"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.)

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?)

Some Rare Photos To Enjoy!

Here are a few rare photos that have turned up online, that you may enjoy!

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

De and Leslie Parrish behind the scenes between takes while filming "Who Mourns For Adonis?"

An unusual promotional photo of Walter in front of a wall thingie that looks like it was made with an oven rack!

Nichelle shows her lovely kittycat some attention and love!

Between scenes in "The Final Frontier," the Big Three do their version of the monkeys who refuse to speak, hear or see bad things.

Nichelle On Cover of 1968 Sepia Magazine

Found this image of the cover of Sepia featuring Nichelle from 1968. Is it any wonder that she shaped my perception as to standards of beauty as a young man? Also, I now want a hotdog for lunch.... a $10 hotdog with all the trimmings.

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

Bonus: Nichelle "hangs out" with Leonard at the premiere of The Motion Picture in 1979!

Bonus #2: A lovely rare promotional photo of Nichelle from "The Search For Spock."

Happy Birthday, Nichelle!

Lovely Nichelle Nichols is 83 today. We hope she has a wonderful day of love and appreciation, and that her New Year has much health and happiness. We love you, Nichelle!

Celebrate by reading some or all of the entries I have made of the past few years, right here.

"The Cage" Artwork

Not much to post this time, but I wanted to spotlight a couple of images I found around the web. First, an amazing painting of 'The Cage" found at www.SpaceboyComics.com! They do a fantastic job of combining all of the most iconic images from the pilot. One of the things I like about "The Cage" is that is gives the universe we know from the series a sense of history; that there was a crew before the one we are familiar with. Although largely an issue of practicality (to use the expensive footage and to stave off deadlines where no other scripts were ready), the way it was used in "The Menagerie" made the most of having the footage, and incorporating it into the history of the characters was done in such a way as to make it feel entirely planned (more naturally than George Lucas' retroactive decision to make Luke and Leia siblings and Darth their father). Gene's idea for doing this, in the way he did, was pure (if pragmatic) genius, and as a result we have the series only two-parter (which really felt like "an event") with a special story and feel. 

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

Bonus: I have found this photo only one other place, in an article that I posted awhile back. But here is the photo itself without the cheap magazine paper degrading the image. This is a special photo made behind the scenes of "Plato's Stepchildren." Wow!

Bonus link: Speaking of Lucas, here is a well-done video mashup bringing the Enterprise and crew into conflict with the Star Wars universe!

 

New Rare Nichelle Nichols/Uhura Pics Surface!

STOP THE PRESSES!!!

I thought I'd seen most photos of Nichelle Nichols candid shots taken during the series that there were to see. How wrong I was. When I stumbled across these photos on a post here, I almost hyperventilated. My heart was pounding and I was breathing fast. How could these not have surfaced before? What is their source and why are they only now being seen? I would love to know the whole story behind these photos.

They show Nichelle in a breath-taking series of images taken on the set as she presents stunning dance moves and sexy poses as only she can do. And all as Uhura! Boggle! My mind is reeling. Feast your eyes on these, and pay your respects to the site that published them: The Star Trek Prop Authority.
Original Link: http://www.startrekpropauthority.com/2015/01/nichelle-nichols-rare-and-artistic.html

Update from my ST Scrapbook fanpage guest comment about it: "These were for sale on eBay recently by someone who has a whole cache of negatives. They were about 10.00 a piece for 8x10s. They had ridiculous poses of William Shatner as well which I bought. They were selling them last year for about 25.00-50.00 each and then started selling them again at a much reduced price." -W. P. Bell

Below, my reaction at seeing these newly-discovered photos!

Next time: more seldom-seen photos of the First Lady of Star Trek!

Gerald Fried Plays His Own TOS Medley

The musical scores of Gerald Fried written for classic Trek episodes continue to echo in the hearts and minds of Trek fans with a deep resonance and bring to the face a smile. Here is footage made by Larry Nemecek of the composer playing a medley of his most memorable scores, recorded on December 3, 2012 during a special launch party for LaLa Land Records' incredible 15-disc original Star Trek complete soundtrack box set.

Bonus: Below, some screen captures from the episode "The Tholian Web" of Uhura in sickbay. No reason for posting these given; for Uhura/Nichelle fans like me, none is needed!

(Click on each image to view full size; once the window opens,
you may need to click the image again to enlarge.)

1991 article: "Uhura's Mission"

Last time we featured some 25th Anniversary material from 1991, and we continue with the look back to that time period with today's entry; from issue #175 of Starlog comes this article on my favorite communications officer, Uhura, as portrayed by Nichelle Nichols..(Who still owns the role, I might add.)

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

Bonus: below, a couple of photos gleaned from around the web from Nichelle's early days as a stage performer, doing what she does best; dancing! 

Bonus #2: Below, from Starlog, a hilarious cartoon that looks at one of the most out-of-character moments for Spock in the entire series. At the end of the great episode "The Enemy Within," Spock, while signing off on a report for Janice Rand, says the line below with an uncharacteristically creepy leer. I know the episode was an early effort, when not all the characters were nailed down yet, but the line is something that would have been unsavory coming from anyone, much less Spock. Even coming from Kirk himself it would have been weird, if not completely unexpected. But Spock? It's like he was mentioning the unpleasantness in such a slimy way in order to see if he could get in on some of that action himself. Not cool.

Bonus #3: below, a page from a magazine article featuring a rare color photo of Nimoy as Spock on the bridge.