"New" Nichelle Nichols photo discovered!

Stop the presses! Here's a photo of Nichelle, taken either during the filming of Trek or just before, that has come to light... one that I have never seen before. I had to share it with you immediately! (Click on the images to see full-size, as always.)

Bonus: Below, a fake "vintage" ad that I created using an actual photo of Shatner taking a dramatic smoke break. The professional lighting and look of Bill in the shot seemed to suggest an ad, so I put it in the framework of an existing ad from the 60's. This is not endorsing smoking, but is making the best use of a photo that was perfect for the ad!

Bonus #2: amazing artwork depicting many, if not most, of the characters seen in episodes of the original series! See how many you can find or identify! (Click to enlarge.)

Bob Larkin Star Trek Art

Artist Bob Larkin has been responsible for many. many memorable covers of the magazines that I collected when young; Planet of the Apes, Marvel's monster magazines, Crazy, DC comics covers, Trek novel covers, and many many more. I have just created a Facebook group devoted to collecting his art in one place, so if you, like me, love his art and have good memories of it, come join us! It's at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/boblarkinappreciationgroup

A true Trek fan himself, here we see Bob in a photo from his blog commemorating the 50th anniversary of the show!  Visit his blog here: http://boblarkin.blogspot.com/

1983 Lincoln Enterprises Catalog

In 1974 I sent off for my first Lincoln Enterprises catalog (see some of the other posts about them here), and in 1983 I was still getting them in the mail. By then, they were getting bigger and fancier, with color photos of much of the material within. Whereas the original ones from the 70's were in a newspaper format (which was fun to read then, but hard to scan now), the newer ones were in magazine format, though still on newsprint paper. This issue from 1983 included material from both ST:TMP and The Wrath of Khan. However, it still contained older material from their earliest catalogs, like Kung Fu, Search, and Gene's several made-for-tv pilots. This post contains the first half of the catalog, the second half will be posted soon.

(To view full-size, click on each image. It will open in a new window. You may have to click on it once more to magnify.)

The painting prints offered below were unusual considering how they mingled characters from the films with figures like Ronald Reagan, Richard Nixon and even The Great Gonzo Muppet!

Bonus: Below, the cover of the soft-cover "Make-Your-Own Costume Book" for ST:TMP. Published for kids, it surely wasn't made for accuracy. However, I think it would be a fun retro-cosplay for some fan to recreate one of these now!

Third Season Set Visit

From a mid-70's fan magazine, title unknown since my copy is missing the first few pages. However, I didn't want this to prevent me from presenting an article in what remained, concerning a set visit during the filming of the third season episode "Day Of The Dove." If any fans reading this recognize the fanzine, please comment and tell me the title.

(To view full-size, click on each image and it will open in a new window. You may have to click on it again to magnify.)

From the back cover, great art depicting a couple of the lovely guest characters, Nona and Vina.

BONUS: Below, a rare photo of Shatner with one of his daughters, from a movie magazine published during the series production. 

1991 Christian Research Journal Article

From the Fall 1991 issue of the Christian Research Magazine comes this in-depth look at the philosophy of Trek as it related to religion, and Christianity in particular. Of course, in reading it, your view of the article will be influenced by your own views and beliefs. My own align with the writer of the article. But that doesn't diminish my enjoyment of the series or movies, as I know what to enjoy and accept, and what to reject and ignore, based on my own internal worldview.

 (To view full-size, click on each image. It will open up in a new window. You might have to click again to magnify.)

Bonus: Below, a rare pic of Shatner studying his lines (or maybe counting them) as he bikes between takes.

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?)