The actress Nichelle Nichols who played the iconic role of Lieutenant Uhura on the original "Star Trek" series has died at the age of 89.
The news was announced by her son, with whom she had been living in New Mexico while she battled ill health.
The creator of Star Trek, Gene Roddenberry, cast her as Lieutenant Uhura at a time when black actresses were usually relegated to playing the roles of servants, not characters in positions of authority.
She planned to leave the series after the first season, but was talked out of it by civil rights leader Reverend Martin Luther King during a chance meeting, as Nichols recalled during a 2011 appearance at the "92nd Street Y" in New York.
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[TAG] Nichelle Nichols went on to star in three seasons of that original Star Trek series.