Star Trek's George Takei and Brad Altman Talk Marriage

Star Trek actor George Takei and his partner Brad Altman talked to Julie Chen on The Early Show yesterday about their proposal and upcoming marriage, which they have planned for September in order to go through the "delicious anguish" of planning.

Said Altman: "It's not about a political statement, it's about legally in California -- the California Supreme Court says everybody is equally entitled to marriage. This is the first time -- George and I have been together more than 21 years in good times and bad times through sickness and health and for the first time we can legally marry each other and I'm just thrilled."

Added Takei: "To us it's about love. But it's the climate we are entering that makes it political. For us, it's love and we get to make it a marriage."

LAst week Takei made headlines when it was revealed that former Star Trek cast members would make up the wedding party, but that William Shatner had been snubbed.

Watch it, AFTER THE JUMP...

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Previously
Crew of Enterprise, Aside from Kirk, to Helm Dr. Sulu's Wedding [tr]

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Crew of Enterprise, Aside from Kirk, to Helm Dr. Sulu's Wedding

(image ny post)

Star Trek actor George Takei gave People some of the details on his upcoming marriage to 21-year partner Brad Altman: "...they've already settled on a few things that reflect their eclectic taste as well as their respective backgrounds. Scottish bagpipes will play during the ceremony and a Mexican-American Buddhist minister will officiate. They've ordered matching Native American turquoise and silver rings. And the wedding dinner will feature fusion Japanese-Mexican cuisine."

Added Takei: "We knew that the (California State) Supreme Court was going to be coming down with their ruling. (We'd heard) that it was probably going to be positive. So I was planning on asking Brad to get married. We were at home in the kitchen and we had the TV going, and when the word came down suddenly Brad got on his knees in front of me. And I said, 'What are you doing?' He said, 'George, will you marry me?' I said 'Yes. You beat me to it. I meant to ask you.'"

The wedding party will be populated with fellow Star Trek actors: The best man is my colleague from Star Trek, Walter Koenig, who played Chekov, and the matron of honor is (Lt.) Uhura, Nichelle Nichols. And Leonard (Nimoy) and his wife Susan are on the (guest) list."

Captain Kirk has apparently been left off the guest list: "'We have only 200 seats,' Altman told AP radio this week. 'Our contact list has, like, 3,500 names, so we have to whittle it down and I don't know if William Shatner is going to make the cut.' The couple diplomatically recounted 'Sulu's' longtime beefs with Shatner. 'He's a wonderful actor. No one could have created the character Capt. Kirk the way he brought his singular metabolism to the character,' said Takei. Then he added, 'Kirk and Shatner both have this grand ego of sense of self. He sits there in the center of the set and he revels [in] it.' Takei said he was continually miffed with Shatner for pressuring directors to do close-ups of Capt. Kirk, even when the dialogue focused on other characters. 'One or two times, you know, is fine,' said Takei. 'But when it happens almost regularly, it gets to be a little irritating.' Shatner and his manager did not return messages seeking comment yesterday."

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Star Trek's George Takei to Marry Partner Brad Altman

In an announcement Friday on his website, actor George Takei announced that he'll be taking advantage of the new California same-sex marriage law and wedding his partner and business manager Brad Altman.

Takei and Altman have been together for over 21 years. In his message, which discusses their relationship as well as his experience as a Japanese American: Takei says:

"As a Japanese American, I am keenly mindful of the subtle and not so subtle discrimination that the law can impose. During World War II, I grew up imprisoned behind the barbed wire fences of U.S. internment camps. Pearl Harbor had been bombed and Japanese Americans were rounded up and incarcerated simply because we happened to look like the people who bombed Pearl Harbor. Fear and war hysteria swept the nation. A Presidential Executive Order directed the internment of Japanese Americans as a matter of national security. Now, with the passage of time, we look back and see it as a shameful chapter of American history...With time, I know the opposition to same sex marriage, too, will be seen as an antique and discreditable part of our history..."

