Original subtitles

Howard Stern: Damn it.

- (groans) - Robin Quivers: How are you gonna be

in the George Takei documentary like this?

Oh, I forgot about that.

Oh, that's right, the George Takei documentary.

All right, let's get that over with.

(music playing)

- (meows) - George Takei: Sorry.

- Sweet Pea got scared. - (cat meows)

Walk as fast as possible

so our camera man has to run to catch up with us.

Well, no. I'm doing the natural, normal thing.

Normal, normalcy.

(music playing)

That should be the title of the film "George Takei, Normalcy."

(Takei laughs)

You don't normally walk this fast.

I always do this.

You know, this is our house.

- No, it's all right. - This is our... this is our house.

We're not filming in front of our house.

He gets so nervous.

Brad Altman: At 11:00 AM you have a voice over at Cahuenga.

You need to polish your speech that you're giving on Sunday.

"Julius Caesar"?

Yeah, we can rehearse "Julius Caesar."

Takei on TV: You can't see with your TV's

three-color technology.

- As if we planned this. - Takei on TV: But you can see this.

Wow!

Oh, my.

Announcer on TV: Quattron from Sharp.

You have to see it to see it.

Altman: Wow, another residual check coming in.

Takei: We're a good fit because Brad is detail-oriented.

But, uh...

he sometimes gets a little overwhelmed

and... and pessimistic.

That footage that you got this morning of me having a temper tantrum,

I'm more than willing...

To have a take two.

He worries more when I'm on stage than I do.

He's a nervous wreck, and he knows it.

The best that you will get involving Brad Altman

is when I'm actually talking about the process

of making the film.

See, he talks in the third person.

If you only think the film is about removing the process,

actually the process is the most interesting part to me.

I told him, "Why did you get involved with me

when I make you so nervous?"

He says he loves me.

Oh, what do you know?

There's a billboard with Bill Shatner,

and he's got this tape over his mouth, as well there should be.

Speaking of fat alcoholics...

good evening, Bill.

My name is George Takei, not Tak-eye,

as you've insisted on pronouncing it

for the last 40 years.

Remember, Takei...

like in toupee.

I don't have a relationship with George Takei.

I haven't seen him in many years.

I knew him briefly and very casually

about 50 years ago.

(laughs)

(singing "Star Trek" theme)

("Star Trek" theme playing)

Leonard Nimoy: The original group of people that we had

were trained, professional people who had a good chemistry

and knew how to do their work, that came to work ready,

prepared, and looking to make a contribution to every episode.

And that describes George.

(beeping)

Takei: When I walked into Gene Roddenberry's office,

he described the series that I was being interviewed for...

a starship out in space with a multiethnic crew.

And I desperately wanted that role.

A couple weeks later, my agent called

to tell me that I was cast.

I was overjoyed.

Trouble aboard the Klingon ship,

evidence of explosions, massive destruction.

This is when we were watching a Zenith,

you know, with the clicker.

And there weren't many Asians on television,

so when George would come on, it would be a special thing.

We'd yell.

And he wasn't Korean, but he was Asian, you know.

Dan Savage: It's also sort of groundbreaking to see,

for something of that era, an Asian guy who's A, hot,

B, has agency, shoots a gun every now and then.

And he was kind of a sex symbol.

Hey, why don't you come down to the gym with me, Kevin, m'lad?

- Now? - Why not?

Tom Ammiano: Now I don't know if there was gay subplots,

or what it was, or you know...

I had a crush on Mr. Sulu.

And you know we were always trying to read things.

And you know the deal was that Captain Kirk was not a man's man.

I mean, he had his macho... but he was always in torment.

Mr. Sulu, there's nothing there.

I don't think there was any relationship between Kirk and Sulu.

I mean it was go left, go right, and on to the next adventure.

Hard to port, Mr. Sulu.

All power, Mr. Sulu.

Maximum now, sir. She's fighting it.

Jennifer Kroot: So I hate to make this joke,

but you're kind of the helmsman.

(laughs)

I'm a terrestrial helmsman

as well as a galactic one.

And put to rest all that stereotype about Asian drivers.

(Kroot laughs)

And I was the best helmsman in the galaxy.

(music playing)

(music playing)

- Hello, Jerry. - Your turn, George.

- Nice to see you. - Thank you, how are you doing?

- Welcome back. - Good, good.

Always good to be back.

Nice to have you back.

George was the Class of 1956 at LA High.

You were Class of 1957?

- '56. - Oh, you guys were the same class?

- Takei: Same class. - Same class, right.

Did you have classes together?

- No. - No.

Altman: But you guys knew each other.

- Yeah, glee club. - He, uh...

I mean, glee class.

George was in the drama department.

- Altman: One of those. - And I was in the choir.

We were the theatre.

They were musical people.

That's right. Exactly.

Takei: LA High prepares you well

for this big, exciting, challenging world.

(Takei laughs)

Altman: How long have you and Diane been married, Jerry?

In July it will be 46 years.

Altman: 46?

Jerry: I tell my friends 46,000.

- (all laugh) - It feels much longer, I know.

Well, next year will be Brad and my

being together for 25 years.

- That's a long time. - Yeah, a quarter century.

Altman: Oh, it feels much longer.

See, he talks like you do.

Same thing, you know.

Altman: Yep.

George, what's your acceptance speech gonna be

at the dinner that's honoring you?

I was just thinking, I got to start preparing my speech.

The 2011 Visionary Award

to Mr. George Takei.

Mr. George Takei.

George Takei.

Mr. George Takei.

(audiences cheering)

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

This is a glorious day.

Thank you very much for that warm welcome.

On December 7th of 1941,

the US was bombed by the Japanese

and that plunged into World War II.

Announcer on news reel: Flash!

The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

Announcer #2: Japan struck first

and declared war afterwards.

Man: When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor,

our West Coast became a potential combat zone.

