to try and get you involved in something…
…something I know you’ll want to support.
Ha ha, you’re a presumptuous guy, Bruce.
But I owe you, so how much is this going to cost me?
A lot… but you won’t be able to resist it, ha ha!
I want you on the board of directors for a new museum, a Japanese American museum…
…to tell the story of our heroic veterans who served in the segregated 442nd during the war.
“You remember the so-called ‘loyalty questionnaire’ in 1943…
I think a museum is a great idea. it’s a vitally important project and a legacy for future generations.
“...Those who answered ‘No-No,’ like my parents, made a principled, honorable choice that needs to be understood.”
“But as proud as I am of the 442nd, their heroism is only one piece of our story.”
“There is also the amazing story of the resisters.
“They stood up for their American rights against the full might of the U.S. government... and they were punished by transfer to Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary.”
A whole host of heroic Japanese American stories would need to be told.
That’s why we need you on this board, George… to make those statements.
We need your perspective to tell the full Japanese American story.
Me and my big mouth.
Bruce had been absolutely right.
The idea was irresistible.
I prepared myself for a significant venture and a thrilling prospect.
At that point, the organization had little money, just a warehouse in downtown L.A. with a collection of artifacts and a paid staff of one.
This new Board of Trustees set out to build the Japanese American National Museum, a place that would become an important part of my future with Brad.
When the dynamic irene Hirano came on as executive director, we really began making progress.
But we needed a home.
You know, architectural preservation is one of my passions…
The oldest Buddhist temple in Los Angeles, Nishi Hongwanji in Little Tokyo, was built in 1925.
The newly vacant Little Tokyo area was soon filled with African Americans from the South who came to Los Angeles to work in the war plants.
it represented a unique blend of traditional Japanese Buddhist architecture fused with art deco Egyptian pillars, and served as a vibrant community center.
When the U.S. government forced the entire congregation into barbed-wire prison camps…
...only one Buddhist minister, a caucasian man named Julius Goldwater, was left to oversee the temple.
So, during the war, this Buddhist temple rocked with the foot-stomping, hand-clapping exultations of southern Baptist Sunday services.
Hallelujah!
This deeply religious community needed a place to worship, and Rev. Goldwater kindly opened the temple to them.
But it had been vacant for years and fallen into disrepair.
The idea of transforming the magnificent but moribund Buddhist temple into a thriving history museum was a thrilling personal challenge.
The city agreed to lease it to us for one dollar a year.
Hallelujah!
The conversion of the sanctuary into a gallery and the renovation of the temple structure was accomplished in four years.
We planned the grand opening of the Japanese American National Museum for April 30, 1992, outdoors in front of the main entrance.
I was to serve as the M.C.
However, on the day before the opening, a jury voted to acquit the white L.A.P.D. officers who had delivered a savage beating to a black man named Rodney King.
By nightfall, fierce outrage and rioting had broken out.
The Police Department ordered all events be moved indoors.
With the cool competence of a true professional, irene quickly relocated the entire ceremony into a subterranean room.
When I stepped up to the mic, I saw a sea of invited guests standing shoulder to shoulder, tightly packed together.
I looked out at the crowd and felt the immense weight of this moment.
I reflected on all the ways this building had provided sanctuary.
Brad was there crammed amongst them, behind Mama.
We were all part of the American story of exclusion and intolerance…
…of cooperation and transformation…
…of love across boundaries.
I felt the pride and the pain swirling all around…
…inside and outside.
Then I began to speak.
PART THREE
The Howard Stern Show Man, listen to your voice! What a set of pipes on you!
Really ? You don’t go that way, do you? You’re not a homosexual?
You
Anyone with a voice that deep has to have genitals the size of Tokyo.
Ha ha ha. You’re kind of cute yourself.
Ah ha ha ha! Oh Myyy!
ha ha!
I was doing a book tour in 1994 for my autobiography, To The Stars, when I got a strange request from a fan.
Sign it “Oh myyy.”
I’m a Stern fan.
Why that?
Oh myyy!
His show certainly gave me plenty of reasons to say it.
Will you take your top off?
it was then that I realized that the common phrase “Oh myyy” had become associated with me, due to my appearances on The Howard Stern Show.
My reaction was captured on tape, so now even when I’m not on the show, if someone says or does something outrageous…
…they hit a button and my voice can be heard.
Since then, it has become my signature catchphrase.
While I was enjoying robust sales of a biography with a glaring omission, others were declaring their truth.
…then went on Oprah with her partner, Anne Heche, to show their love to the world…
…but even that high-profile reveal wasn’t enough to prevent retribution.
it was part of a long history of ruining careers because of sexual orientation...
their true selves.
April 24, 1998
ABC executives have told the program’s producers the show will not be returning next season.
I was disheartened that after all the progress we’d made, there were still such bitter consequences for honesty.
…or forcing talented people--like Rock Hudson, Sir Alec Guinness, Tallulah Bankhead, and so many more--to hide
Ellen Degeneres came out on April 14, 1997...
Ellen is canceled.
Over decades of struggle, gay Americans had won some important victories…
in 1975, California’s anti-sodomy law was repealed...
…after majority leader George Moscone kept the Senate in session and dispatched a plane to retrieve the lieutenant governor...
...especially in California, whose marriage laws used gender-neutral language as early as 1971.
This is some move by Moscone! But he can count on me.
And in 1973, the American Psychiatric Association issued a resolution that homosexuality was not a mental illness or sickness.
A later attempt to ban gay and lesbian teachers also failed.
...so that Mervyn Dymally could cast the historic tie-breaking vote.
And by the end of the nineties, we gained some legal protections through same-sex domestic partnerships.
An important step forward, but not as ambitious as I’d like.
Society has a strong interest in committed, loving, stable relationships.
Assemblywoman Carole Migden
Governor Gray Davis
But in 2000, conservatives scored a major victory with Proposition 22…
…the Great Wall of inequality.
State Senator Pete Knight
California is not ready for marriage between a man and a man.
…as marriage equality supporters were to see it repealed.
Organized homophobes were as determined for it to prevail…
Sixty-one percent of California voters declared that marriage is between a man and a woman.
DOWN WiTH TWENTY-TWO!
MARRiAGE iS SACRED!
it’s an ongoing battle that has raged across generations of stalwart fighters for gay equality.
Twenty years later, Mark Leno followed in his footsteps -- and went on to the state Assembly.
As highly visible elected officials, they became icons. in 1978, Harvey Milk became the first openly gay elected official in a major American city…
We will not win our rights by staying quietly in our closets!
…by winning election to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.
I should have been lending my voice to our struggle.
They also tormented my conscience.
For the first time we’re talking about our lives not in terms of sex or disease, but in how we love and how we live our lives.
Now we move forward with a fight for full equality for all California families. We have just as much right as anyone else!
The more they try to ignore us, the louder we have to get!
My self-imposed confinement was excruciating.
