Quick viewing(Text Mode)

Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} to the Stars the Autobiography of George Takei Star Trek's Mr

Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} To the Stars The Autobiography of 's Mr. Sulu by George Takei To The Stars : The Autobiography of George Takei. Best known as Mr. Sulu, helmsman of the Starship Enterprise ™ and captain of the Starship Excelsior , George Takei is beloved by millions as part of the command team that has taken audiences to new vistas of adventure in Star Trek ®—the unprecedented television and feature film phenomenon. From the program’s birth in the changing world of the 1960s and death at the hands of the network to its rebirth in the hearts and minds of loyal fans, the Star Trek story has blazed its own path into our recent cultural history, leading to a series of blockbuster feature films and three new versions of Star Trek for television. The Star Trek story is one of boundless hope and crushing disappointment, wrenching rivalries and incredible achievements. It is also the story of how, after nearly thirty years, the cast of characters from a unique but poorly rated television show have come to be known to millions of Americans and people around the world as family. For George Takei, the Star Trek adventure is intertwined with his personal odyssey through adversity in which four-year-old George and his family were forced by the United States government into camps during World War II. Star Trek means much more to George Takei than an extraordinary career that has spanned thirty years. For an American whose ideals faced such a severe test, Star Trek represents a shining embodiment of the American Dream—the promise of an optimistic future in which people from all over the world contribute to a common destiny. To the Stars: The Autobiography of George Takei, Star Trek's Mr. Sulu. Title: To the Stars: The Autobiography of George . Publisher: Pocket Books. Publication Date: 1994. Binding: Hardcover. Book Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. Signed: Signed by Author(s) Edition: 1st Edition. About this title. George Takei shares the dramatic and turbulent events of his career, from his childhood and life in a Japanese internment camp during World War II, to his years on Star Trek, to his success as an actor, author, and businessman. 85,000 first printing. Tour. Note that this is an abridged edition of this title. "About this title" may belong to another edition of this title. Delivery upon receipt of payment or confirmation of sale by AbeBooks. Money orders, personal checks, PayPal accepted. Credit cards are accepted through AbeBooks or PayPal payment services. All orders are securely packaged & shipped via USPS Priority Mail and Media Mail. Special arrangements can be made for Express delivery. The cost of shipment is approximate and if an undue overage is charged you will be refunded the difference as it is not our intent to profit via shipping costs. Similarly, if a book is unusually heavy or over-sized, we may contact you for additional shipping charges. International packages are shipped only via Priority Mail. Insurance is extra and is determined by buyer. All orders are shipped the next business day. Biography. Although primarily known for playing in the television series Звездный путь (1966) and the first six features, George Takei has had a varied career acting in television, feature films, live theater and radio. He also is a successful writer and community activist. George Takei was born Hosato Takei on April 20, 1937, in Boyle Heights, , . His mother, Fumiko Emily (Nakamura), was born in Sacramento, to Japanese parents, and his father, Takekuma Norman Takei, worked in real estate and was born in Japan's Yamanashi Prefecture. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, George and his family were relocated from Los Angeles to the Rohwer Relocation Center in Arkansas, and later, as the war was ending they were moved to a camp at Tule Lake in Northern California. Takei's first-hand knowledge of the unjust internment of 120,000 in World War II, poignantly chronicled in his autobiography, created a lifelong interest in politics and community affairs. After graduating from in 1956, George studied architecture at UC Berkeley. An ad in a Japanese community paper led to a summer job on the MGM lot dubbing eight characters from Japanese into English for Радон (1956) (aka "Rodan"). With the acting bug kindled in him, he transferred to UCLA as a theater arts major. Contacting an agent he had met at MGM led to Takei's appearance as an embittered soldier in postwar Japan in the (1956) production "Made in Japan" even before starting classes at UCLA. Being spotted in a UCLA theater production by a Warner Bros. casting director led to George's feature film debut in Titanen (1960), various roles in Гавайский детектив (1959) and other feature work. In June 1960, he completed