Living in that zone were more than 100,000 persons

of Japanese ancestry,

but no one knew what would happen

among this concentrated population

if Japanese forces invade our shores.

Neither the Army...

Takei: My life has been transformed

almost as fantastically as science fiction

because, as a boy, I looked out on the world

imprisoned behind the barbed wire fences

of American internment camps.

We were incarcerated simply because

we happened to look like the people that bombed Pearl Harbor.

In 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt

signed Executive Order 9066

which ordered all Japanese Americans on the West Coast

to be summarily rounded up

and put in 10 barbed wire internment camps

in some of the most God-forsaken,

desolate places in this country

with no charges, with no trial.

The pillar of our justice system,

due process, just disappeared.

(music playing)

Takei: Shopkeepers lost their shops, the stock.

Farmers lost their farms.

And all our bank accounts were frozen.

It was a catastrophic event

for Japanese Americans.

I'll never be able to forget that scary day

when two American soldiers

with bayonets shining on their rifles

came stomping up to the front door of our Los Angeles home

to order my family out.

When they came, we picked up what we could carry

and walked out of the house.

I remember tears were streaming down my mother's cheek.

We were taken downtown to Union Station

and loaded onto trains with armed guards

at both ends of each car like prisoners.

And we were transported two thirds of the way across the country

to the swamps of Arkansas.

I'll never forget those barbed wire fences

that confined us.

I still remember those tall sentry towers

where the machine guns pointed at us.

I remember the searchlights that followed me

when I made the night runs to the latrine.

It became normal for me to line up three times a day

to eat lousy food in a noisy mess hall.

It became normal for me to go to school every day

in a black tar paper barrack.

There they taught us the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag.

I could see the barbed wire fence and the sentry tower

right outside my schoolhouse window

as I recited the words,

"With liberty and justice for all."

Irony that I didn't understand.

Daniel Inouye: George has this experience in the back of him.

And for anyone to go through this experience

and still love this country... that's something.

Takei: My father took a leadership position in camp.

It was block manager.

I remember we wanted our daddy to ourselves.

And how come Daddy had to go to meetings and other activities

that were other people's business

and not be with us?

Particularly during those horrific thunderstorms.

We all clinged onto my mother

and the thunder was ripping up the sky

and no Daddy.

Daddy was out there helping other people.

My father, I'd say, was the kindest person on Earth.

If someone said or did something that would be hurtful,

he was the type of person who was so patient

and would turn the other cheek

and then would continue on.

Takei: My father was born in Japan, near Tokyo,

and he was brought to the United States

when he was about 10 years old.

And so he was educated and reared in San Francisco.

And he always considered himself a San Franciscan.

He went to business school and he was in the cleaning business

when the internment came.

My mother was born in Sacramento.

In those days, they had segregated education

and my grandfather didn't like that,

so he sent all his children to Japan to get their education.

I was born right here in Los Angeles.

My parents met here.

I was named after King George Vl,

incidentally, because my father was an Anglophile.

George, I think, is closer to my mother.

Even in childhood, she and my brother George were close.

My mother would go out of her way to say,

"My son is George Takei."

If they asked, am I George's sister?

I'd say, "Yeah," and just drop it at that.

I'm not into the celebrity bit.

I've never been.

Takei: Oh, my goodness. They're lining up outside.

(cheering)

Thank you. Thank you.

(shutters clicking)

Dan Parent: I met George a couple years ago

and told him about the Kevin Keller character.

And he was really supportive of it

since he's the first openly gay "Archie" character.

It just seemed sort of like a natural sort of storyline

that Kevin would be inspired by George.

- Hello. How are you? - Fine, good, how you doin'?

- Takei: That's very impressive. - Thank you.

Can you put "Oh, my" on there?

- "Oh, my"? - Oh, yeah.

Life is reality TV.

For the rest of your life, you're a young man.

And what's gonna happen is pretty soon you just pretend

the cameras aren't there.

That's how I do it.

Takei: You determine your destiny.

I don't believe in negativity.

If I did believe it, that usually comes true.

l, in my own life, have been the beneficiary

of an optimistic view of life.

My life today is much better than when I was a child.

- There you are. - Thank you very much.

- My pleasure. - I appreciate it.

- Good to see you. - Good night, nice to meet you.

Takei: In about the fifth or sixth grade,

I was already finding other boys much

more interesting and exciting.

I knew that that wasn't what boys

were supposed to get excited by.

Certainly the other guys didn't,

so I rest... held that in.

At the drugstore, they had this magazine stand.

And you find that on the far reaches,

there are these muscle magazines.

And some of those posing straps were very brief.

You really don't put a name on it yet.

You know, it was just the way I felt.

And I was different from everybody else.

No one else felt like that.

Then you go to a summer camp

and there was a counselor

who was, I thought, gorgeous.

He was blond.

And one night I was in the cabin,

and he came in to visit.

And he was...

very friendly.

And that was the first time.

And it was both frightening and exciting

and delicious and terrifying,

a new sensation,

a very confusing feeling.

And then, you know, you start remembering

the delicious part of it more.

And you start thinking,

"Maybe that's what I really like."

(music playing)

I'm George Takei.

I need to talk to you about something very important,

marriage equality.

What defines a marriage isn't necessarily man and a woman

- Because of what you said. - Woman: Yeah.

It's the bond of love.

- Marriage was our theme... - Yes.

not what you said, sir. I reject that.

- And we're protecting our marriage. - I reject that.

This is a civil rights issue, and it doesn't happen overnight.

Some of the people I've worked with 25 years,

I love them, dearest in the world, live a gay lifestyle.

It's not a lifestyle. It's an orientation.

I am confident that Proposition Eight will be gone

before the end of the year,

and marriage equality will be back in California.

How do two men consummate a marriage?

Give me a break.

It's all about love, and that's what I say to people that don't understand.

It's about love.

That was a great stop at JR's Convenience Store.