Just standing on the sideline was now unbearable.
in 2005, an extraordinary event took place.
Then on September 6, the Assembly did the same.
What we’re seeing here today is a historic shift from lawmakers...
On September 2, the California State Senate passed a bill to confirm marriage equality for the whole state.
Massachusetts had legalized marriage equality by judicial ruling through the state court.
Both houses have approved this history-making bill…
it was the first time in U.S. history that a state legislature passed a marriage equality bill.
Julie and Hillary Goodridge became pioneers as plantiffs in the landmark case Goodridge v. Department of Public Health.
California established marriage equality via the legislature…
...while Massacusetts used the judiciary.
On May 17, 2004, they were one of the first gay couples to legally sign their marriage papers.
These states would now become the equality bookends of the nation on both coasts…
…unless something went wrong.
We’re back, and for those just joining us, our top story...
September 29, 2005
…is Governor Schwarzenegger’s decision to veto the marriage equality bill...
He had insight to political issues… and my fraught personal quandary. I’ve seen enough for tonight. Turn it off.
The next day, I had rehearsals for my role as Dr. Martin Dysart in Equus.
The governor was a Republican with a conservative base. it was not a total surprise.
We went to bed that night talking about possible ways we could respond.
We got so close to making history. We’ve got to take a stand.
I wish there was one person in my life I could show.
The drama was being helmed by East West
…
I shrank my own life. No one can do it for you.
Yes, George! Maybe try it with arms folded?
…a longtime friend.
I know what you’re saying. and your situation has changed.
You’re not on the S.C.R.T.D. Board, and Star Trek is thriving.
Depending on how you handle coming out… your acting career could go either way.
David Henry Hwang Stage at the East West Players Theater
Players’ artistic director, Tim Dang
What do you mean?
…and he should be able to control the integrity of his interview.
Your approach here could make a big difference.
You could just come out and let the press run with it any way they want...
Or you could choose the way you want to come out.
Make the message positive. Be engaged with the issues.
Maybe you don’t have to give up your career.
The journalist you talk to about your decision is important.
I see what you mean.
But I'm not sure I know the right person. it should be someone who knows the politics of the gay world. it would also help if he’s Asian…
I do.
Are you ready to make the move?
I should talk with Brad.
You sound like you know this journalist.
This was a decision I couldn’t make alone.
We just have to consider all the possibilities.
Star Trek was continuing its successful forty-year ride with good momentum behind it.
SnAP!
Live long and prosper!
I’d played a proud role in its launching.
But even longer than my career was my confinement… behind both real, and my very own, invisible… barbed-wire fences.
There are risks. But you can’t keep bottling it up inside. it’s not healthy. it pricks my conscience like a sharp barb.
That’s what we’re doing. This is a decision we make… together.
Tim was right.
After eleven years on the R.T.D. board, my commitment to Mayor Bradley was over.
I’d enjoyed an engaging career that had spanned a half century.
We decided together to free me from that agony.
Many would have retired after that kind of working life.
it’s time for me to come out of my closet.
Tim, what can you tell me about this journalist you mentioned?
His name is Alexander Cho. He’s the editor of Frontiers magazine.
I agreed to host the interview at my home.
You trust him? I wouldn’t suggest him if I didn’t.
HE will have complete control over the article. Then let’s set it up.
Alex, welcome! it’s wonderful to meet you.
Where should we start?
Before I knew it, I was sharing my truth.
Thank you, George. I’m excited to help share your story.
I didn’t suddenly become gay when I talked to Frontiers. it is a life-long process.
Starting out as a blank…
…suggests that you open a door…
…and you step out.
The phrase “coming out”… it isn’t that simple.
The narrow corridor widens a bit.
…no sensations… no thinking… nothing.
Then, comprehension of complexity… challenges… dread… struggle…
With the widening come new experiences… love… hate.
That’s when I spoke to the press for the first time as a gay man…
The world has changed from when I was a young teen feeling ashamed for being gay.
The issue of gay marriage is now a political issue.
And finally, the will to grab that doorknob and step out for combat...
Then emotions are felt… joy and pain.
As a result, Schwarzenegger has betrayed the gays and lesbians who voted for him…
…and see what’s on the other side.
…playing to the narrowest, most reactionary, conservative segment of his base.
...and I blasted Governor Schwarzenegger's decision.
Once I went public about my sexuality, I was prepared for the beginning of the fading of my career...
…but the reverse happened.
George!
The
People started emailing me with supportive messages.
We had assumed that casting agents would no longer work with me, but instead I began getting cast as “gay George Takei.”
Mr. Takei? I’m a huge fan. would you sign my doll?
Will & Grace
Howard, do you have latent homosexual tendencies? Of course not!
Oh myyy! Can I help?
The commitment that these two men are about to make is the most important commitment anyone can make.
So you say… yet, here I am!
What’s George Takei doing here?
Entourage
The Big Bang Theory
2005
in 1990 when George first came on the show and denied he was gay, it was fantastic radio.
Everyone... Deaf people knew. Blind people knew. Everyone in America knew that George Takei was gay, and he’s going “I’m purrr-fectly strayyyt.”
When George speaks about homosexuality in the same way I speak about heterosexuality, it makes things normal.
And we’re not laughing at him, we’re having a great time with him.
He’s talking directly to heterosexuals who have complete homophobia, so George is performing a great activist duty.
After I came out, Howard Stern’s people called and asked me to be the show’s official announcer.
Hello, I’m George Takei, and you’re listening to The Howard Stern Show.
in the United States, we have a large, broad middle that I maintain are decent, fair-minded people.
To really change the social climate and broaden support for LGBTQ causes, we needed to reach those in the middle.
Howard gave us access to that… so I agreed to do one week every quarter.
Ha Ha Ha! I thought I was a pretty good actor.
in fact, I got a letter after that interview from the Pope himself that said, “that guy is gay as gay can be!”
I credit Howard with playing a central role in expanding and giving dimension to my identity as George Takei, as opposed to Sulu.
We gay people are masculine, we are feminine, we are caring, we are abusive.
He’s an important voice.
We are just like straight people, in terms of our outward appearance and our behavior.
The only difference is that we are oriented to people of our own gender.
No longer shackled by the fear of what impact it would have on my career…
...I knew the time had come for me to speak up for the LGBTQ community.
Now, there is another group of Americans, trying to live a normal life, who are incarcerated behind legalistic barbedwire fences, with sharp barbs of ignorance and prejudice.
As a child, I thought I was living a “normal life” as we Japanese Americans were imprisoned behind very real barbed-wire fences.
What is abnormal is that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people cannot.
As gay Americans, we’ve been stereotyped, and characterized as something frightening and threatening, as Japanese Americans were before the war. it’s normal for two people who love each other, who care for each other through thick and thin, to be able to be married.
it’s normal for all Americans to be able to have access to any job if they are qualified for it. Thank you very much.
