Happy Birthday Nichelle Nichols!

Uhura never had another name during the series. One of the fan writers wrote "Upenda" - which means "peace" in Swahili, I understand -- not officially, but in some of their fan writings. And it sort of took hold. But when they were going to do the official history of Star Trek in a published book, the writer called Gene and asked him was "Uhura" her first name or her last name? Gene said, "Well, Nichelle and I never decided." We always leaned towards it being her last name because it's taken from the Swahili "uhuru" which means freedom. So it would sort of be like the same as "Freeman." So he said, "You can make it her last name." The writer said, "What about her first name? I've come up with one in Swahili. It's Nyota." Gene said, "I can't give you that permission because Nichelle and I named her together, and she has rights to that, so you'll have to call her and get her permission." So he gave him my number, and he called me and I laughed and was delighted. He said, "I have a name and it's Nyota." I said, "That's quite beautiful. What does it mean?" He said, "It means 'star'." I said, "You can have my permission!" So I have since said that her name is Nyota Upenda Uhura, which would mean a free-floating star: "star of freedom and peace". I like that.

Musical theatre has always been my first love. I was on my way to Broadway when, as I tell my fans, Star Trek interrupted my career!

I was very blessed in always knowing what I wanted to do, and by the grace of God I've been able to succeed in my chosen career.

I hated the color, that was all. It was kind of a pea green. Gene hated the color also, and so he called Bill Theiss in and told him he wanted to change that costume, and um, -- so I think I wore that pea green thing for a couple of episodes and then they changed to that beautiful red.

Billie Holiday I never met, but I love her music.

The day Jimmy Doohan fell into the water off the Bird of Prey. All the actors in the live scene thought it was a joke and jumped in after him. Nimoy, who was directing the film, was flabbergasted but quickly jumped in with them and screamed at the camera crew, "Keep shooting -- keep shooting!" It turned out to be a keeper and one of the best shots in the movie.

I've agreed to do several Star Trek conventions this coming year.

I think I am going to meet with Zoe and let her pick my brain if she wants to, but I would like to hold that in abeyance to see what she, because she’s such a lovely actress and creative actress herself. I’d love to wait and see what she brings to it so that I can understand, so that I can get to see who and what Uhura was like and what the qualities were that Uhura, Nyota Uhura had that qualified her to go on that first five-year mission where no man or woman had gone before. I think she might bring some interesting new qualities to the character.

All the people in Star Trek will always be known as those characters. And what characters to have attached to your name in life! The show is such a phenomenon all over the world. 

I’ve grown up just thinking that what people refer to as powers are natural extension of our lives, of our abilities, and are hidden somewhere in that 90% of our brain that even Einstein hadn’t used yet.

It's just coincidental that the acting took off first over everything else.

It was towards the end of the show and I was really considering leaving the show, for no other reason than I wanted to return to the theatre. I went in to talk to Gene - this was I was getting up nerve to tell him I was leaving the show, but at this point I went in and I said "Gene, I've been watching each of the episodes and they each get better and better" and I said, "And I discovered something: you're writing morality plays." And he said, "Shhh. They haven't figured it out yet."

I think anybody with any intelligence sits down and sees Star Trek not a kids' show. 

Well my mother was a genuine psychic. She never went into business for it, but she could interpret dreams. She dreamed and other things, and sensory things. If I walked into the house and something was bothering me, and I was always the kind to shelter my loved ones from my problems. I walked out, my mother would say okay sit down and tell me what’s the matter. I’d burst out crying. I’d walk in the house. "Hi I’m home. Guess what I did today?" And she says, "sit down - tell me what’s the problem". And she knew before I knew everything. She knew when people were in trouble and she knew when people were pregnant before they did sometimes. And I grew up with this as a natural thing. It was not a phenomena to me until I grew up and people reacted to it. And I realized that this is something that not everyone has.

Mahalia Jackson, I grew up around the corner from in Chicago.

In "Plato's Stepchildren," Uhura and Kirk were supposed to kiss under duress from their captors. It became an issue with the director and Gene Roddenberry finally decided to shoot the scene with and without the kiss. Bill Shatner kept kissing until there was only time for one more take. When the camera zoomed in, Bill crossed his eyes and the director didn't notice it until the next day in dailies. Of course the last scene was unusable and they had to go with the kiss scene, which became history as the first interracial kiss on TV.