George, are you ready to go up the mountain now?

It's going to be a thrilling ascent

to the mid-level.

Check surroundings for safety.

Altman: Can you open the Fritos please?

(music playing)

Oh, the rainbow's getting paler now.

Oh.

Well, all rainbows eventually disappear.

Mm-hmm.

As do pots of gold.

Our pots of gold are here.

Take my hand.

Takei: The Buddhist belief is that we're who we are

only for a brief moment,

and then we go back to being part of the larger whole.

And what a glorious whole

to be a part of.

- Do you want me to hold this? - Okay.

I'm going to read something, okay?

Okay.

"Dear Mom, George and I are standing

here at the Mogollon Rim to scatter your ashes."

Oh, my God.

- Just like your dad. - Okay, you do it.

They want to be part of us.

"Having your ashes scattered at this location

is very appropriate.

- You loved mountains." - Don't hold me.

Well, I'm going to have to hold you. It's dangerous.

(laughs) Oh, God.

Altman: "You loved to backpack in the high country.

When I was seven years old, we hiked the 250-mile long

John Muir trail in the High Sierra.

My mother, Vera Eleanor Altman, we love you."

Well, some of it should go into the canyon.

Well, it's too late. It's too dangerous.

Oh, I just got some in my eye.

She got in my eye too.

This is exactly where my dad's ashes are.

Now my mom's ashes are here.

So being at this beautiful place,

my mom and my dad would be happy

that George and I can come here in future years

and reflect on my parents.

I told my mom when I was, like, 16, "I'm gay."

And you know what my mom told me?

"I'm gay also."

I had all my aunts growing up, you know.

And later it turned out that my aunts

weren't really officially aunts.

They were my mom's girlfriends.

Coming out was very challenging

and full of angst and all that stuff for me personally

because I had all the fears

that my parents wouldn't accept me.

I never really considered the straight lifestyle,

to call it a "lifestyle."

- Takei: It's not a lifestyle. - I know.

It's an orientation,

and it should not... I always correct people

when they say lifestyle.

I was doing gay quote marks, and it was the irony.

No, but you shouldn't use lifestyle.

Okay.

How can we correct other people if my...

I just went through a very emotional experience.

Do I not do I get five minutes without being lectured?

- No. I'm just... - This is on camera.

I thought we'd give you some good material.

But we have a long journey ahead of us, so we should get going.

Glenda Morris: He had a hard time losing his mom.

And when he came here,

we had to go over to the mortuary to sign some stuff.

She was being cremated, but you still have to

go through that rigmarole.

And I said, can we see her?

And the guy said, sure.

And so he brought her out.

And then we went into that room.

And it just knocked him flat.

I think it was the realization

that she was not going to be there anymore.

It's hard. God, it was hard for me.

There wasn't a day while my mom was living

that I didn't call her

and have a daily phone... a daily phone conversation

with my mom my whole life.

So that would show a special bond

that a gay son would have with his mother.

And I definitely had that.

That may be a cliche, but I definitely

felt that intensity with my mom.

Do you want to go to dinner first?

No, no, no. Let's unload and wash up.

Yeah, especially after having my mom on my hands.

- And all over me. - Yeah.

And I think your mom's going to be at the cleaners too.

(both laugh)

Altman: In high school, I was on the track team,

but I was not as an athlete, as the manager.

Even in those days, I was very detail-oriented.

And running was never anything I really thought about.

But then, I guess in my mid 20s, I started running socially

because I joined a gay and lesbian running club.

This was before I officially came out,

but you know still out and about.

And I was at a gay bar

and they had these free newspapers.

And there was an article on a gay running club.

And I thought, "Hmm, I'll check that out."

I remember the Silver Lake Reservoir, running,

and there was George, but I don't remember

when he first said... or I first recognized him

as that actor from "Star Trek."

I heard the whispering.

They recognized me.

I don't remember being overwhelmed

in the sense of being impressed or anything.

Takei: There was one guy who was a fantastic marathoner.

And I thought Brad could train me.

Altman: We were in San Francisco,

and we ran together for two hours in pounding rain.

And then we went back to the hotel.

And we were sharing a room,

but we hadn't done anything at that point.

You know, it was just awkward that we weren't doing anything.

And then I just realized that there was something

about George that I liked a lot.

Well, I've never told anybody that story.

It's not really a very good story,

but it happens to be my life.

So, you know, life isn't always about stories.

It's just that's what happened.

Did that answer your question?

My question for you is what was the transition like

going back to California... you're from California...

going back to California from Southeast Arkansas

and the internment camps that you were imprisoned in?

Well, actually, a year into internment,

they came down with what they called

the Loyalty Questionnaire.

It asked, "Will you swear your loyalty

to the United States of America

and forswear your loyalty

to the Emperor of Japan?"

If you answered yes, you were fessing up

that you had been loyal to the Emperor,

and so that justified the internment.

My parents said, "They took my business,

our home, my freedom.

But the one thing they're not going to take from me

is my dignity."

And so they answered no to that question.

And they were deemed disloyal.

Because of the answer that they gave,

we were sent to the high security camp, Tulelake,

which was in Northern California.

Three layers of barbed wire fences

and about a half a dozen tanks

patrolling the perimeter.

It was a much, much more terrorizing place.

There is a Japanese word called "gaman"

that means "to endure with dignity,

to have fortitude

under the most adverse circumstances."

I think my parents had to have that

in order to go through those terrible years

that we were incarcerated.

The musical that we're working on,

"Allegiance," deals with that.

A musical?

Why a musical?

A musical about internment? That's quite a challenge.

It began as if it were prophetic.

We went to an off-Broadway production.

We sat down.

There are two guys in front of us.

And we were talking about the play

that we'd seen the night before.

Lorenzo Thione: We hear two people behind us

talking about "Title of Show."

And I hear a voice, "Well, the next show we're going to see

is 'Title of Show."'

