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Photograph: Gage Skidmore/Flickr/CC

George Takei donates career-spanning personal collection to an L.A. museum (Oh my!)

Written by
Brittany Martin
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George Takei, the actor who played Sulu on the original Star Trek series and has gone on to be a high-profile activist for LGBT and Asian-American causes, has donated an extensive personal collection of art and artifacts to the Japanese American National Museum in Little Tokyo. You’ll be able to see parts of the collection when New Frontiers: The Many Worlds of George Takei opens next year.

The collection includes pieces that represent all of the phases of the 79-year-old Los Angeles native’s fascinating biography. From his childhood spent in World War II internment camps to traveling the world studying acting and architecture to his colorful six-decade-running Hollywood career, as SCPR reports

In addition to his work on Star Trek, he appeared in numerous films, including Frank Sinatra’s Never So Few and John Wayne’s The Green Berets, and in other television series from Mission: Impossible to Scrubs. During the 1970s and '80s, he began to show his political bent. He made a run for Los Angeles City Council in 1973 and for California Assembly in 1980. Mayor Tom Bradley appointed him to the board of directors of the Southern California Rapid Transit District and he was called off the set of Star Trek: The Motion Picture to cast the tie-breaking vote in favor of creating Metro.

When Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed same-sex marriage legislation in 2005, Takei came out publicly as gay and stepped to the forefront as a gay-rights activist. Later, he and now-husband Brad Altman would become the first couple to apply for a same-sex marriage license in West Hollywood. He is now a spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign—and a beloved figure on social media.

New Frontiers: The Many Worlds of George Takei opens March 12, 2017 at the Japanese American National Museum. The museum is open Tuesday and Wednesday 11am to 5pm, Thursday noon to 8pm and Friday through Sunday 11am to 5pm. Admission is $9.

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