Happy Birthday Wilson Cruz!

I've always been drawn to love stories. Growing up, I would devour films like 'Moonstruck,' 'Ghost,' 'Love and Basketball,' and 'Love, Jones,' replacing the lovers in my imagination with two men.

It sounds corny, but I wanted to be the change I wanted to see in the world. I used to have that on my notebook in school. 

I learned so much about love from the movies. For a couple of hours, I would allow myself to dream about love and a life that, for me, ordinarily, felt out of reach. So, it was with deep gratitude that I watched the drama 'Call Me by Your Name,' knowing what a beautiful teacher it would be for boys like me.

It's 'Star Trek!' It's as close to an American mythology as we get. To be a part of that storytelling after being a fan since I was a teenage boy who saw the pilot episode of 'Next Generation' air, it's all very surreal. 

When I was first starting out in the industry in the early '90s, gay love stories were relegated to limited-release films that were hidden deep in the back of Blockbuster video stores. 

I remember watching the premiere of the pilot episode of 'Next Gen' when I was a teenager. 

'Call Me by Your Name' does not have a political agenda. It is not a 'cause' film. It is a simple and beautifully shot story about a same-sex relationship that exists in a very tiny Italian village. 

When you're 14, 15, the most important thing in your life should be education, because that's what's going to set you up for success as an adult. So if coming out now will hinder your education, maybe we take some time to think about whether the time is right or not. Those are my concern.

I think about a young person who is sitting at home, 13 or 14, a person of color, possibly questioning their sexuality, and watching Dr. Hugh Culber and saying, 'I'm a part of an ideal future that we could work towards.' We're planting seeds in the minds of young people to say, 'Your possibilities are limitless.' 

I hope that upon this scorched earth we have planted the seeds of ideas that will bear the fruit of more diverse and inclusive stories that include people of color in the LGBT community. 

Let me speak for myself: I think I wanted to see people who looked like me on TV. I wanted to see people who had similar experiences as I had, growing up. There was nobody on television when I was a teenager who I could relate to. 

What's disheartening for me and to all of us in GLAAD is when it comes to major studio films, LGBT people are basically invisible. And when we do show up, it's largely a part of comedies as carictatures to service a joke that's at the expense of the character. 

When I was a teenager, in the '80s, it was 'Dynasty.' It was 'Beverly Hills, 90210.' And those were fantasies. Those weren't reflective of my experience. And I think we all want that; we all want to see ourselves, our story told, something to relate to, to help us and know that we're not freaks, that our experiences aren't odd. 

I had no idea what being on stage would be like or how I'd react to the applause. I didn't think I deserved their applause. Then I realized I'd done something to make them feel something. That made it okay. But it was weird. A nice weird.

If you were to turn on the TV in 1986, '87, you wouldn't see anybody having, I guess, a low-to-middle-income person of color experience. And you definitely wouldn't have a young LGBT person or their story told. The experience of being invisible in our culture has ramifications that I don't think any of us can really understand.

When we talk about LGBT characters on TV we're talking about the entire rainbow, and that includes trans people, and that includes non-binary people, people of color, women, differently-abled people. There is so much opportunity for storytelling there, and I hope that we continue to see more of that. 

You cannot overstate, I don't think, the impact of a show like 'Glee' on a generation.

When I got the appetite for more and more theatre, all I could think of was trying to get back to New York. 

When I came out, it didn't go well. My dad kicked me out. I ended up sleeping in my car.

Steve Warren's work and career have opened doors for out professionals across the entertainment industry. In addition to advocating for LGBT people, he has continuously mobilized a large base of high-profile allies to help bring about social change.

My dad is now an incredibly important ally of mine. I'm so impressed with him. He's a hero to me because he put love and his family first. 

I don't think that there's any shame at all in doing what you have to do in order to survive, to make money while you continue to pursue your dreams. 

When I think about people coming out, especially young people, my first concern is, 'Are you safe? Is this a safe time? Are you in a safe place?' Do you have a network of people outside of your parents you can go to if this doesn't go as well as you hoped?

For more than two decades, GLAAD has combatted anti-LGBT images in the media and changed the national conversation about LGBT people. 

Adam Lambert's continued success as one of the world's best-selling pop stars shows LGBT people that they can be themselves and make it in a mainstream industry that many feel unfairly rejects them.

