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October 28, 2005
As if Star Trek was not Gay Enough...
LOS ANGELES - George Takei, who as helmsman Sulu steered the
Starship Enterprise through three television seasons and six movies,
has come out as a homosexual in the current issue of Frontiers, a
biweekly Los Angeles magazine covering the gay and lesbian community.
Takei told The Associated Press on Thursday that his new onstage role
as psychologist Martin Dysart in "Equus," helped inspire him to
publicly discuss his sexuality.
Takei described the character as a "very contained but turbulently
frustrated man." The play opened Wednesday at the David Henry Hwang
Theater in Los Angeles, the same day that Frontiers magazine featured
a story on Takei's coming out.
The current social and political climate also motivated Takei's
disclosure, he said.
"The world has changed from when I was a young teen feeling ashamed
for being gay," he said. "The issue of gay marriage is now a political
issue. That would have been unthinkable when I was young."
The 68-year-old actor said he and his partner, Brad Altman, have been
together for 18 years.
Takei, a Japanese-American who lived in a U.S. internment camp from
age 4 to 8, said he grew up feeling ashamed of his ethnicity and
sexuality. He likened prejudice against gays to racial segregation.
"It's against basic decency and what American values stand for," he said.
Takei joined the "Star Trek" cast in 1966 as Hikaru Sulu, a character
he played for three seasons on television and in six subsequent films.
He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1986.
A community activist, Takei ran for the Los Angeles City Council in
1973. He serves on the advisory committee of the California Civil
Liberties Public Education Program and is chairman of East West
Players, the theater company producing "Equus."
Posted by Jeremy at October 28, 2005 1:50 PM
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