But our history tells us that we have a dynamic democracy… and with all of us acting as change agents, I look forward to the time when equality is enjoyed by all Americans.
Yes, very receptive.
it was a long road to get here.
Good crowd tonight.
But there was still much ground to cover.
I expanded my LGBTQ activism to calling out bigotry online, wherever it reared its ugly head, in the form of viral videos that spread far and wide across the internet.
Recently I’ve been troubled to hear comments from former NBA All-Star Tim Hardaway, who said, “I hate gay people. Let it be known I don’t like gay people. I’m homophobic.”
As a gay man and a human being, I was shocked and saddened. But I want you to know, Tim, on behalf of gay people everywhere, that despite your ugly words, we don’t hate you.
I called out an Arkansas school board member, Clint McCance, who called for gay teens to kill themselves.
As a matter of fact we like you…We like you very much.
Mr. McCance claims he regrets saying things like, “I enjoy the fact that they often give each other AiDS and die.”
Mr. McCance, you are a douchebag.
I put the Tennessee senate committee and Senator Stacey Campfield on blast for proposing a bill to prohibit teachers from discussing homosexuality in the classroom.
The so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law is premised on the misguided belief that by not talking about gay people, they can simply make us disappear.
I’m here to tell all LGBT youth and teachers that would be affected by this law, that I am here for you.
in fact, I’m lending my name to the cause.
Anytime you need to say the word “ gay,” you can simply say “Takei!”
For example, you could safely say you are a supporter of “Takei marriage.”
We particularly like your large, powerful calves…
No person, let alone an elected school official, whatever their personal or religious beliefs, should ever wish death upon another human being. You apologized for your poor choice in words, but you are always going to be a total douchebag.
Have a Takei old time!
For our advocacy efforts, Brad and I were given an award from the Los Angeles LBGT Center, presented by my teen idol, Tab Hunter.
We’d met when I was invited to participate in his documentary, Tab Hunter Confidential.
in the 1950s, being gay was absolutely not accepted. There were very devastating consequences. Tab would be foolish not to hide, or he would not have a career.
With his charm, good looks, and magnetic presence, he was the embodiment of youthful American masculinity.
He was an example I’d followed for many years.
Tab spoke candidly about his experiences…
I was living two lives at that time.
…which felt so familiar to my own.
A private life… which I never discussed, never talked about to anyone.
I’d always assumed that his life had been ruined by that scandal in the Fifties…
The word “gay” …wasn’t even around in those days…
At a time when being gay was taboo, he lived his life…
There was a lot written about my sexuality…
Tab, congrats on another terrific picture!
..and if anyone ever confronted me with it, I’d just kinda freak out.
I was in total denial.
...but moviegoers wanted to hold in their hearts the swoon-bait sweethearts I portrayed.
...but maybe it hadn’t been so bad.
...with a long career in his dream profession.
May 15, 2008
Gay marriage is now legal in the state of California.
The Supreme Court of California has ruled that samesex couples…
One afternoon, we were having lunch and the news came on that the California Supreme Court ruled in favor of marriage equality.
George, will you marry me?
Darn it! You beat me to it.
I was gonna ask you!
Mpff mfft muuu
On the very first eligible day, Brad and I were the first same-sex couple to apply for a marriage license in West Hollywood.
it’s a great honor and a privilege to have you here as one of our celebrity guests and one of the first married in our community.
isn’t this a glorious California morning to make history!
The California Supreme Court made history by ruling for equality in marriage… and this morning, we’re all here to give flesh and blood reality to that ruling.
in the words of a great man who made history himself… Gandhi said, “be the change you want,” and what I see before me are people who are the change for equality. Equality in marriage and equality in everything.
I see before me people who personify love and commitment. I see people who are the personifications of joy and celebration.
Mr. Takei, thank you!
Brad Altman and I are going to join you, and we are going to get our marriage license today.
isn’t that extraordinary… and isn’t that wonderful?
Mr. Takei, can you tell our viewers what this means for equal rights?
You know, on Star Trek, we have this core value “I.D.I.C.” infinite Diversity in infinite Combinations.
And here we are, this much closer to that ideal.
Being the meticulous, detail-oriented person that he is, Brad took care of all the wedding planning.
Yes, for the fitting we’ll need white dinner jackets, black wool pants, black shoes, cuff links…
I called upon two former Star Trek castmates to stand with us at the wedding.
Nichelle, I wondered if you might like to be the Matron of Honor at our wedding?
Ha ha ha! Of course, Best Lady it is!
And so, Walter Koenig, a Jewish American, and Nichelle Nichols, an African American, would serve as our Best Man and Best Lady, respectively.
After all, the theme of our wedding was diversity.
We had our rings designed by a Navajo craftsman from Arizona, in honor of Brad’s birthplace.
I would be honored, George, but if Walter gets to be the Best Man, then I want to be the Best Lady.
invitations were sent out to 200 select guests, whom we would have to shoehorn into our chosen venue.
We were married by Rev. William Briones, a Mexican American Buddhist minister, in the Democracy Forum of our beloved Japanese American National Museum.
Over more than twenty-one years, I have called you many things.
I have called you my life partner, my significant other, my longtime companion, my lover. But now I can call you my husband.
We very consciously chose that venue, in the museum that held so many memories for us…
...because it was democracy that made our wedding possible.
Through the power of your own love, I pronounce you spouses for life.
Cloud Nine wasn’t high enough to describe our joyful union that day. Cloud Ninety is more like it.
But despite our euphoria, old prejudices were about to re-emerge and threaten everything we’d fought for.
After we were wed, Brad and I appeared on many morning shows to discuss our marriage.
So let me ask you, George, what does this change legally?
it has made us equal to everybody… and that makes a world of difference. We feel just fantastic.
But there’s this proposition on the November ballot, Proposition 8, that may allow California voters to essentially nullify your marriage if they vote for it.
We’re not gonna let it get there. We’re gonna fight it tooth and nail, because it’s against the basic fundamental ideals of democracy.
Brad, can you tell us how this has made you equal in the eyes of the law?
We’re a longterm, wellestablished couple.
We’ve been together more than twenty years, and now in California we have marriage equality. George is now my legally wedded husband.
I think the majority of Californians are decent, fair-minded people, and they will recognize the beauty and truth of our marriage, and they will not take it away from us. George, talk about what that would mean for your marriage.
We have religious diversity in this country, and no religion should be written into civil law that applies to everyone.
So we’re vigorously raising funds to campaign against Proposition 8. At our wedding we asked for no gifts, but instead contributions to the Human Rights Campaign.
May sweet equality live long and prosper.
November 4, 2008
On election night in 2008, ABC news wanted to get my spontaneous reaction to the election results as they were coming in.
We project that Senator Barack Obama of illinois will be the next president of the United States.
Wonderful news! I am overjoyed.
