Star Trek’s “Mr. Sulu” George Takei and Brad Altman, are getting married. Following upon the Ellen DeGeneres Portia de Rossi wedding announcement, Takei and Altman are the second high profile celebrity couple to announce wedding plans, in the aftermath of the California Supreme court ruling which now allows for same sex marriages in the state. Brad Altman is George Takei’s longtime partner and business manager; the couple has been together for 21 years. George Takei has been openly gay since 2005.

George Takei made the wedding announcement on his official Web site, eloquently expressing gratitude over the lifting of this discriminatory barrier.

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 President Gerald Ford rescinded the Executive Order that imprisoned us.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.

Source: GeorgeTakei.com


TrekMovie.com notes that along with his upcoming wedding to Brad Altman, George Takei’s career is booming. He has had a recurring role as Hiro Nakamura’s father Kaito Nakamura on NBC’s “Heroes” and other projects are in the works.

Besides wedding plans, Takei is still keeping busy. The actor says that for the last week he has been doing voice recordings for an unnamed EA video game. He also recently finished a “last minute” cameo for the Adam Sandler comedy You Don’t Mess with the Zohan. Takei also has a role as a “snooty maître de” in the R rated comedy American Summer from the guys behind American Pie. That film is now at Cannes looking for distribution. Starting later in the month George will be going on a multi-city speaking tour as part of Asian-pacific heritage month. Takei also is slated for some summer conventions, see his site for more info on his appearances.

George Takei, Nichelle Nichols, William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Walter Koenig at the Spike TV 2007 Scream Awards

George doesn’t hate Bill
In the last week William Shatner has been doing a publicity tour and the subject of Trek feuds and George Takei seems to come up a lot (like on Conan O’Brien show or The Howard Stern Show). When asked about the supposed feud Takei did admit he wishes Shatner would learn to pronounce his name correctly, but felt the feud has been overblown, noting

We do not hate each other. How could you work with someone if it was that kind of animosity…we are professionals and did and have done conventions and movies together for years. The hate thing is all part of the media hype.

Source: George Takei Getting Married

See also:

• DeGeneres and Takei Vow to Marry Partners

Star Trek Icon George Takei Announces Wedding Plans – Will Marry Partner Brad Altman