So I turned around because the voice was so interesting.

And I said, "Oh, you're going to love 'Title of Show."'

And I stopped mid-sentence.

At which I'm like, why are you stopping talking?

He was like, "Turn around."

One of the guys in front of us recognized my voice

and turned around said, "You're George Takei, aren't you?"

The next night we went to see the Tony Award-winning musical,

"In the Heights."

And who should be in our row

but George Takei and his husband Brad?

It was such a huge coincidence.

That's the way George tells it.

Near the end of the first act,

there's a moving song sung by the father.

George is watching intensely,

and just tears just streaming down his face.

I'm a softy at these tear-jerkers.

I said, "Mr. Takei. I'm just so curious.

During that song, the father was singing,

why were you so emotional?"

For some odd reason, that song took me back

to our Arkansas camp.

And Jay said, "You know I'm thinking

about writing a musical.

That's a great subject."

I feel him twitching next to me.

And I'm like, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

So we got together for dinner the next night.

And we had sort of a kind of a draft

of the concept for the show.

A couple of weeks later, he sent a song titled "Allegiance."

You call me a traitor

Your eyes full of shame

You ask me to swear my allegiance again

This country...

I heard it and I was bawling because I saw my father

and his both anguish

and pride and refusal

to grovel before this government.

So I say no

She must show her allegiance first

Will he?

Stern: This is crazy. No one's gonna see this thing.

(Takei laughs)

Don't you hear how boring this is? Or do you...

You weren't there.

You know very little about it.

Stern: If you just make the whole movie me,

then people will go watch it.

If you start talking about that Japanese internment camp,

we're ruined.

Not Japanese, Japanese American.

- Stern: Right. - We were in an American...

US, internment camp.

But George, I'm doing a radio show.

I have to abbreviate it.

- Takei: To be idiosyncratic. - Right.

- And nobody cares. - Or idiotic.

Was it hard to be a Japanese American

and get into acting?

Takei: I'm sorry.

Man: Was it hard being a Japanese American

and getting into... raise your hand so we can see you.

- Takei: Where are you? - Man: Right there at the back.

- See him back there? - Oh, you are born an actor.

And my parents knew that from the time

I was a little child because they'd have friends over

and suddenly this bouncing, singing, dancing,

show-off child would appear.

And they'd say... I learned how to say,

"'Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. '

Would you like me to do it for you?"

And I'd perform.

So my parents knew from a very early stage of my life

that they were saddled with a ham.

My father knew that I was passionate

about acting and theatre.

But he told me, "Look at TV.

Look at the movies.

Look at kind of roles that Asians are playing."

But, you know, I was a young,

arrogant, idealistic kid.

And I said, "Daddy, I'm gonna change it."

(screeches)

Takei: I was a student at the University of California at Berkeley,

and I didn't have a summer job.

And my father was looking through the newspaper.

He said, "Here's an ad where they're

casting voices for this Japanese monster film."

I had to match the lip movement of the actor

speaking in Japanese.

These Rodan are reptiles,

a member of the snake family.

Takei: That was my first paying gig as an actor.

Look, over there.

It's Rodan.

Takei: When I was doing the dubbing,

I met this theatrical agent.

And he said, "You're a talented young man.

I'd like to represent you."

About four or five months later he called and said,

"I've got an audition for you.

And it's for 'Playhouse 90."'

It was classiest 90-minute live drama on television.

(speaks Japanese)

I wish to see my father and my sister.

I was nervous, but the nervousness helped me

bring some tears glimmering in my eyes.

They say the Americans are the conquerors

and the conquerors are the mighty

and the mighty are the right.

Well, that will be taken care of.

Tomorrow you'll be free.

I would like to have you train my men

in hand-to-hand combat.

I am simple Japanese gardener.

I am willing to pay $25,000 in cash.

Yep.

Takei: I did two Jerry Lewis comedies.

Initially I did not want to do that.

But my agent, Japanese American agent,

Fred Ishimoto, said that Jerry Lewis

is big, big box office.

"And that is gonna be good for your career."

I said, "But, Fred, look at the role."

I mean these are the kind of roles that we didn't want to do.

He says, "If you really want to make your career ascend,

you've got to do some parts like this."

Speak! You coward, speak!

It was the plastic. It's not hot enough.

Not hot enough?

You pass for inspection too.

It... it... it was an accident.

I regret that.

I'm sorry I did it.

- No! No! No! No! No! - Takei: I don't think it really

helped my career.

No! No! No! No! (screaming)

B.D. Wong: The history of television include a lot of racial stereotyping.

And that racial stereotyping

played a very conflicted role

in my self esteem.

I remember that, as an Asian American,

you always felt a real strong sense of excitement

when you saw Asian people on TV.

And what's amazing to me now is how often

those Asian people that you saw on TV were embarrassing.

(speaking Chinese)

(chanting)

George is this kind of beacon of dignity,

in my eyes, that shines through all of that.

My home is in Hanoi.

I go home too someday.

You see.

First, kill all stinking Cong.

Then go home.

John Wayne was the great American hero.

And I walked in, and there... he looked exactly

like the John Wayne that we saw on the screen.

He said, "I want the best people we can have.

And I want to have you."

(speaks Vietnamese)

Easy, Charlie.

Takei: While we were filming, he called me Captain Sulu.

I said, "No, no.

On 'Star Trek' I'm playing Lieutenant Sulu."

He says, "You're a captain in this movie, Captain Nim.

And so you're gonna a captain."

He was very prophetic.

(music playing)

It is a lovey-dovey day.

- Yes. - The temperature is perfect.

Do you want to go to the left or do you want to go to the right?

Well, l... ordinarily in life I go to the left,

but I think to the right.

I think it's dangerous to go to the right.

I will go... yeah, that's where it is.

I wanted to go in a different direction.

Well, this is the way I like to go.

And the loving you accommodates me, right?

- Yeah. - All the time.