My advice would be to look at the things you do to make money as ways to inform your work in the end. If our work is to study the human condition, most humans that we are going to be playing aren't going to be artists, so go out and, as I did, learn what it's like to have a 9-to-5 job... Think of it as character study. 

I love being an actor.

President Clinton's support of the LGBT community and recognition that DOMA, the so-called Defense of Marriage Act, is unconstitutional and should be struck down shows that the political landscape continues to change in favor of LGBT equality. Leaders and allies like President Clinton are critical to moving our march for equality forward.

It's one thing to be sitting in a classroom and have a teacher tell you how to treat other people; it's a whole other thing to watch, week after week, somebody's life spelled out to you in an emotional way: That lesson is something that will stay with you forever. 

It's important to take leaps of faith.

It's important that we continue to uplift and strengthen our LGBTQ youth who are the future of our community and remind them that their voices are heard.

I came out to my dad in Christmas of '94. 

I feel really fortunate and grateful that not only do I get to do what I love, but I get to do it and serve a conversation that I feel is necessary culturally. The fact that I get to bring those two passions together is amazing to me - that I get to use my art in order to inform my activism and vice versa!

The thing about me and school was that as much as I felt that I didn't belong, as long as I was on a stage or dancing, that's where I excelled the most, felt worthy.

I am honored to be receiving the Point Courage Award.

When you were a teenager, everything's kind of drawn in primary colors; everything's big, and everything's life or death.

I remember just calling myself gay was a big step for me, and I remember being in the bathroom brushing my teeth, testing out to myself in the mirror, saying, 'I am gay,' and seeing if the world was going to stop or if the ceiling would fall in on me.

I think people come home, and they turn on the TV and don't necessarily want a mirror in their face. They want to escape. 

The seeds of marriage equality... were planted on MTV. 

When people ask me for advice about when to come out, it's really about, before you do that, building a circle of support that can strengthen you through that experience. For me, it was my friends. There were people on 'My So-Called Life' that really helped guide me.

I don't think it's exaggeration or hyperbole to say that Pedro Zamora changed the world.

All I ever wanted to do when I was a kid was be in a Broadway musical and to be in 'Star Trek,' and I can finally say I've done that. 

I was 19, 20. I didn't know what to do. I knew one thing: I never saw myself on TV or anyone like me, and I wanted to be that for someone else. I think the most courageous thing I did was ask for help.

Sometimes we make progress in leaps. And sometimes we make them in small steps.

I like to bring a level of vulnerability and real humanity to the characters I play when appropriate, and I feel like Dr. Culber lives pretty comfortably in that vulnerable world, but he's a professional first.

It takes a certain kind of person who loves 'Star Trek' to bring it to life. 

I consider myself an 'actorvist.' When I say that, what I mean is that I use my art to inform my activism and to be my activism sometimes, but I also use my activism in my art.

The work that needs to be done now is to diversify the picture of LGBTQ people so that people can see that we come from all races, different genders; we have trans people. 

I'm aware that I'm playing one of the first LGBT characters on 'Star Trek' in the first relationship, so there's a responsibility that comes with that. I'm aware of that.

ADCOLOR is an incredible organization that not only empowers people from all backgrounds to rise up but also to give back.

As a fan of the franchise, I count myself among the countless LGBTQ fans who have longed to see themselves and our relationships depicted on 'Star Trek.'

Happy Birthday Garrett Wang!

Kim was probed, beaten, tortured and held the distinction of being the first Voyager crew member to die and come back to life. What more does a guy have to do to get promoted to Lieutenant for frak's sake? To add further insult to injury, other crew members such as Tuvok and Paris were being promoted, demoted and then re-promoted throughout the seven-year run of Voyager. I'm not trying to be negative here; just saying it like it is. During the fourth season, I called writer/producer Brannon Braga and asked him why my character hadn't received a promotion yet. His response? "Well, somebody's gotta be the ensign." Geez, thanks. Thanks for nothing.

(on William Shatner) So I walked up to him and said 'Mr. Shatner, I finally get to meet you.' (Shatner's handshake) it was limp wristed, he gave me this, like he was the Queen of England or something. So he gives me that, then in the middle of the handshake, he looks away, then he pulls his hand away and he wipes it off on his shirt, right in front of me. All I saw was red. You know what? God help me, I want to punch his fat belly right now. I was so mad. I want to tell you guys, I love Captain Kirk, but I fricken' cannot stand William Shatner. I'm gonna say that right now. That is no way to treat someone.