On that historic day, we elected the first african american president of the united states, which was a landmark event. a joyous event. we had campaigned for him.
But within hours, the victory of Proposition 8 was announced. it was a defeat for us.
Breaking news: The California proposition to ban same-sex marriage is now projected to pass.
This overturns the state supreme court decision that gave couples the right--
A victory for Obama, but a defeat for marriage equality. it was a bittersweet night.
Voters approved Proposition 8 by 52.2%, amending the California State constitution to ban gay marriage, only five months after the California Supreme Court ruled that our marriage was permitted.
Fortunately for us, our marriage stood because it happened before Proposition 8 was passed.
There was no language in the proposition to make the ban on same-sex marriage retroactive for the roughly 18,000 couples that were wed.
Both opposing sides had raised over seventy million dollars to try and sway voters…
The battle tonight has been won.
it was the first time in modern history that same-sex marriage had been overturned.
However, our concern was now for others who would want to get married in the future.
it was a devastating blow to those in the LGBTQ community who were shut out from enjoying what we had.
…making Proposition 8 the most expensive political campaign in the country outside of the presidential race.
Supporters of marriage equality gathered outside Los Angeles’ Mormon Temple to protest the fifteen million dollars the church donated toward passing Proposition 8.
meanwhile, one legal team decided to fight back at the federal level.
olson had previously served as george w. bush’s solicitor general, as well as assistant attorney general during the reagan administration.
gay and lesbian individuals wish to have the same loving relationship that other individuals do, and proposition 8 in california says their relationship isn’t recognized by the state.
two high-profile lawyers, and former adversaries--david boies, a liberal, and ted olson, a conservative--who previously fought each other all the way to the u.s. supreme court over bush v. gore to decide the 2000 presidential race…
we are doing great harm by discriminating against those loving individuals, who are our fellow citizens.
equal protection means the protection of equal laws. we are not providing the protection of equal laws in california to our gay and lesbian citizens.
…were now allies in one of the most important civil rights trials our country had ever faced.
we are denying them a fundamental right on the basis of their sexual orientation, and that violates the equal protection clause and the due process clause of our constitution.
aligning himself with this civil rights issue was seen as a major betrayal to the republican party and the religious right, who opposed gay marriage.
Sandy Stier Kris Perry Paul Katami Jeff Zarrillo
The case became known as Perry v. Schwarzenegger.
boies and olson filed a legal challenge in federal court on behalf of two same-sex couples who had been denied the right to marry.
actor george takei married his husband last year.
the two of them have a few things to say about proposition 8, today’s legal challenge, and their lives together.
brad, what do you think of the two lawyers who opposed each other in the year 2000 now coming together?
what ted olson said was brilliant-he took the words out of my mouth. I’m not a spokesperson for any cause, I just know that george and I love each other. he’s the love of my life, and I think everybody should be allowed to get married.
are you going to be active in this attempt to throw it out?
absolutely. ultimately, we want marriage protection for everybody. it’s something that’s a fundamental right, and I hope it happens sooner than later.
what have your lives been like together, george?
well, we’ve been together now for twenty-two years. we married last year on september 14th, a day we’ll never forget.
george, were you angry at this vote?
I was disappointed. I really thought we might prevail last november, and I thought we might prevail yesterday.
I was disappointed, but I know that ultimately we will prevail, so they just galvanized us.
so you’re two husbands.
that’s right, husband and husband. george is my lawfully wedded husband, and I’m the luckiest guy in the world.
we have a bond… a union…and our marriage is profoundly important to us. and having it, you say, has changed your relationship.
it’s made it deeper, more profound…and I think it’s changed the people around us.
some people would refer to brad as my “friend,” but after we got married, they say brad is my husband.
I am often asked: if Brad and I are in a committed relationship, what difference does it make if we’re married or not?
Here is one example from our own life:
When President Clinton was elected, he recognized my considerable involvement with the Japanese American National Museum, and appointed me to the U.S.–Japan Friendship Commission.
The honorees were all there with their spouses. We were taken on a bus, and as we all filed out, the chamberlain saw that my partner was a male.
A decade later, I was recognized by the government of Japan with the Order of the Rising Sun.
We traveled to Tokyo, where it was to be granted by the Emperor of Japan at the imperial Palace.
バスから降りること You cannot step はできません。 off the bus.
大丈夫です。 it’s all right.
彼は私のパ He’s my ートナーです。 partner.
宮殿の敷地内に足を踏 Only married couples み入れることができ are allowed to enter るのは夫婦だけです。 the palace.
Brad had to remain on the bus…
...and could not join me for this ceremony of extraordinary honor. it was very unfair and a painful moment for us both.
now imagine a gay couple where one has an accident and needs sudden medical attention…
TOM, watch your step!
…and the hospital refuses to allow his partner into the room.
I’m sorry, but it’s family only. please! I’m tom’s partner!
that’s exactly what happened to shane bitney crone when his life partner of nearly six years, tom bridegroom, met a tragic end from a rooftop fall.
shane and tom had built a life together, and were not only a romantic couple but business partners as well. but in the eyes of the law, they were nothing more than roommates.
you’re going to let me go through my son’s things.
when tom suddenly died, the property in his name went to his hateful parents instead of his loving partner.
okay.
I don’t know how people do this-- {sob}
I really don’t think I can do this anymore…
on his way to the funeral, shane received a call from one of tom’s relatives…
you are not welcome to the service… and if you do show up, tom’s father and uncle plan to attack you.
shane and tom always intended to get married as soon as they were legally allowed to.
had they been wedded, it would have been a much different story.
in good times and bad, "in sickness and in health," we all need a loved one by our side.
and official recognition of that love matters.
From Hollywood, the romance capital of the world, it’s a very special celebrity edition of The Newlywed Game!
a year after our wedding, we were invited to come on the newlywed game as the show’s first same-sex couple.
We jumped at the opportunity to be seen on TV as no different from other couples...
We were mindful of the significance of this invitation, which came with the responsibility of representation.
Couple number three met at a running club. They had Ensign Chekov and Lieutenant Uhura at their wedding. That’s because he played Lieutenant Sulu on the original Star Trek. Please welcome actor George Takei and business manager Brad Altman!
I’m speechless!
correct!
I never dreamt that we would be on the show.
congratulations to our winners, george and brad!
...to demonstrate our normalcy and commitment to each other.
it was both a delightful surprise and a wonderful indication of how far society has come, so we were proud to be a part of it.
And we won!
Wilshire Ebell Theatre, Los Angeles
the twisting path of proposition 8 was not over yet.
in 2010, olson and boies brought their challenge, perry v. schwarzenegger, before federal judge vaughn walker.
the case’s closing arguments were later adapted into a play called “8”...
I think it is very important that our children do not grow up thinking… fantasizing… about “should I marry jane or john when I grow up?”
