More Vintage Nichelle!

 You can never have too much vintage Nichelle! Here are a couple of new ones to me. First, Nichelle in a still from her guest spot on the 70's "Tarzan" series episodes "The Deadly Silence: Part 1 & 2" as she played a character named Ruana. One can easily imagine this is Uhura on leave after the first five-year mission, on a visit to Earth and her Bantu home and family in the United States of Africa.

In real life, the series was concurrent with Trek, from 1966-68. Since this episode was aired on 10-28-66, Trek was already in production by a couple of months, so she may have taken off from Trek to run over to the filming locations of "Tarzan," since it was also on NBC. I wonder if it coincided with any of her absences on Trek?

Below, a rare candid photo of Nichelle after a guest appearance at an early 70's  New York City Star Trek convention. We see Leonard Nimoy goofing around in a very familiar way with Nichelle, with writer Harlan Ellison in the background. (With tinted glasses and an arm around her waist.) Note the convention "Crew" badge worn by the lady on the left. It appears that Nichelle is in the middle of, or very close to, a "nip slip" in this photo! Copies of this photo are for sale on ebay, here.

Below, a rare publicity shot of Nichelle in character. I've never seen this particular one before now.

Below, a couple of montages of photos that were really too small to feature individually.

Bonus: Not a particularly rare image, but stunning nonetheless; Nichelle during the filming of (possibly) "The Wrath of Khan," or one of the other sequels, like "The Search For Spock". That mischievous smile is enchanting!

Bonus #2: Here is a blog entry on another site that gives a good overview of Nichelle's singing and dancing career, as part of a review of her album, "Dark Side Of The Moon.". I enjoyed reading it and was pleased and amused to see my own site in the list of links at the bottom for more info on Nichelle!

More Nichelle Photos Surface!

Anyone that has a passing familiarity with this blog knows about my fixation (some would call it obsession) with Uhura, as played by Nichelle Nichols. So, when previously unseen photos are brought to light, it is cause for rejoicing on my part! (At least, they are new to me.) Here are a few more, the first a stunning one catching her exiting her home and striking a pose... followed by several taken before her Trek days, when she was focusing on her singing and dancing. A perfect example of striking beauty, grace and style!

(To view full size, click on each image, and once it opens, you might need to click once more to magnify.)

These wonderful pics below were taken at Minneapolis.

To see more pics of the lovely Nichelle, many of them new or rare, click here for the "Uhura" tag that will link you to many more posts!

BONUS: Not to neglect the other beauty on the show, here is a rare photo of Grace Lee Whitney on the set as Janice Rand, in a pose calculated to show her legs to the best advantage! (How come all those ladders on the sets only ever go up?)

The Monster Times #2 Interview With Shatner

The second issue of The Monster Times newspaper was super-special to young Trekkers like myself, being pretty much the first magazine to devote an entire issue to the subject. Below is the entire interview with Bill Shatner, conducted just after the series had ended, in 1969.

(To view full-size, click on the images. Once open, you may have to click on it one more time to enlarge.)

If you loved TMT and have fond memories of it, you will enjoy the group I have created devoted to it on Facebook! Join today and get in on all the fun, as we have several contributors and editors of the magazine as members, including the interviewer in the article Steve Vertlieb, and writer Gary Gerani! https://www.facebook.com/groups/280642125800013/

Bonus: Below, a publicity photo of Chekov (Walter Koenig) and Yeoman Martha Landon (Celeste Yarnall).

The Monster Times Star Trek Special #2: Part One

In 1974, while perusing the latest issue of The Monster Times I had just picked up, I saw an advertisement for both the Sci-Fi Special (in magazine format) and the newspaper format Star Trek Special #2. Since my grandmother's house was a haven where I could be myself and read what I wanted, and where I stored my collection of magazines and comics to keep them safe from my stepdad, I ordered both and had them delivered to her house. A few weeks later when I visited again, they had arrived and were waiting for me! It was an exciting afternoon and evening, I can tell you that, as I soaked in all the great stuff contained therein.

Below you will find scans of the issue's first half, with the second half coming soon.

(Click on each image to enlarge. Once open, you may have to click again to view full size.)

Bonus: If you fondly remember TMT, join a new Facebook group I have created dedicated solely to this fantastic publication! https://www.facebook.com/groups/280642125800013/

"Leonard Nimoy Answers 40 Questions" 1967 Article

From a 1967 movie magazine comes this article with 40 intimate things you always wanted to know about Leonard Nimoy!

(Click on the images to view full-size. Once open, you may have to click again to enlarge.)

Bonus #1: A rare publicity photo of Shatner and guest star Celeste Yarnell from "The Apple." I have no clue what odd kind of alien plant he's using to impress her with his knowledge of...

"Why waste time with Chekov over there? Let's show the natives how it's really done."

Bonus #2: Rare publicity photo of Joan Collins as Edith Keeler.

"Oh, Mr. Kirk... would you help me with the dreadfully heavy doily?"

Bill Shatner: A Restless Man

From a movie/TV magazine in around 1967 comes this article about Shatner that still seems to be relevant to the way he lives his life!

(Click on images to enlarge. Once open, you may have to click again to view full-size.)

Bonus #1: A 1967 article about the emotion-filled Leonard Nimoy. Note the half-shaved eyebrows that he had to endure for the whole series!

Bonus #3: Below, a rare publicity picture of Nimoy and Jill Ireland.

Bonus #4: Rare image of Jeff Hunter with a laser pistol prop! Note the industrial-strength tinfoil that was used for the cave walls and the rock formations on Talos IV. Very effective at creating rock-like surfaces! But I think a coat of matte-textured spray paint would have been more effective at making the reflective tinfoil surface look less metallic.

"Paint 'er greener!" The Famous Orion Makeup Test!

William McCullar's IDIC Page, sadly defunct now, made available this very rare image of Majel Barrett (M. Leigh Hudec at the time) when she was screen-testing the makeup for the Green Orion Slave Girl.

The “green girl” was the creation of Fred Phillips who also made Spock’s Vulcan look for the original Star Trek television series. Stephen E. Whitfield and Gene Roddenberry recalled in The Making of Star Trek (1968) how Phillips grew increasingly frustrated as three consecutive makeup screen tests, in which Roddenberry’s future wife Majel Barrett had been painted green, came back negative. "Now, Fred Phillips is an exceptionally fine makeup artist and recognized as a top pro in the business. He did a thorough job with the makeup and was quite satisfied with the results. Imagine everyone’s surprise, upon viewing the developed film the next day, to find the actress’ face just as normally pink skinned as ever! There was no trace of green." Gene’s orders to Fred Phillips: “Paint her greener!” The following day the test film again showed her as pink skinned as ever. Even Fred was dumbfounded. Recalling the incident, he says, “We did this three days in a row. We had her so green you couldn’t believe it and she kept coming back pink! Finally we figured out what was happening. The technician over at the film lab would receive the film every day and run it through the development solution. As the image formed on the film, he kept saying to himself, ‘My God, this woman is green!’ And so he kept correcting the film developing process in order to turn her back to normal skin color again!”

Bonus: Below, a rare photo of Shatner and Whitney, made after the second pilot, but before the first filmed episode. The uniform worn by Shatner was only ever seen in these promo photos and never in an episode. 

"See, you adjust this satellite dish and you can get hundreds of channels for only dollars a day!"

Bonus: A cartoon from the fanzine "Enterprise Incidents" that echoes the MAD Magazine depiction on a similar occurrence, referenced below it.