I was the first actor in Star Trek history to be denied the chance to direct. The irony of the situation was that, unlike my predecessors, who only wanted to direct for the sake of directing and acquiring their DGA cards, I was the only one who wanted to direct Trek and make it the best it could be, drawing upon my knowledge and experiences as a lifelong fan of science fiction. I truly believe that if I was given the chance, it would have been the best freshman effort by a Trek actor because of my passion for sci-fi. This missed opportunity has haunted me ever since.

(on Rick Berman) If there is a Hell in this existence that we have that people can go to, he's first on the list.

One positive thing regarding maturation that happened from being on the show was the elimination of the racial chip on my shoulder. Eight years in Memphis, TN, being the target of daily racial epithets, made me overly sensitive to the stares and looks of strangers. In college, I had developed an almost militant attitude in that I would respond to prolonged looks by strangers with a defiant scowl or a combative, "What are you staring at?!" I strived to be the complete opposite of the quiet, non-confrontational Asian. Well, once 'Voyager' started, I quickly realized that the majority of the staring was by strangers who recognized me from the show and not active members of some white supremacist group.

Happy Birthday Michael Dorn!

It was seriously just a name. They didn’t tell you what to do. They didn’t tell you how they wanted the character to be - nothing. You went in to audition for this character name and that was it. When I started, before I came onto the set, I went to Gene Roddenberry and said: hey, what do you want from this guy? Who is he? And being as smart as he is, he said: don’t listen to what you’ve heard or read or seen in the past, nothing. Just make the character your own. And that’s what I did.

I like plays, movies, everything. It doesn't matter.

After doing STAR TREK for so many years, to do just regular makeup is such a treat. Just put some makeup on and "thank you very much," you're on your way.

I love good comedy. I don't like bad comedy.

Ron Moore. He was the guy that on our show and Deep Space Nine wrote the best Klingon episodes. He wrote great episodes in general but he wrote the best Klingon episodes. I always could tell when he was going to write a Klingon episode because he was able to grow a beard really quick and I’d see him with the beard, like a Worf-beard, and I go "Ah, Klingon episode coming up!" and he goes "Oh yeah."

I'd love to star in a television series of my own. I love the idea of living with a character for a number of years, watching him grow.

When I was growing up, I had a G.I. Joe doll, and now, to see a recreation of my character as an action figure ... it's strange. Because Worf doesn't really look like Michael Dorn without makeup, it's easier to separate myself from these recreations, but it's still strange, flattering, and weird all at the same time.

But now they have it down to a real science where it's about an hour.

I've spent so much time in that makeup that I'm now unrecognizable. The business doesn't know who I am.

When you're on a series, it's tough to go on and do something else afterward. If you're smart, save your money and you can wait out the bad times, until something else comes along.

Even people that were never interested in science fiction are interested in STAR TREK.

I have not been recognized.

I miss working with my friends and the fun we had. Working on the series was the best time I ever had on a set. I am disappointed that they cancelled the series when they did, because I felt that by the seventh season, we were really hitting our stride, and that episodes were getting better and better. Some people say that the show had run its course and that it was time to quit, but I disagree.

I was diagnosed with an early, early stage of prostate cancer. I was almost a vegetarian then. I was heading that direction. What pushed me over the edge, was the doctor who did the diagnosis. He said in a discussion about prostate cancer that he had never seen a vegetarian with prostate cancer. And this is not a holistic doctor, this is a regular, mainstream doctor. And I was just blown away.

There's no place you can run, no place you can hide if you monkey-wrench me!!!!

A Canadian asked me about the midterm elections. 2 violent racially motivated killing sprees and attempted terrorism and our representatives in Washington make useless speeches condemning and expressing sympathy for the  victims and their families. If you support our Government

As it stands today... please take a moment to reflect. The midterms are a sideshow. Our country is in deep, deep trouble and no politician can rescue it. Solution? I don't know, but it ain't working as it stands...

Like two peas in a pod.

Actually Bryan Fuller's Klingons were much different. So, no they didn't look like that...