Nichelle Nichols spent three seasons and six films making a small part look like a job someone had trained for. Uhura was rarely given a scene of her own; the achievement is how much Nichols made of the space between other people's.
Fi1m perspective
Watch the bridge of the Enterprise for long enough and you notice Nichelle Nichols's rhythm. A turn from the station, a report in a level voice, a turn back. She is at that station for the three seasons of Star Trek (1966–1969) and given a scene of her own in very few episodes, and what she does with that is make the turn look like work. Uhura is not decorating the set. She is running a department, and Nichols plays her as someone who trained hard for the post and does not expect thanks for it.
She came to it as a singer and dancer, touring with Duke Ellington from the age of 15 and appearing in Porgy and Bess (1959), and Gene Roddenberry had already used her on The Lieutenant (1964) before he cast her. The singing came aboard with her; several episodes stop to let Uhura sing, and they are among the few times the series hands her the centre of the frame. She considered leaving after the first season and was persuaded to stay.
The part was the limit, and we should be plain about that, since our own review of the series does not mention her and credits its pleasure to Shatner, Nimoy and Kelley disagreeing. On the live-action programme Uhura seldom left the bridge and did not take command; the animated series finally let her run the ship in 'The Lorelei Signal' (1973), which tells you what the writers had thought of and not done. The 1968 episode 'Plato's Stepchildren' gave her the kiss with William Shatner that American network television had not shown before. Watching her in Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979), held by the editor in a reaction shot while the effects went past, we felt cross on her behalf: here was an actor who could do a great deal with very little, and the film had found a way to give her less.
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) treats her better. Uhura has a commander's rank and Nichols carries it as if she had always had it, more weight in the voice and no more words. She stayed through Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991), the last film with the original cast and her last time in the part. Later there were voice roles, a run on Heroes (2006–2007) and The Young and the Restless (2016), none of which asked much more of her than the bridge had.
From 1977 she also worked with NASA, recruiting women and minority astronauts. The scripts rarely let Uhura leave the bridge. Nichols spent years helping other people get into orbit.
Biography
Nichelle Nichols, also credited as Grace Dell Nichols, was an American actress, singer and dancer. Born in Robbins, Illinois, she began her career as a performer, touring as a singer and dancer with the orchestras of Duke Ellington and Lionel Hampton before moving into acting.
She is best known for portraying Lieutenant Nyota Uhura, the communications officer on the USS Enterprise, in the television series Star Trek (1966–1969) and its six feature films from 1979 to 1991, in which the character was promoted to commander. Nichols appeared in other television roles including Nana Dawson in Heroes (2006–2007) and provided voice work for series such as The Simpsons and Futurama. She also worked as an executive producer on several later projects.