Altman: George is the love of my life.

I'm proud of him.

I've heard that before.

He's... he's wonderful.

Well, if you see him talking to me sometimes,

you wouldn't think so.

I didn't understand that answer.

(Takei laughs)

He's argumentative and I'm defensive.

Notice every time George says something serious

about our relationship, he always laughs immediately afterward?

- Kroot: What's that mean? - I don't know.

I think is psychological.

I find it amusing, like bringing joy.

Like he'll say, "Notice Brad's gained a few... some weight over the decades.

Ha ha ha."

Well, that is funny. I find it eminently amusing.

Well, maybe I don't.

You don't? I'm sorry.

I'm very sensitive about it.

Takei: Oh, I miss Reine when I see these dogs.

Kroot: Would you like to have a pet?

- We would love to have a pet. - We had a Papillon dog.

We're gay... gay men, single.

Of course we'd love to have pets.

We have Reine in our bedroom, her ashes.

La Reine Blanche.

Altman: The White Queen.

Usually when we're talking to journalists,

this segues into the question, "Well, you once had a dog.

Why don't you have children?"

Takei: Taking on a child

where same sex relationships were anathema

wouldn't be fair to the child.

I don't... I don't agree with you.

I mean in the kind of environment that...

all your life you've been a pioneer and a trailblazer

for civil liberties for people.

It would have been great for you to be a model for...

No, but it was inconceivable.

If I came out back then,

do you think my career would be where it is now?

- I have no idea. - It would not.

- Nathaniel Blake? - Yes, Sir?

McGarrett, Hawaii Five-O.

I understand you have top secret clearance.

Yeah, I learned early to keep my mouth shut.

Takei: I was doing television series guest appearances,

and I wanted to protect that

by not being out.

I was closeted.

I don't think I'm cut out for this kind of work.

Takei: I faked a lot.

I went to parties with beards, women.

It's putting on a facade, which also means

putting on another layer of tension.

And there's always that fear of making a mistake,

letting something slip out.

I don't feel well.

What am I doing here?

I've gotta get out of here.

Takei: Box office, ratings,

all equate to survival in the business.

If you're known as who you are,

there are consequences.

And you might as well forget that.

And so that adds to another layer of tension.

I can't imagine what it would be like

to have to hide that identity.

I really can't imagine it.

It just seems so difficult, so draining

and tiring and dispiriting.

Brad knew that it was "necessary"

in order for me to have a viable career.

Brad was incredibly supportive and understanding.

And that tension wasn't there.

Stern: He was in one of those internment camps

during World War II when he was a kid.

Quivers: You're kidding. Ooh, he's angry then.

Stern: No, he says he has a pretty good sense of humor.

There he is. Hold it.

I'm looking at him. I'm looking at him right now.

- Quivers: There he is. - Stern: That's you, man.

Takei: Hi, good to be here.

Stern: Listen to your voice.

What a set of pipes on you.

Takei: Well, thank you.

He says, "Oh, you have a deep voice.

Anyone with a voice that that deep has to have..."

Stern: ...genitals the size of Tokyo.

(all laughing)

And I said, "I beg your pardon?

Are we on the air?"

Stern: You are so masculine.

Swear to God.

I just want you to wrap me up in your arms.

Takei: You don't want someone to accuse you of homo.

Stern: I don't mind being homo.

Takei: You're kind of cute yourself.

Stern: Really? You don't go that way, do you?

- You're not a homosexual? - Takei: No, no.

Stern: No, no. Not with a voice like that.

Stern: In 1990, when George was denying he was gay,

it was... it was... it was fantastic.

It was great radio.

Everyone... I mean, deaf people knew.

Blind people knew.

Everyone in America knew George Takei was gay.

And he's going around, "I'm a perfectly straight."

In fact, I got a letter after that interview from the Pope himself

who said, "That guy's as gay as gay can be."

I thought I was a pretty good actor.

What do you want?

I want to touch you.

Stop or I'll shoot.

I don't want to have to kill a woman.

Man: I have a question about filming "Star Trek."

What was the question?

Man: What was your favorite episode to film?

The favorite?

Oh, my favorite one

from the TV series is "Naked Time,"

where I got unchained from that console

and got a chance to whip my shirt off...

Richelieu, beware.

Takei: ... and accost everybody with my fencing foil.

(applause)

Takei: The writer came down on the set and told me

he was thinking of putting a Samurai sword in my hand.

I said, "Well, that's interesting."

When I was kid, I saw Errol Flynn in "The Adventures of Robin Hood,"

and I was swept away by that.

So why not put a fencing foil in Sulu's hand

rather than being so ethnically defined?

Sulu, put that...

He said, that's a great idea. Do you fence?

Nichols: George was scaring the hell out of everybody.

He was around there rehearsing,

pulling this sword and swinging.

People were ducking.

I recently read an article about a conversation

you had with Gene Roddenberry about having an openly gay

or lesbian character on "Star Trek."

Could you talk a little bit about that?

I talked around the issue with Gene.

I said, "You know, we've dealt with many controversial issues

using science fiction as the metaphor...

the Vietnam War that was tearing the country apart,

the Cold War that had the Soviet Union

and the US threatening each other with nuclear annihilation...

...the Civil Rights movement,

but we've not addressed the gay issue."

I do remember him saying,

"I don't think we will get to the point where we'll see two men

walking hand in hand down the corridors of the Enterprise.

On the other hand, we may come to learn

about a homosexual relationship."

(music playing)

Oh, those fanzines.

That's when we discovered that people are looking at it

with a different eye,

particularly the relationship between Spock and Kirk.

Kroot: In doing research for this,

I came upon the homoerotic imagery that's around.

- I wondered if you... - Yeah, yeah. What did you see?

Kroot: There were drawings of Kirk and Spock

- Embracing and very muscular. - Wearing? Wearing?

Kroot: Most of them were barely clothed

Nimoy: Barely clothed.