Takei is the second high-profile entertainer to make such an announcement, following Ellen Degeneres' last Friday.

(image tom atwood)

Read Takei's full message, AFTER THE JUMP...

***MARRIAGE ANNOUNCEMENT from GEORGE TAKEI ***

Our California dream is reality. Brad Altman and I can now marry. We are overjoyed! At long last, the barrier to full marriage rights for same-sex couples has been torn down. We are equal with all citizens of our state!

The California Supreme Court has ruled that all Californians have a fundamental right to marry the person he or she loves. Brad and I have shared our lives together for over 21 years. We've worked in partnership; he manages the business side of my career and I do the performing. We've traveled the world together from Europe to Asia to Australia. We've shared the good times as well as struggled through the bad. He helped me care for my ailing mother who lived with us for the last years of her life. He is my love and I can't imagine life without him. Now, we can have the dignity, as well as all the responsibilities, of marriage. We embrace it all heartily.

The California Supreme Court further ruled that our Constitution provides for equal protection for all and that it cannot have marriage for one group and another form - domestic partnership - for another group. No more "separate but equal." No more second-class citizenship. Brad and I are going to be married as full citizens of our state.

As a Japanese American, I am keenly mindful of the subtle and not so subtle discrimination that the law can impose. During World War II, I grew up imprisoned behind the barbed wire fences of U.S. internment camps. Pearl Harbor had been bombed and Japanese Americans were rounded up and incarcerated simply because we happened to look like the people who bombed Pearl Harbor. Fear and war hysteria swept the nation. A Presidential Executive Order directed the internment of Japanese Americans as a matter of national security. Now, with the passage of time, we look back and see it as a shameful chapter of American history. President Gerald Ford rescinded the Executive Order that imprisoned us. President Ronald Reagan formally apologized for the unjust imprisonment. President George H.W. Bush signed the redress payment checks to the survivors. It was a tragic and dark taint on American history.

With time, I know the opposition to same sex marriage, too, will be seen as an antique and discreditable part of our history. As U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy remarked on same sex marriage, "Times can blind us to certain truths and later generations can see that laws once thought necessary and proper, in fact, serve only to oppress."

For now, Brad and I are enjoying the delicious dilemma of deciding where, when, and how we will be married. Marriage equality took a long time, but, like fine wine, its bouquet is simply exquisite.

***END***

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Towleroad Guide to the Tube #274

BILL O'REILLY: Media Matters comes down hard on the homophobic fear-mongering.

GEORGE TAKEI: Sings "On the Road Again" on Secret Talents of the Stars.

BURAN SPACE SHUTTLE: Space Shuttle of the Soviet era which never reached orbit gets its own funeral procession on the way down the Rhine River to the Technik Museum Speyer in Mannheim, Germany, where it will sit forever.

THOMAS BEATIE: Red Eye "apologizes" for last week's ugly trashing of the pregnant transgender man.

Check out our previous guides to the Tube here.

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Asteroid Given Name of George Takei in Celestial Honor

An asteroid located between Mars and Jupiter has been named for Star Trek's Hikari Sulu, actor George Takei.

The actor learned of the news yesterday. Said Takei: 'I am now a heavenly body. I found out about it yesterday. ... I was blown away. It came out of the clear, blue sky -- just like an asteroid.''

The celestial body will now be called 7307 Takei, approved by the International Astronomical Union's Committee on Small Body Nomenclature. Tom Burbine, a Mount Holyoke College astronomy professor, proposed the name change, according to the Associated Press:

"Burbine said he suggested Takei's name in part out of appreciation for his work with the Japanese American Citizens League and with the gay rights group Human Rights Campaign. Takei, a spokesman for HRC's Coming Out Project, was cultural affairs chairman of the JACL, and he was appointed to the Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission by former President Clinton."

The photo at top is not a photo of Takei 7307, just a mock-up I created. Below, you can see the orbit of Takei 7307 from a screengrab I took at the NASA website.

George Takei came out of the closet publicly in October 2005. Since then he has been a vocal advocate for LGBT rights.

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