And then the last sentence says, “if sexual orientation is characterized as a civil right, then so would pedophilia, polygamy, and incest.” Do you agree with that, Dr. Tam?
opposite
Then you go on to say, “what will be next? On their agenda list is legalizing having sex with children.”
And this is something you were putting out in order to convince people to vote for Proposition 8, is that correct?
…which featured an all-star cast including brad pitt, kevin bacon, martin sheen, jamie lee curtis, john c. reilly, and more for a one-night event livestreamed on youtube.
You say that “countries that legalize same-sex marriage saw alarming moral decline.” Do you believe that after the Netherlands legalized same-sex marriage, they went on to legalize incest and polygamy?
yes, I agree.
mm-hmm, yes.
it’s… in the
I mean, who told you that, sir?
I acted
george clooney, who was playing the role of co-counsel david boies.
I was cast as Dr. Hak-Shing William Tam, the executive director of the “traditional family coalition” and one of the men who worked to put Proposition 8 on the ballot.
august 4, 2010
finally, the day came for judge walker’s ruling to be announced.
austin nimocks, OF THE alliance defense fund
we have said from the beginning, that when proposition 8 took away the right to marry that had existed in california under the california supreme court decisions, that was a deprivation of equal protection and due process.
Over seven million voters in California chose to restore the definition of marriage in California to what it has been from the very beginning, as one man and one woman.
They believe that is the best environment for children, and their collective voices are constitutional and should be upheld and not overturned by a single judge.
on that fateful day, justice did indeed prevail.
california has no interest in differentiating between same-sex and opposite-sex unions.
david boies (the real
the evidence shows conclusively that moral and religious views form the only basis for a belief that same-sex couples are different from opposite-sex couples.
we’re obviously disappointed that the judge did not uphold the will of over seven million californians who made a decision in a free and fair democratic process.
it was all so crazy. it was immediately appealed, and in 2012 the appeals court ruled again in favor of our marriage rights.
protests and counter-protests. one judgment overruled by another ruling.
are we married or are we not?!
one)
In the meantime, Brad and I stayed busy.
...then the very next night, we found ourselves seated near them again!
Before long, we were working together with Marc Acito to develop a new musical, inspired by my family's story...
While attending a play in New York, we had a pleasant conversation with our seatmates…
Like us, Jay Kuo and Lorenzo Thione were gay men who believed in the power of theater to change lives and change minds.
...and dedicated to the 125,000 Japanese Americans who were wrongfully imprisoned during World War II.
Allegiance opened in 2012, in San Diego’s replica of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre.
It became the highest-grossing show in the building’s 70-year history.
The cast included Lea Salonga, Telly Leung, and me.
More than 50 years after Fly Blackbird!, I was again playing a fictional version of myself, while awakening audiences to urgent issues.
And once again… we dreamed of taking it to New York.
march 2013 The legal battle over marriage also made its way east, from California to the U.S. Supreme Court...
buzzfeed was on the scene to ask a few of these “traditional” marriage supporters to express their opinions on a pad of paper.
...and so did the protests.
While workshopping Allegiance in New York, I decided to use the power of social media...
...to respond with my trademark humor and shine a light on their bigotry.
And big news was on the horizon...
the u.s. supreme court issued a pair of rulings overturning california’s prop 8 and the federal defense of marriage act, meaning the highest court in the land brought marriage equality back to california.
Two days later, county registrars were still uncertain about how to implement the ruling.
we haven’t been notified by the state.
At the time, the attorney general of California was Kamala Harris.
Our plaintiffs get to go back to California, and now with every other citizen of California, marry the person they love.
…while at the exact same time…
…paul katami and jeff zarrillo were being married by the mayor of los angeles in city hall.
Within one hour of the marriage licenses being issued, Harris officiated the wedding for Kris Perry and Sandy Stier...
SUPREME COURT DISMISSES PROP 8 APPEAL SAME-SEX MARRIAGES CAN RESUME IN CALIFORNIA
on phone to l.a. county clerk
today, we witness not only the joining of kris and sandy, but the realization of their dream: marriage.
by virtue of the power and authority vested in me by the state of california, I now declare you spouses for life.
I’ve done a few of these over the last couple years, but never have I been prouder, never have I been more joyful than I am today.
On behalf of the state of California, let me pronounce you married. you must start the marriages immediately.
after actor kirk cameron spoke out against gay marriage as being “unnatural,” “detrimental,” and “ultimately destructive,” I went on television to debate another fellow actor, stephen baldwin, who backed cameron’s views.
I am here to support kirk cameron because I believe it’s important that he has the right to stand up and voice what he believes in.
if you want respect from us for your faith, that respect has to be mutual, and there are many faiths in this society that we live in.
we have a line that’s drawn between church and state, and to have discriminatory laws that prevent equality in civil law for lgbt people is not right…
…in the same way that, when this nation was founded, there was no role for women in the institutions of american society. they couldn’t vote.
they had to struggle for it, and it’s that kind of struggle that the lgbt community is going through now for equality in the civil arena.
But we're a kindred spirit here... we both got fired by Trump!
according to the christian faith, the nuclear family is the origin of what this country was founded on.
I respect your right to your opinions, but we have to remember yours is a faith-based opinion, and what we’re talking about is civil law, apart from your faith.
listen, some of the people I’ve worked with live a gay lifestyle--
is it like a “surfer lifestyle”? no, it’s not that, it’s an inborn orientation. it’s not a lifestyle, it is an orientation.
Let me reel it back, guys...
I’m watching the backlash to what Kirk said, and to George’s point, people who have thought this way in the past have always fallen on the wrong side of history.
well, this is a very personal issue, so we’re not kindred in that arena.
george, I know you plan to sit down with trump about this very issue…
that’s right.
My former “boss” on Celebrity Apprentice was an outspoken opponent of marriage equality. Determined to change his mind, I issued a public challenge while promoting the show.
Next time I’m in New York, I’d like to take you to lunch, and maybe we can discuss marriage equality. George, you would be the perfect guy to teach me.
You have a deal.
george, I just came from a gay wedding.
they’re good friends of mine. it was a beautiful marriage. they’re wonderful friends.
and so we met for lunch at a restaurant located inside trump tower.
I was looking forward to the lunch and wanted to listen to his views and respond specifically to his concerns.
new york didn’t have marriage equality, and I thought I could sell him on the financial benefits to himself.
donald, you’re a big businessman here in new york, and if we had marriage equality here, it would be very profitable for you… because lgbt people would love to get married in new york.
they would get married in your banquet halls, stay in your hotels, eat at your restaurants… so you should really get behind marriage equality.
you know, george, you make a good case, but i’m for traditional marriage, a man and a woman.
oh, so then you do support marriage equality.
I believe in traditional marriage, too. traditional marriage is two people who love each other deeply and profoundly.
they are committed to each other, and want to spend their lives with each other.
that’s the kind of security and comfort that lgbt people want to have with their love.
no, no, I’m for traditional marriage. it’s a man and a woman.
despite my best efforts, I was not able to sway his opinion on the matter. we agreed to disagree.
