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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 3, 2022)
Page 8 August 03, 2022 Arts & ENTERTAINMENT Star Trek Actress Passes at 89 Soulful Artist’s come AP) —Nichelle Nichols, who broke barriers for Black wom- en in Hollywood as communi- cations officer Lt. Uhura on the original “Star Trek” television series, has died at the age of 89. Her son Kyle Johnson said Nichols died Saturday in Silver City, New Mexico. “Last night, my mother, Nichelle Nichols, succumbed to natural causes and passed away. Her light however, like the ancient galaxies now be- ing seen for the first time, will remain for us and future gen- erations to enjoy, learn from, and draw inspiration,” Johnson wrote on her official Facebook page Sunday. “Hers was a life well lived and as such a model for us all.” Her role in the 1966-69 se- ries earned Nichols a lifelong position of honor with the series’ rabid fans, known as Trekkers and Trekkies. It also earned her accolades for break- ing stereotypes that had limited Black women to acting roles as Actor Nichelle Nichols, who played Lt. Ntoya Uhura on ''Star Trek,'' servants and included an inter- waves as she arrives at the "Star Trek: 30 Years and Beyond" racial onscreen kiss with co- tribute at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles, Sunday, Oct. 6, 1996. star William Shatner that was Nichols died Saturday, July 30, 2022, her family said. She was 89. unheard of at the time. -AP Photo For READERS OF ALL AGES and all walks of life together for concert Continued from Page 7 their first single in almost 20 years, on the Bogi Music Group label. Ronnie Laws is an award-winning tenor saxo- phonist and composer in the '80s. He was an international festival and club draw. Three singles from his first three al- bums all went gold, as did their respective long-players. Although Laws has often Dazz Band been characterized strictly as a "smooth jazz" artist, he might be the first instrumentalist to score hits in the emerging "quiet storm" subgenre of R&B. Sign- ing to Eddie Holland's HDH la- bel in 2004, he cut Everlasting, which hit number 39 on the jazz charts. Though Laws hasn't re- corded an album since then, he continues to tour and do sessions work. In 2017, he dropped the R&B single "Settle Down" on the Bungalo/CIA label.
