In the event of a government shutdown, the National Portrait Gallery will remain OPEN through at least Saturday, October 7, by using prior year funds. Visit si.edu for updates.

Back

George Takei

Usage Conditions Apply

Artist: Grav Weldon, born 1971
Sitter: George Hosato Takei, born 20 Apr 1937

Date: April 16, 2013 (printed 2020)

Type: Photograph

Medium: Inkjet print
Dimensions: Image: 38.8 × 38.8 cm (15 1/4 × 15 1/4"); Sheet: 40.7 × 40.7 cm (16 × 16"); Mat: 71.1 × 55.9 cm (28 × 22")

Topic: Exterior; Nature & Environment\Clouds; Costume\Dress Accessory\Eyeglasses; Equipment\Camera; Costume\Dress Accessory\Eyeglasses\Sunglasses; Nature & Environment\Animal\Insect\Butterfly; Equipment\Podium; Costume\Dress Accessory\Belt; George Hosato Takei: Male; George Hosato Takei: Performing Arts\Performer\Actor; George Hosato Takei: Society and Social Change\Reformer\Activist; Portrait

Place: United States\Arkansas\Desha\Rohwer

Credit Line: National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution

Restrictions & Rights: Usage conditions apply

Object number: NPG.2019.116

Exhibition Label: Born Los Angeles, California; When George Takei made his debut as helmsman Hikaru Sulu on Star Trek in 1966, he became the first Asian American to play a major, nonstereotyped character in a U.S. television series. Takei appeared in almost every episode of the short-lived but wildly popular series, as well as in all six of its feature films released between 1979 and 1991.; Earlier in life, during World War II, Takei and his family were imprisoned in Japanese American internment camps in Arkansas and California. This photograph was taken when Takei returned to one of these camps, in Rohwer, Arkansas, for a dedication ceremony of the Jerome-Rohwer Interpretive Museum and Visitor Center. Takei’s experiences as an internee inspired his 2015 Broadway musical, Allegiance. Long active in politics and civic affairs, he “came out” in 2005 and continues to advocate for LGBTQ+ and social justice issues through his large social media following.; Nacido en Los Ángeles, California; Cuando debutó en 1966 como el piloto Hikaru Sulu en Star Trek, George Takei fue el primer asiáticoamericano que interpretó un personaje importante libre de estereotipos en una serie televisiva estadounidense. Takei participó en casi todos los episodios de la serie, corta pero sumamente popular, así como en sus seis películas derivadas entre 1979 y 1991.; En su niñez, durante la 2da Guerra Mundial, Takei y su familia fueron prisioneros en campos de internamiento para japoneses-americanos en Arkansas y California. Esta fotografía fue tomada cuando regresó a uno de esos campos en Rohwer, Arkansas, para la inauguración del Museo Interpretativo y Centro de Visitantes Jerome-Rohwer. Las experiencias de reclusión de Takei inspiraron su musical Allegiance (Lealtad), presentado en Broadway en 2015. Activo por largo tiempo en el ámbito político y cívico, Takei hizo pública su homosexualidad en 2005 y continúa abogando por la justicia social y los derechos LGBTQ+ con una influyente presencia en las redes sociales.

Data Source: National Portrait Gallery