But I did not agree to keep quiet.
joining us now is actor george takei, an lgbt activist.
george, welcome back to the show. I want to begin by getting your reaction to what donald trump said about traditional marriage, since he’s had three marriages and is opposed to marriage equality.
“And over the years, the whole arc of our democracy has been to adjust to the times, to expand equality to more and more people.
george, my interpretation of donald trump is that he says whatever he thinks a person wants to hear…
…and in this case he’s running for president as a republican, and so he says what he thinks those people want to hear, which is that he’s opposed to same-sex marriage.
you know the guy. do you think he really means what he’s saying about marriage equality?
well, I approve of his three-time marriage, because you want to find the person that you love, but the important thing here is to understand that our democracy is a dynamic democracy, and our constitution is a living document.
it’s not carved in stone.
“Donald Trump’s interpretation of ‘traditional marriage’ is something that he himself doesn’t really believe in. Traditional marriage is where two people love each other, commit to each other, and care for each other.”
I think he’s capable of saying anything that will be good business for whatever situation he finds himself in.
June 26, 2015
it is truly a historic day for gay rights…
Can you believe it, George? I’m trying to wrap my head around it!
I’ll never forget the day full marriage equality came to our nation. it was a tectonic shift.
Brad and I were traveling to Los Angeles when we heard the news.
The Supreme Court of the United States had ruled that the right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples…
Obergefell v. Hodges was a landmark civil rights case for LGBTQ rights.
…by both the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
The 5-4 ruling required all states to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples…
…and recognize same-sex marriages validly performed in other jurisdictions.
“The nature of injustice is that we may not always see it in our own times… When new insight reveals discord between the Constitution’s central protections and a received legal stricture, a claim to liberty must be addressed.
“No longer may this liberty be denied...No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and family.
"in forming a marital union, two people become something greater than once they were."
A nationwide victory for marriage equality.
Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote the court’s opinion.
Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Stephen G. Breyer supported the majority opinion.
...and of equal dignity in the eyes of the law.
Marriage is a keystone of our social order…
in fact, Each of the Supreme Court’s three landmark gay rights decisions had been authored by Justice Kennedy. He had emerged as the most important judicial champion of gay rights in the nation.
This decision came exactly two years to the day after his 2013 majority opinion in United States v. Windsor that struck down a federal law denying benefits to married same-sex couples…
…And exactly twelve years after his majority opinion in Lawrence v. Texas that struck down laws criminalizing gay sex.
Understandably, June 26 is a date with major significance for the LGBTQ community.
Justices Roberts and Scalia led the dissent.
Scalia mocked Kennedy’s language, writing: “The opinion is couched in a style that is as pretentious as its content is egotistic.”
“Of course the opinion’s showy profundities are often profoundly incoherent.”
But those words didn’t diminish the profound outcome.
This decision will end the patchwork system we currently have.
it will end the uncertainty hundreds of thousands of same-sex couples face from not knowing whether their marriage, legitimate in the eyes of one state, will remain if they decide to move to or even visit another.
This ruling will strengthen all of our communities by offering to all loving same-sex couples the dignity of marriage across this great land.
Speaking from the White House Rose Garden, President Obama praised the court’s ruling…
Meanwhile, Star Trek continued to seek out new life.
I was always a big advocate for my character and thought Sulu should have a family.
My father’s told me some interesting stories about you.
When the film series was relaunched in 2009, our roles were recast with a new generation of actors.
in 1994, Star Trek: Generations introduced his daughter, Demora.
Then, ahead of Star Trek’s fiftieth anniversary, John gave me a call.
The word is, the next movie will reveal Sulu to be gay.
This was intended as a tribute to me and my now-established role as an activist for the LGBTQ community.
I told him the same thing I told director JUSTIN LIN and co-writer SIMON PEGG.
Finally, John called again, to ask what he should say about Sulu being gay during the film’s promotional interviews.
So that’s the plan, George. What do you think?
I’m Hikaru Sulu.
I thought John Cho did a terrific job.
I’m delighted at the idea of a gay Star Trek character and flattered at the homage, but it doesn’t feel like what Gene would have done with Sulu.
They all listened attentively, then went off to make the film.
Oh, so they didn’t hear me.
what do you think of the new reboot making sulu gay?
they wanted to pay tribute to me because of my activism for the lgbt community and make sulu gay. I said, “no, it’s not about me.”
this is the fiftieth anniversary of the show, and the real tribute should be paid to gene roddenberry. I hoped that gene’s original characters and their backgrounds would be respected.
how exciting it would be if a new hero might be created from scratch, rather than reinvented. this would have paid tribute to gene’s vision.
Gene was unable to do so in those days, but in today’s climate, he would have been imaginative and created a gay character who has his own history and challenges, in that society.
john, your character is gay. george takei thought they should add a new character that is gay, but don’t change sulu. what did you think of all that?
I totally respect where he’s coming from. he originated the role and he was a gay man playing a straight character, and I can appreciate that.
our movie is in an alternate timeline, so our characters do different things… and we’re positing that sulu is gay.
I do understand what they were trying to do. however, I had hoped the filmmakers would have heard me.
and after all this talk of sulu becoming gay… it was a tentative move. not even a kiss. the other guy could have been his brother, or a friend. there was nothing groundbreaking about it, so the whole point of his being gay was lost.
a year later, star trek did finally take that next step of boldly introducing brand-new gay characters, giving voice to its lgbtQ audience while also respecting gene roddenberry’s vision.
Star Trek: Discovery (2017)
My own family was evolving as well.
Despite my rift with their father, Scotty and Akemi remained important parts of my life.
Akemi Takei, King 5 Sports!
Akemi broke ground as a popular sportcaster for Seattle’s NBC station.
And when Scotty and his wife Kozue had children of their own…
Now arriving at 59th Street…
Years later, Brad and I were overjoyed when Scotty’s family visited New York and asked if the kids could stay with us.
Hot chocolate… with whipped cream…
Thank you, Uncle Brad!
After Brad and I bought an apartment in New York, Scotty decided to earn his M.B.A. from Columbia University, just a short subway ride away from us.
…we became doting caretakers for little Hana and Markus.
And once the kids went off to college, Scotty and Kozue moved into our apartment building...
Fancy running into you! We’re off to our favorite restaurant in Central Park! Care to join us?
…bringing our lives even closer than ever!
in October 2015, Allegiance finally opened on Broadway, with nearly all of its original cast.
(This time I didn’t have to audition to keep my part!)
it was the culmination of a lifelong dream.
At the age of 78, I was starring in a Broadway show... our show.... telling the story of my community’s imprisonment and resilience.
And I did it while living openly… as my full self.
Mountain can be moved… stone by stone.