Kroot: Barely clothed, like loin cloth.

Where did you find this material?

Kroot: Just all over the Internet.

(laughter)

I have seen a little bit of it, yeah.

The relationship between Spock and Kirk was intense.

And I think it was always intended to be platonic,

but I can see where some fans would go there.

They called it slash comics, I think.

- Slash, yes. - Kroot: Yes.

Shatner: When somebody told me about them, I was astonished.

Takei: One of the magazines

had me as a centerfold.

It was realistic enough for me to be quite credible,

but it was exaggerated enough for me to feel flattered.

Takei: You know, at the beginning of each episode,

we announced that we were boldly going on a five-year mission.

Well that five-year mission was aborted by the real Klingons,

the programming executives at NBC.

Our ratings were low from the very first season on,

so they had the numbers to justify cancellation.

My colleagues all said, "We're stereotyped

in the science fiction genre."

And I figured, well, if that's going to be,

the thing to do is to commit myself

to working...

in a whole totally different arena.

When our councilman, Tom Bradley, ran for mayor,

I became the chair of the Asian Americans

for Tom Bradley.

And he became the first African American mayor

of Los Angeles.

But that was a vacancy in the city council seat.

And so I decided, "Well, this is part

of what being active in the public arena is."

So I threw my hat in the ring.

It was an exciting and exhausting

and exhilarating and enervating experience.

On election night, it was a sliver.

I think it was like 3,000 votes that I lost by.

Hello, out there.

I'm Mr. Sulu of "Star Trek."

When I'm out in space, I use the Starship Enterprise to get around.

When I'm here in Milwaukee, I ride the bus to save time and money.

When Mayor Tom Bradley asked me to serve

on the Southern California Rapid Transit District Board,

it was an area where I thought I could make a contribution.

Mayor Bradley's mandate was to get

started on building a subway system.

It was challenging, but I also like to think

that I was able to bring a great deal of support

from the public.

I was appointed in '72,

and then I resigned in '83.

By that time, the "Star Trek" movies

were becoming a series of movies,

and I wanted to be a part of that.

("Star Trek" theme playing)

Captain.

Takei: There we were in that circular bridge set.

It was a thrilling coming home of sorts.

Warp speed, Mr. Sulu.

Takei: Star Fleet was supposed to be a meritocracy.

And sure enough, with each film we became commanders.

And there was Sulu at the console.

He may have been a commander,

but still saying, "Aye-aye, sir, warp three."

But when the script for "Star Trek Vl" came,

there on the front page is Captain Sulu.

I was blown away.

Sulu: Star date 9521.6,

Captain's log USS Excelsior,

Hikari Sulu commanding.

Shatner: I do remember one moment in which he said to me,

"I'm going to be the captain and be on another ship."

I was astonished that a character, an actor,

a knowledgeable actor, would want to be removed

from where all the action was.

Takei: At that climactic point when Captain Kirk

is about to be blown away to smithereens

by that Klingon captain,

out of the darkened galaxy sky

comes the Starship Excelsior with Captain Sulu.

Target that explosion and fire.

Thus saving the Enterprise and Captain Kirk.

Thank you, Captain Sulu.

Don't mention it, Captain Kirk.

Takei: That's the Captain Sulu movie.

Right now cloudy skies and light rain around the area.

We have 48 degrees in Seattle at 4:16.

Take us in, Jane.

Take us in or beam us up. Or what is it?

Okay, we have a very special guest in the studio.

It is the man everyone knows as Sulu.

How you doing?

Well, it's always good to be in Seattle,

even when it's wet and cold.

You're appearing at Comicon here in Seattle.

George Takei, what a thrill.

(cheering)

Brad or somebody lead the way.

I don't know where we're going.

I wasn't too impressed with that green room, Gary.

(music playing)

(crowd cheering)

- Thank you. - You're there.

- Right here? - These people are all waiting here.

You can start signing. George, this is Paul.

- Paul. - Jessie's next, and then Mark.

This is how much we're charging today.

Every time George signs a signature, it's $35.

That's 60, 80, and 100. And you have your photo?

- Woman: Yes. - Okay, great.

Okay, that's $70 even.

This is the tick sheet.

And every time we sign a signature,

we tick it off so that at the end of the day,

the promoter knows exactly how many signatures he's given.

- No, you're in front, right? - Oh, yeah.

I'm sorry.

- This is the contract. - Kroot: Oh, cool.

I always keep it on my body.

And then there's no misunderstandings

when the promoters suddenly say, "Oh, I don't recall that detail."

Well, then, let me pull out the contract.

I know it's tough, but if you can squeeze down as tight as possible.

You have to move them down faster.

Move them down faster... over here.

Altman: Normally, you know how warm and friendly I am?

At the conventions, I get a little cold.

You'll see me very focused.

You want George to sign that for you?

Altman: My job is to make George not worry about the details.

I think about everything in advance.

I become what we call the Klingon in the business,

kind of the tough guy.

I'm the one that's gonna make sure that George

can always be friendly to the fans.

- Woman: Thank you so much. - My pleasure.

Well, you guys came in full regalia.

- Woman: Yes. - Well, we gotta do what we can.

It's partly a control thing.

I like to show that I can control.

You can control diplomatically and with a smile on your face.

(laughing)

- Kroot: That's so great. - Okay.

- Yeah, that face. - Should I practice it?

- Where's the mirror? - Takei: You're so adorable.

Okay, even change.

Thanks a lot.

On behalf of the Rebel Legion,

we would like to formally induct you

as an honorary member in our... in our club.

So we'd like to present you with this plaque.

- Takei: Oh, it's handsome. - Woman #2: Very nice.

And you guys are all together?

Come on down.

You should come by and see our booth tomorrow

- Since you're part of the... - Where are you?

Woman #2: We are actually just right over there.

- Takei: So it's not to far away. - Woman: Yeah, not far at all.