his degree at UCLA and studied that summer at the Shakespeare Institute at Stratford-Upon-Avon in England. After starting a Master's degree program at UCLA, George was cast in the socially relevant stage musical production, "Fly Blackbird!" but was replaced when the show moved to New York. He took odd jobs until returning to his role at the end of the run. Getting little work in Manhattan, George returned to Los Angeles to continue his studies at UCLA, once again appearing in television series and feature films. He earned his Master's degree in 1964. Wanting a multi-racial crew, cast him in "Where No Man Has Gone Before", the second Звездный путь (1966) pilot. Mr. Sulu remained as a regular character when the series went into production. In the hiatus after the end of shooting the first season, he worked on Зеленые береты (1968), playing a South Vietnamese Special Forces officer. After Звездный путь (1966) was cancelled, Takei did guest stints in several television series, voiced Sulu for the animated Star Trek series and regularly appeared at Star Trek conventions. He also produced and hosted a public affairs show, "Expression East/West" aired in Los Angeles from 1971 to 1973. In 1973, he ran for the . Although he lost by a small margin, Mayor Tom Bradley appointed him to the board of directors of the Southern California Rapid Transit District, where he served until 1984 and contributed to plans for the subway. During this period, he co-wrote a sci-fi novel, "Mirror Friend, Mirror Foe". He campaigned to get more respect for his character in the Star Trek features, resulting in Sulu finally obtaining the rank of captain in Звездный путь 6: Неоткрытая страна (1991), a role reprised in the Звездный путь: Вояджер (1995) episode "Flashback". George has run several marathons and was in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Torch Relay. He gained a star on Boulevard's Walk of Fame in 1986 and left his signature and hand print in cement at the Chinese Theater in 1991. His 1994 autobiography, "To the Stars", was well- received by more than just Star Trek fans. He remains active as a stage, television and film actor and as an advocate for the interests of Japanese- Americans. To The Stars. Best known as Mr. Sulu, helmsman of the Starship Enterprise ™ and captain of the Starship Excelsior , George Takei is beloved by millions as part of the command team that has taken audiences to new vistas of adventure in Star Trek ®—the unprecedented television and feature film phenomenon. From the program’s birth in the changing world of the 1960s and death at the hands of the network to its rebirth in the hearts and minds of loyal fans, the Star Trek story has blazed its own path into our recent cultural history, leading to a series of blockbuster feature films and three new versions of Star Trek for television. The Star Trek story is one of boundless hope and crushing disappointment, wrenching rivalries and incredible achievements. It is also the story of how, after nearly thirty years, the cast of characters from a unique but poorly rated television show have come to be known to millions of Americans and people around the world as family. For George Takei, the Star Trek adventure is intertwined with his personal odyssey through adversity in which four-year-old George and his family were forced by the United States government into internment camps during World War II. Star Trek means much more to George Takei than an extraordinary career that has spanned thirty years. For an American whose ideals faced such a severe test, Star Trek represents a shining embodiment of the American Dream—the promise of an optimistic future in which people from all over the world contribute to a common destiny. To the Stars: The Autobiography of George Takei, Star Trek's Mr. Sulu (1994) Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. Enjoyable read for a 'Star Trek' fan. As like many others, I really only know George Takei as Sulu (I don't even follow his social media although I know he's relatively popular on that forum). However, it was really worth the read to find out a lot more about the man. For instance, he actually spent a few years as a child in a Japanese internment camp during World War II. His experiences were probably buffeted by that he was just a child, but it was still a sad and depressing read. After the end of the war, he and his family (like many other Japanese- Americans) had to scrape together a new life. However, as Takei notes, arguably his family was one of the luckier ones, as there were people who were deported for Japan. I was unaware of this fact (but not surprised), and this section reminds me to read up more about the Japanese internment camps. I'm sure there's more to this that is also not typically taught in a lot of history classes. Anyway: the first half of the book is his childhood through his young adulthood. It was fascinating to see his life