During this time, my one-time lunchmate was campaigning for the presidency, spewing bigotry and seeking to divide.
Donald J. Trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States…
…until our country's representatives can figure out what the hell is going on.
I issued a video in response.
Mr. Trump? it’s me again, George Takei.
Your recent words on the campaign trail have a lot of folks worried.
There were obvious parallels between the dangerous contemporary climate of islamophobia and the wartime incarceration of 125,000 loyal Japanese Americans.
This presidential candidate clearly had no issues stoking the flames of racial prejudice for political gain.
History was repeating itself.
“As the Republican frontrunner, you were asked if you would support or oppose internment if you had been president, to which you replied…”
I would have had to be there at the time to tell you, to give you a proper answer.
it’s a tough thing. it’s tough. But you know, war is tough. And winning is tough.
I certainly hate the concept of it. But I would have had to be there at the time to give you a proper answer.
We don’t win anymore. We don’t win wars anymore. We don’t win wars anymore. We’re not a strong country anymore. We’re just so off.
At that time, a poll reported that 48% of Trump’s supporters said they would be in favor of the internment during WWII.
They would have supported putting 125,000 people behind barbed-wire fences simply because of their race.
You said it was a “tough” thing and that you would’ve had to be there. Well, Mr. Trump, I was there.
“I’m
if you want to lead this country, you owe a responsibility to set your supporters straight.
Mr. Trump-disavow the internment camps. Disavow racial and religious profiling. it’s wrong and it’s unAmerican.
My hope was that Trump would attend and learn from the message of our musical…
...but he was a no-show.
saving a seat for you every night at Allegiance.
“That seat, reserved just for you, will remain empty until you come sit in it.”
Trump’s election to the presidency made my activism even more urgent.
after many years speaking publicly about japanese american internment…
I still remember the barbed-wire fence that confined me.
I remember the tall sentry tower with the machine guns pointed at us.
it meant more than words can express to see how passionately the book’s message was received…
…those experiences were captured in the form of a graphic memoir…
thank you for making this. my grandmother was interned as well.
I don’t know... she never talked about it. oh? which camp?
...preserving the story for generations to come so that it will never be forgotten.
…and to engage personally with the readers who would carry on the mission.
if young people grow up understanding my family’s story, they may grow into a new kind of Americans, more aware of the history of this country.
and who might the “us” be referring to in the title?
the people who were sent away to the camps.
okay, class, so what do we know about the author?
isn’t he sulu?
My mom follows him on Facebook!
Okay. How do we feel about the word "enemy"? What kind of emotions does that bring up?
Our nation's history has plenty of glorious chapters…
…we looked out the window and saw soldiers with bayonets…
…but some of the darker chapters contain the lessons we most need to learn.
new york city
we celebrated the 50th anniversary of stonewall in 2019.
may stonewall live long and prosper!
this year we have another amazing element to be proud of… we have a politician from indiana--smart as a whip, rhodes scholar, has a degree from harvard and a masters from oxford university.
he’s a veteran of the afghan war, and a naval intelligence officer, who is married to another charismatic guy named chasten.
pete buttigieg has a real chance of becoming president.
what stonewall means 50 years later is: look at this--people are out in the open! no one’s hiding who they are. and that was the promise of america...
the anniversary was a day of enormous pride…
…providing little indication of new legal challenges that lgbtq individuals would soon face.
One year later, the Trump administration “celebrated” Pride Month by stripping away Obama-era healthcare protections for LGBTQ people.
this is preposterous!
there is no end to the cruelty! what?! let me see--
the decision reversed regulations designed to allow for a broader understanding of gender…
the department of health and human services announced it would enforce sex discrimination protections “according to the plain meaning of the word ‘sex’ as male or female and as determined by biology.”
…shaped by a person’s internal sense of being male, female, neither, or a combination.
american medical association president dr. susan bailey offered a strong criticism of the trump administration’s action…
“the federal government should never make it more difficult for individuals to access health care--during a pandemic or any other time.”
...as did House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
religious freedom is no justification for hatred or bigotry, and every american has the right to seek and receive care without intimidation or fear.
despite these rebukes, it was a decision the president’s conservative religious base applauded.
june 15, 2020
their celebration was short-lived.
three days later, the Supreme Court issued a new ruling…
…that civil rights law protects gay and lesbian people from discrimination in employment.
Celebrities like George Takei took to Twitter to share their thoughts on this historic decision…
... possibly the biggest moment for LGBTQ rights since the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage nationwide in 2015.
Trump-appointed judge Neil Gorsuch authored the majority opinion, which stated:
“An employer who fires an individual for being homosexual or transgender fires that person for traits or actions it would not have questioned in members of a different sex.
“Sex plays a necessary and undisguisable role in the decision, exactly what Title VII forbids.”
Former Vice President Joe Biden celebrated the ruling in a statement released by his campaign.
“Today’s Supreme Court decision is a momentous step forward for our country. Before today, in more than half of states, LGBTQ+ people could get married one day and be fired from their job the next day under state law, simply because of who they are or who they love. This landmark 6-3 ruling affirms that LGBTQ+ Americans are entitled to equal rights under the law.”
September 29, 2020
Cleveland, Ohio
President Trump... you have repeatedly criticized the Vice President for not specifically calling out antifa and other extremist groups.
but Are you willing to condemn white supremacists and militia groups, and say they need to stand down and not add to the violence in these cities, as we saw in Kenosha and in Portland?
sure, I’m willing to do that.
but I’ll tell you what, somebody’s got to do something about antifa and the left.
at the first presidential debate of 2020, donald trump was given an opportunity to disavow white supremacy.
instead, he appeared to issue a direct order to a well-known group of supporters.
proud boys-stand back and stand by.
I was proud of all of the gay folks who stepped up to reclaim our pride in this campaign.
the success of recent digital protests inspired me to encourage that sort of participation from young people--to disrupt and ridicule campaigns of hatred.
brad and I are #proudboys, legally married for 12 years now.
our community and allies answered hate with love, and what could be better than that?
aware that this election was a referendum on decency and equality, we felt strongly about encouraging people to vote.
democracy works when we participate. And more than 158 million of us did.
On November 7th, 2020, our new presidentand vice president-elect addressed the nation to accept the election outcome.
Then Joe Biden reaffirmed his awareness of the many communities that propelled him to victory.
I am proud of the coalition we put together, the broadest and most diverse in history.
His words served to repudiate the worst policies of Trump’s grievance government…
After the election I gave comments to CNN.
And while some may still be blinded and trapped within his cult of personality, most Americans know that Trump isn’t a decent man. Enter Joe Biden, who even his biggest critics admit is wholesome and good at his very core.
…suggesting further protection of LGBTQ and civil rights.
Decency was on the ballot in the form of Joe Biden, and through his election, we have regained our deepest sense of it.
Welcome aboard this nonstop flight to Los Angeles--
I really hoped that moment of victory would mark a turning point…
I still remember that feeling.
please remain seated while we make our ascent...