- Great. - Man: So when it closes down,

come see us and take a picture with us.

Takei: All right, we'll do that.

- Woman #2: Thank you. - Takei: Take care.

Altman: It's kind of unseemly business

to show him stuffing money into my thing

at the end of the day, but it's how we do it.

Oh, my goodness. My voice is giving out on me.

Ahem. (laughs)

I'll give you a long distance hug. Hi, Wil.

It's so good to see you.

- Wil, how are you? - How's it going?

- Just great. - It's good to see you.

You have gained weight. You need to work on that.

Well, I work out a little bit. Really?

George does that to me all the time too.

What the hell? You're, like, what, like, an athlete under there?

Well, you've got to maintain.

Altman: George, you know you really embarrassed Wil.

You're not doing goodwill when you do that sort of thing.

- Oh, I'm sorry. - No, you're not sorry.

Well, he is a little...

He has a thing about people's weight.

He loves to attack people for being overweight.

- I can't believe that. - Yeah, I know. It's hard to believe.

And now I'm going to get back to something interesting.

Just ask me a question, George, about Japanese internment.

All right, when did I come out of the internment camp?

- You were nine. - I was eight.

All right. Close enough.

I wish they'd lock them back up in that camp.

I don't know where that camp is, but please lock him up.

(music playing)

Takei: When it came time for us to leave,

it was such a shocking feeling

because camp became home.

And to be leaving it was painful.

I got my understanding of hate and prejudice

when we came out of those internment camp barbed wire fences.

My parents decided to go back to Los Angeles.

Housing was impossible.

Jobs were very difficult to get.

Our first home was on Skid Row,

and that was terrifying to us.

My father's first job was as a dishwasher

in a Chinatown restaurant.

Only other Asians would hire us.

Even when I started school, I had a teacher

who continually called me the Jap boy,

which stung.

And so I wanted to hide the fact

that I was of Japanese ancestry,

but I couldn't hide it.

After Skid Row, my father got a cleaner's shop in East LA.

And he bought a radio for us.

And I heard "Don't Fence Me In."

By that time, I was understanding what those barbed wire fences meant,

and that song had a double meaning for me.

(Takei singing) Oh, give me land, lots of land

Under starry skies above

Don't fence me in

Let me ride through the wide open country that I love

Don't fence me in

Let me be by myself in the evening breeze

I listen to the murmur of the cottonwood trees

Send me off forever, but I ask you please

Don't fence me in.

(Takei singing) Gaman

Gaman

Sturdy and sure, keep faith and endure...

Altman: I will tell you this.

l... you know... damn it because I know this is what you're gonna use.

See now I'm starting to sweat because this is the truth.

This is a musical.

Well, George Takei, he's not...

a professional singer.

Even when all hope seems gone...

He has a loud voice,

but I wouldn't say his voice

is a voice that stays in key.

Gaman...

But he does sing in "Allegiance,"

and maybe he'll be able to pull it off.

It's a high-risk business.

(man shouting from van)

- (honks horn) - (laughs)

This has been a pretty insane process,

as I'm sure George has told you too,

of workshopping a brand-new musical from scratch.

All the things that happened then, I'd sooner forget.

Then you must come with me

Begin again, Sam...

Takei: The play is essentially a memory play

of that internment experience

and how damaging the internment was,

how destructive it was.

I'm tired of this, Gloria.

Can't you stay dead like a normal person?

Gaman.

Gaman.

Lea Salonga: It's just one of those lessons

that today's generation of Americans can learn from

where you marginalize

a group of people based purely on how they look.

And, you know, there is always that tendency

for that to happen.

Better than ever begins in a greater America...

Takei: There are enough glorious chapters in our history books,

but there's more that Americans can learn

from the points in history where we faltered.

And we need to know how we dealt with those issues

if we're going to succeed as a nation.

(music playing)

- Yeah. - (audience cheering)

Takei: I've been active in the redress movement

to advocate for a formal apology from the United States government.

And I testified at the congressional hearing on that.

I do remember the barbed wire fence

from which my parents warned me to stay away.

I remember the sight of high guard towers.

I remember soldiers carrying rifles.

And I remember being afraid.

And as we testify...

as much as I wanted to make sure

that it didn't become so emotional,

it's hard to prevent.

We lost our businesses.

We lost our farms.

But worst of all,

we lost our most basic human rights.

We gather here today to right a grave wrong.

The legislation that I'm about to sign

provides for a restitution payment

to each of the 60,000 survivors.

There's no doubt that George

has been very helpful

in the whole issue of getting redress passed.

Takei: When President Clinton was elected,

he appointed me to the US-Japan Friendship Commission.

Because of that, I was recognized

by the government of Japan

with the Order of the Rising Sun.

We could have gotten the medal here in Los Angeles,

but we thought if we went to Tokyo,

it would be granted by the Emperor at the lmperial Palace.

And wouldn't that be a fantastic experience?

The honorees were all there with their spouses.

And we were taken on a bus.

And we all filed out.

But the chamberlain, when he saw that my partner was a male,

he said, "He cannot step off the bus.

You have to stay on the bus."

And we said, "Well, he's my partner."

And he said, "It's only married couples

that are allowed to come into the lmperial Palace."

I looked at Brad and he looked at me.

And he turned around and went back into the bus.

Altman: Literally, I had to stay on the bus.

And I couldn't go into the Palace

and watch George get this distinguished award.

I'm not that eloquent to say what that meant to me,

but it... it felt horrible.

It was very unfair.

It was a...

a painful moment there.

Reporter: Almost 3,200 same sex couples

have tied the knot at the San Francisco City Hall.

But state law says that marriage is between a man and a woman.

Mark Leno, a gay member of the State Assembly,

has introduced legislation to change that.

My office, working with Equality California,

decided it would be a perfect time

to put before the California Legislature

an Equal Marriage Rights Bill.