as his family moved to a Latino- dominated area and then to a fairly non-diverse, mostly white neighborhood in LA. His experiences with was sad to read about but a good reminder of how the bitterness of WWII lingered. I'm not going to lie: I read this for the stuff on 'Star Trek'. I'm not a fan of the original series (TOS) as much and so many of the stories and anecdotes Takei tells were totally and completely new to me. It's interesting to see what he thought of some people, his relationships with various cast members (or not. ) his thoughts about the show, his character Sulu, etc. And while he weaves in stories of his other works, most of it was not interesting unless it was about famous actors (, ) or something else I was familiar with or he discusses what it's like being an Asian man working in Hollywood during this time period. Some of his stories revolving around that were really interesting: from the awful sounding gibberish Alec Guinness speaks that is supposed to pass for Japanese, to the acknowledgement that 'Star Trek' boosted his profile in Hollywood and made him an international star who happened to be Japanese. But unless someone is a hard core fan or has specific interests in the films he was in or with actors he worked with, I doubt people would care so much. I agree with some of the other reviews: in some ways I was quite surprised to see the lack of detail regarding 'Star Trek' and that apparently a lot of these stories might be the same ones you hear about at conventions. It is fully possible that as Sulu was not a Kirk or a Spock, he just didn't have as many stories that were as interesting. or appropriate to tell. I was pleased to see that Takei acknowledge that 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' had come into its own after initially dismissing it (with good reason). Overall I thought it was an interesting read. It does also need lots of updating: it came out in 1994 and I'd love an update or a new epilogue or something. As he publicly announced his sexual orientation really not that long ago it would be interesting to see what his thoughts are on gay marriage, the ongoing civil rights battles, what his thoughts are about being a gay Asian (perhaps one of the most visible?) in Hollywood and beyond. It was not a page-turner but as a Star Trek fan I enjoyed it. Got it as a bargain book and that sounds about right. Hardcore Trek fans or those with an interest in Asians in Hollywood or those interested for his experiences in the internment camp might find it to be a good purchase. ( ) I learned so many things I did not know about George Takei by reading this thoroughly engaging autobiography. As a child he was interred in a WWII Japanese-American prison camp in Arkansas (my state!). He started college as an architecture major, but switched to theater and received both B.A. and M.A. degrees from UCLA. He spent a decade working on the board of directors for the Southern California Rapid Transit. He has been involved in politics since his junior high school days. He had many acting roles besides Star Trek’s Mr. Sulu and deeply regrets the times he was desperate for work and played a stereotyped Asian character. Throughout the book, Mr. Takei maintains an upbeat attitude - always showing his deep concern for the equality of all people and his lifelong focus on advancing the cause of Japanese Americans. He gives glimpses of behind-the-scenes Star Trek, but does not engage in any tattle-telling or bad- mouthing that many people will want to read, so if this is what you are looking for, look elsewhere. (Although it is pretty obvious he doesn’t care for , and says that he basically feels sorry for him) I kept asking myself if he could really be such a nice guy, but after hearing him speak in person… You know what? I think maybe he IS. ( ) Happy (belated) birthday, George! To the Stars: Autobiography of George Takei, Star Trek’s Mr. Sulu by George Takei (Simon & Schuster, $14.99 ebook). Originally published in 1995, the “Oh, myyyyy” guy’s initial biography far preceded his current resurgence as a fan favorite. , getting married, taking on the battle for equality for gays in addition to his long-time work to end racism and to remind us of our historical mistreatment of Japanese Americans in WWII’s internment camps–well, all of these things have been very, very good for Takei’s career. Add to that his ever-present, always funny, usually smart presence on social media, and you’d hardly believe the guy turned 78 yesterday. Last month, Simon & Schuster finally released To the Stars as an ebook under their Gallery/Threshold/Pocket imprint. This book, written prior to his public coming-out, concentrates on his childhood experience of internment and how that affected everything he did after. It’s also famous as the book that started his “cold war” with William Shatner, Star Trek’s Captain Kirk, because Takei didn’t soft-coat anything.

Top View