…and put some of our problems behind us forever.
But life doesn’t work that way.
Life is perpetual change.
But we don’t have to face it alone.
Sometimes it is terrifying.
When we’re caught up in the struggles of the day, it can be easy to lose sight of the bigger picture.
The immense forces that we have overcome...
The amazing achievements of human ingenuity and courage.
We are part of that majesty, every one of us.
NASA is proud to present our first space shuttle, now christened the Enterprise!
The sacrifices and tragedies that are just as much a part of our story as the victories.
...and the vast, majestic universe, of which we are only a tiny, brief part.
We are all traveling together on this journey.
--Challenger has exploded in midair…
A time of hope and a time of challenges.
So once again, it is a heady time and a fraught time.
That is always the case.
Every moment we are alive, we are soaring into the future…
…a place where no one has gone before.
What we’ll find there…
…depends on what we do today.
Let’s get to work.
EPILOGUE
When President Obama welcomed Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his wife,
for a state dinner…
Now presenting, mister George Takei and mister Brad Takei.
東京でお会いした時に You remember 私がレインボーパレ ード
That I rode in the に出た とを話しましたね？ Tokyo Rainbow Parade?
Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined that, after growing up imprisoned for my race by the president of the United States...
…Brad and I became the
はい、それが僕 Yes, how could の一番強い記憶です。 I forget?
...I would be dining in the White House of the first African American president...
Brad, the man that I love, was across from me as my legally wedded husband, seated next to the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, the first woman to hold that post.
The evening was heady with so many improbables… made exhilarating reality.
…and enjoyed dinner conversation with other guests of honor.
it was a dazzlingly surreal evening.
Madam Speaker, we admire all of your work.
日本のファーストレディが
For the first lady レインボーパレードに出るこ of Japan to do that… とは本当に素晴らしいことです。
I think it’s just wonderful.
...who was hosting the prime minister of Japan and his first lady...
…and I was her seatmate!
What an evening! it was pretty extraordinary. We should do it more often.
Just tell me when, Bradder.
We are two gay men, open and proud in our lives, able to live freely.
Our life together is a miracle I could never have imagined for myself before.
Akie Abe,
first married gay couple officially presented at the White House…
The LGBTQ community is so much bigger than my story. And our future is limitless.
today, we have openly gay star athletes in every sport, from professional basketball and football…
…to gymnasts, boxers, and olympic gold medalists.
we feel a deep responsibility to keep innovating…
…To continue making products that enrich people’s lives in meaningful ways.
We have seen the rise of Pete Buttigieg as an eminently credible gay candidate for the Presidency of the United States.
Greatness will come by looking forward--untethered from the politics of the past and anchored by our shared values-and by changing our nation’s future.
We have gay corporate executives like Apple CEO Tim Cook.
And new barriers are being broken all the time.
Sarah McBride, you will be the first openly transgender member of Congress.
He also became our first openly gay cabinet member as the U.S. Secretary of Transportation.
(imagine that! A gay man traveling the country advocating for public transit.)
Even with all of the anti-trans ads, I was not hearing about them on the trail.
I was hearing about the need to make the American dream more affordable and accessible, for everyone.
Live long and prosper!
I know how much the world can change in one lifetime.
I’ve seen it with my own eyes.
An LGBTQ kid today can reach more peers and allies in five seconds than I did in fifty years.
Hey, Scotty! Uncle George!
I know there are many challenges ahead. But we must not lose hope.
Whatever progress we've seen…
…only happened because brave people stood up and demanded it.
the strength of our nation is in its abundant diversity.
And if we have the courage to fight for our principles…
America will be okay.
And that rhymes with Takei.
ABOUT THE CREATORS
George Takei is a civil rights activist, social media superstar, Grammy-nominated recording artist, New York Times bestselling author, and pioneering actor whose career has spanned six decades. He has appeared in more than 40 feature films and hundreds of television roles, most famously as Hikaru Sulu in Star Trek , and he has used his success as a platform to fight for social justice, LGBTQ+ rights, and marriage equality. His advocacy is personal: during World War II, Takei spent his childhood unjustly imprisoned in United States incarceration camps along with 125,000 other Japanese Americans. Takei is the author of five previous books, including his autobiography, To the Stars . His Eisner Award-winning and New York Times bestselling graphic memoir They Called Us Enemy was released in July 2019. His picture book for children, My Lost Freedom: A Japanese American World War II Story , also became a New York Times bestseller upon its release in April 2024.
Photo by Christopher Appoldt
Harmony Becker is an author and illustrator of graphic novels. Her works include They Called Us Enemy and her solo debut Himawari House, which won the Kirkus Prize in 2022. She lives in Mexico City with her two cats, where she spends her time lying around, roller skating, and taking pictures of weird signs in the street.
Steven Scott is an award-winning author of nonfiction and fiction graphic novels. Following They Called Us Enemy, he co-created the Sixth-Grade Shape-Shifter series, as well as launching The Magic History Book series, both from Capstone. He writes and illustrates the graphic memoir G’Day Yank. The west coast of Canada is where he calls home with his two kids and two cats.
Justin Eisinger is a critically-acclaimed author and editor who has worked with some of the world’s most beloved entertainment brands as well as groundbreaking graphic nonfiction. After They Called Us Enemy and It Rhymes with Takei, look for his forthcoming illustrated nonfiction children’s series, How’d They Make That?!, from Chronicle Books. When not writing, Eisinger can be found in Ohio on his rollerblades or spending time with his wife and dogs.
FROM THE SAME TEAM:
In a stunning graphic memoir, actor/author/activist George Takei revisits his haunting childhood in American concentration camps, as one of over 125,000 Japanese Americans imprisoned by the U.S. government during World War II. Experience the forces that shaped an American icon — and America itself — in this gripping tale of courage, country, loyalty, and love.
Softcover edition: ISBN 978-1-60309-450-4
Expanded hardcover: ISBN 978-1-60309-470-2
Spanish edition (Nos llamaron Enemigo): ISBN 978-1-60309-483-2
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
A KALEIDOSCOPIC PORTRAIT OF ONE I C O N I C AMERICAN NAVIGATING THE TIDES OF LGBTQ+ HISTORY
George Takei has shown the world many faces: actor, author, outspoken activist, helmsman of the starship Enterprise, living witness to the internment of Japanese Americans, and king of social media. But until October 27, 2005, there was always one piece missing—one face he did not show the world. There was one very intimate fact about George that he never shared… and it rhymes with Takei.
Now, for the first time ever, George Takei shares the full story of his life in the closet, his decision to come out as gay at the age of 68, and the way that moment transformed everything. Reuniting the team behind his award-winning graphic memoir, They Called Us Enemy, Takei now presents a charismatic, candid, and deeply personal witness to how far America has come… and how urgently we must fight to defend that precious progress.
