Research Guides: George Takei: Biography

George Takei (Born April 20, 1937)

Takei graduated from Los Angeles High School in 1956 and enrolled at the University of California at Berkeley to study architecture. He later transferred to UCLA where he received both a BA and a master's degree in theater. Takei further honed his acting skills at the Shakespeare Institute at Stratford-uponAvon in England. Starting in the late '50s Takei regularly appeared on various television shows, including The Twilight Zone and Mission Impossible, and in a number of feature films. In 1965 Gene Roddenberry cast him as Mr. Sulu in Star Trek, a role he played for the duration of the acclaimed TV series (which ran from 1966-1969) and in the first six Star Trek films. Takei has since been a regular on the sci-fi convention circuit and has acted continuously, doing voice roles for animated shows and films, along with numerous guest appearances on TV dramas, sitcoms, and reality shows. Continue . . .

Source: “George Takei (1937-Present).” Humanist, vol. 72, no. 6, Nov. 2012, p. 1. From Academic Search Complete database.

Resources

George Takei Webpage George Takei, along with his Team Takei staff, created GeorgeTakei.com as a place for all things Takei. Updates in this community will keep you informed of George's latest work.
George Takei: A Family's Story of Survival The article focuses on actor George Takei and his experiences in a Japanese-American concentration camp during World War II. The author explains that Takei is paying tribute to his parents and the other Japanese-American citizens who were impacted by the evacuation and relocation with his role in the theatrical production "Allegiance."
It’s More Than Ok to Be Takei An interview with actor George Takei is presented. Takei considers social networking as an amazing means to deliver the social issues regarding LGBT community and his involvement inn the rights movement. He considers the preference of Asian Americans not to engage with politics since the opponents use everything to win an election. He also discusses the use of humor as an effective tool for activism.
Oh, My! A Conversation With George Takei The article presents an interview with actor George Takei regarding the documentary about him, "To Be Takei" by Jennifer Kroot, which is scheduled for release on August 22, 2014. Topics include his family's experience in the U.S. Japanese internment camps during the second World War, his costars on the television (TV) program "Star Trek," and his relationship with his husband, Brad Takei.
Pioneers of Television: George Takei eorge Hosato Takei was born in Los Angeles, California in 1937 to middle class Japanese-American parents. He began his acting career as a young man in the late 1950s, moving through the limited voiceover, dubbing and television bit part opportunities made available to Asian-American actors at the time. It was a troubling era for Takei – the Hollywood climate was such that even when a role was written specifically for an Asian character, it would often go to a Caucasian disguised with phony Asian features....
George Takei, Actor, Author, Director, Activist “Part of resilience is finding joy, finding beauty, finding love.” Takei is an actor, director, author and activist, best known for his role as Hikaru Sulu, in the classic TV series Star Trek. In addition to being an actor, Takei has become a proponent of LGBT rights and a political activist.
A Conversation with George Takei George Takei, an actor, talks with University Presents host Norman Gilliland about his life and his career. Takei discusses his childhood in a Japanese internment camp during World War II, his early acting jobs and landing the role as Sulu in “Star Trek.”
‘I am an American’ — George Takei on a lifetime of defying stereotypes George Takei, the famed actor and activist perhaps best-known for his role of Sulu in Star Trek or for his posts on civil rights to his millions of social media followers, has lived many lives. Among them: he was one of roughly 120,000 Japanese-Americans who lived through internment after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, an experience that he says he feels more obliged than ever to discuss.
George Takei on being an Asian-American George Takei discusses hardships he experienced growing up as an Asian-American in a paranoid United States.

From Films On Demand Database:

George Takei Host Neil deGrasse Tyson features his interview with actor George Takei, a.k.a "Sulu" on the original Star Trek TV series and films. Comedian co-host Leighann Lord and special guest astrophysicist Charles Liu discuss Star Trek's legacy as a series that pioneered the virtues of diversity, science and optimism in American culture. A National Geographic Production.
Defining the Mission Each individual brings unique qualities to a group. Understand the goal or mission of a team.
"Star Trek" George Takei portrayed Hikari Sulu; the role was not stereotyped and Sulu did not have an accent. Takei recalls soldiers arriving at his Los Angeles home. He and many other Japanese Americans were sent to internment camps. Distributed by PBS Distribution.