I met Nichelle Nichols at one of the big
Pasadena, California Star Trek conventions. She had a
booth where she sold copies of her book (
Beyond Uhura)and
autographed it on the spot. She is very
articulate and
intelligent, and apparently loves to laugh, because she did so for almost everyone that came up to the booth.
One item that most folks do not know about concerns her brother. He was one of the folks who poisoned himself in San Diego with the rest of a cult he was a member of (40-somewhat folks dead, if I recall). Nichelle had tried to get her brother out, but to no avail. It apparently still haunts her to this day.
Ah, thanks to Gorgonzola, the cult name was Heaven's Gate.