Star Trek Online Players Mourn Passing Of Nichelle Nichols With In-Game Vigil

Nichelle Nichols, the actor who first portrayed the Enterprise’s communications officer Lt. Nyota Uhura on Star Trek: The Original Series, passed away this weekend at the age of 89. News of Nichols’s passing was conveyed by her son, Kyle Johnson, in an Instagram post on Sunday, in which he paid tribute to her stating that, “hers was a life well lived and as such a model for us all.”

Among the many things Nichols is known for – such as working with NASA to recruit women and people of color as astronauts – is one of the first on-screen interracial kisses in the US between a black woman and a white man. To get the kiss on screen, Nichols and Shatner purposefully messed up the backup shots that would have had them not-quite kissing, forcing the executive to either can the scene or go with the kiss. The move wasn’t necessarily political. Part of the logic was simply that Kirk would never turn down the chance to kiss a pretty girl.

As a leading character in a sci-fi TV series, Nichols drew a lot of attention and was considered a role model by a lot of people, including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. King talked her into staying on the show when she was considering leaving.

As the original Lt. Uhura, Nichols has been a beloved member of the Star Trek family since the beginning, so it should be no surprise that upon hearing of her passing, members of the Star Trek Online community held in-game vigils in her honor. The players gathered at the Star Fleet Academy grounds to celebrate her life and the joy she brought each of them.

Spontaneous torch vigil in Star Trek Online’s Starfleet Academy for Nichelle Nichols. Trekkies show love in every corner of the fandom. 💔 pic.twitter.com/3kG0GvuUep

— Leen Isabel (@leenisabel) August 1, 2022

I love when our trek family comes together I hate that we come together in grief today pic.twitter.com/AS298yfCFf

— Princess Fujimaru👑🏳️‍🌈🥷🏿 (@Fujimaru_husky) August 1, 2022

pic.twitter.com/tHkXllc4LW

— #Tony Swartz (@Anthony32235440) August 1, 2022