George Takei: Difference between revisions

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Returning to Los Angeles after this, Takei and his family endured residual hatred for Japanese-Americans that lingered after World War II; they also moved into a primarily Latino neighborhood, where Takei picked up fluency in Spanish. He would go on to minor in Latino studies in college.

In the 1960s he made appearances on shows like ''[[Mission Impossible]]'' and ''[[The Twilight Zone]]''. But it was his groundbreaking role as Hikaru Sulu on ''[[Star Trek (Franchise)|Star Trek]]'' that made him a cultural icon, as one of the first and only non-stereotypical Asian characters on mainstream American television. Reportedly ''every'' Asian-American actor wanted the role, since Sulu had no accent, didn't do martial arts, and was not a crude caricature (remember: this was more or less contemporary with the yellowface characters in ''[[Breakfast At ~~Tiffanys~~]]'' and [[Charlie Chan]]). He would go on to portray Sulu in ''[[Star Trek the Animated Series (Animation)|Star Trek the Animated Series]]'', in six subsequent ''Star Trek'' movies, and on ''[[Star Trek Voyager (TV)|Star Trek Voyager]]''. He also co-starred in an episode of the fan work ''[[Star Trek New Voyages]]''.

In the 1960s he made appearances on shows like ''[[Mission Impossible]]'' and ''[[The Twilight Zone]]''. But it was his groundbreaking role as Hikaru Sulu on ''[[Star Trek (Franchise)|Star Trek]]'' that made him a cultural icon, as one of the first and only non-stereotypical Asian characters on mainstream American television. Reportedly ''every'' Asian-American actor wanted the role, since Sulu had no accent, didn't do martial arts, and was not a crude caricature (remember: this was more or less contemporary with the yellowface characters in ''[[Breakfast At Tiffany's]]'' and [[Charlie Chan]]). He would go on to portray Sulu in ''[[Star Trek the Animated Series (Animation)|Star Trek the Animated Series]]'', in six subsequent ''Star Trek'' movies, and on ''[[Star Trek Voyager (TV)|Star Trek Voyager]]''. He also co-starred in an episode of the fan work ''[[Star Trek New Voyages]]''.

After ''Star Trek'', he ran for City Council in Los Angeles, losing by only about 1500 votes. However, his civic hopes were not in vain, as he would later be appointed to the board of directors of the Southern California Rapid Transit District.

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* [[Enemy Mine]]: States that Star Trek and [[Star Wars]] fans [http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=mvTCr5Z-0lA should unite] against a [[Twilight (Literature)|greater threat]].

* [[Getting Crap Past the Radar]]: Invoked by Takei by lending his name as an [[Unusual Euphemism]] to teachers in Tennessee to [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRkIWB3HIEs get around the state's "Don't Say Gay" bill]. (Which, since it was his own name he used as a substitute, certainly didn't hurt from a self-promotion standpoint.)

* [[Grandma What Massive Hotness You Have|Grandpa What Massive Hotness You Have]]: He's 74, and has aged ''very'' gracefully.

* [[Grandma, What Massive Hotness You Have!|Grandpa What Massive Hotness You Have]]: He's 74, and has aged ''very'' gracefully.

* [[Happily Married]]

* [[Wife Husbandry|Husband Husbandry]]: Joked about his husband being a bit younger than he is: "If you can't find a good man, raise one."

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[[Category:Actors]]

[[Category:George Takei]]

[[Category:Trope]]