Both houses of our legislature, the Assembly, and the Senate,

passed a same sex marriage bill.

The only other signature that was needed

for that to become the law of the state

was the signature of the Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger.

And when he ran for governor, his rhetoric was,

"I'm from Hollywood.

I've worked with gays and lesbians.

Some of my best friends are," that whole thing.

And so I was confident that he was going to sign it.

Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed it.

You don't believe in gay marriage, but you just said now to me

that you don't have a problem with it. That seems...

I don't have a problem with it.

I'm against it, but I have no problem with it.

So you are against it still.

No, I have no problem with it.

Takei: I was shocked and aghast

when Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed that bill.

I had been closeted publicly.

And that's when I decided that I needed to speak out.

Reporter: A "Star Trek" star's stunning secret.

I started noticing boys.

And they were more interesting to me than girls.

Reporter: Sulu comes out of the closet.

Nimoy: I thought, "Good for him."

I had a sense that it was a healthy thing for him to do.

And an important thing for him to do.

Savage: I wish George had been in a place in his life

where he could have been out much earlier.

You know, it would have helped me.

My brother was a huge "Star Trek" fan.

Maybe that would have greased the skids for me a little bit

when they were realizing that I was gay.

But he's out now, and for me that's what matters most.

Takei: I didn't check with my agent

because I know that my agent and others

would try to dissuade me.

And I did not want to hear that.

I wanted to present a fait accompli to my agent.

We're here to tell people that marriage is a man and woman

not two men, not two women.

And what's next? Are they gonna start having weddings

for people and farm animals?

We are hated by some people.

...on the judgment day.

It's just the truth.

And so that's what the struggle is about.

Rachel Maddow: Tennessee Republicans

have proposed a "Don't say Gay" law for Tennessee's schools.

Now one celebrity has come up with an ingenious workaround

for school children.

I am lending my name to the cause.

Any time you need to say the word gay,

you can simply say Takei.

It's okay to be Takei.

(crowd cheering)

Savage: Well, one of the things that's changing

about being queer in America

is we are achieving a degree of integration,

some would say assimilation,

where there are powerful LGBT people out there,

powerful LGBT voices.

(cheering)

And our voices can be as strong and as loud

and as aggressive

as the voices of the bigots.

Reporter #2: Tim Hardaway, how do you deal with gay teammate?

Tim Hardaway: Oh, you know, I hate gay people.

So I let it be known.

I don't like to be around gay people.

I don't, you know, I'm... I'm homophobic.

I don't like it.

What he's saying is, I'm afraid they're gonna do me.

And then along comes George.

As a gay man and a human being, I was shocked and saddened.

But I want you to know, Tim, on behalf of gay people everywhere,

that despite your ugly words, we don't hate you.

As a matter of fact, we like you.

We like you very much.

We particularly like

your large, powerful calves.

Savage: It's not just an older gentleman being creepy

by feeling up a basketball player.

- It's a gay guy saying... - I will have sex with you.

(laughs)

Savage: And in that moment you realize how ridiculous

that basketball player's fear was because George acted it out.

Takei: I love sweaty basketball players.

And when it comes to a lot of straight people's discomfort,

particularly homophobic people's discomfort with gay people,

it boils down to sex.

This is how delusional George is.

He thinks he's... George talks about blowing Brad

and he thinks he's an activist.

Stern: I mean, the man is insane. You know that.

When George speaks about homosexuality

in the same way I speak about heterosexuality,

it makes things normal.

He's talking directly to heterosexuals

who have complete homophobia.

And we're not laughing at him.

We're having a great time with him.

So George is performing

a great activist duty.

Happy Pride.

Thank you.

Oh, my.

Is that George Takei that I see coming down the path?

Live long and prosper.

Live long and prosper, baby.

We love you. We love you.

It's okay to be Takei.

Takei: As I as a child

thought I was living a normal life

behind very real barbed wire fences,

there is another group of Americans

trying to live a normal life

who are incarcerated

behind another kind of barbed wire fence.

It's normal for two people who love each other,

who care for each other through thick and thin,

to be able to be married.

It's normal for all Americans to be able to have access

to any job if they are qualified for it.

What is abnormal is that lesbians, gays,

bisexual, and transgender people cannot.

But our history tells us that we have a dynamic democracy.

And with all of us acting as change agents,

I look forward to the time

when equality is enjoyed by all Americans.

Thank you very much.

(audience applauding)

Thank you.

(music playing)

It's very exciting.

So far we haven't seen any tractors, though.

No, I'm waiting for the tractors.

Good be God.

- (quacking) - Takei: And two ducks.

Altman: I'm a kid at heart. Thank you.

Announcer: Hands on your hips.

- Hands on your bootie. - (music playing)

Announcer: Now the pump, come on.

(chanting) Tonto, jump on it, jump on it.

- Announcer: Here we go, come on. - (music playing)

Announcer: Kemosabe, jump on it, jump on it, jump on it...

Takei: Yay, John Deere.

Altman: Finally, a tractor. We can go home now.

I've seen a tractor.

- There's more coming. - We can go.

- Are you bored? - Yeah. I think we've done it.

- Let me entertain you. - Don't, don't.

- That's what you wanted. - No, don't.

You're embarrassing.

We are going to get our marriage license today.

Isn't that extraordinary and isn't that wonderful?

(cheering)

Takei: It has never happened before,

equal marriage for all people.

You know, on "Star Trek," we had this core value, IDIC...

infinite diversity in infinite combinations.

And here we are, this much closer to that ideal.

Over the more than 21 years, I have called you many things.

(laughing)

I have called you my life partner, my significant other,

my longtime companion, my lover.

"But now you can call me husband."

- Yeah. - I thought that was so sweet

- And very touching. - Thank you.

Your wedding vows were touching too.

When my mother got ill

and could no longer take care of herself,

we moved her in with us

and you helped me care for her

with the devotion and the affection of a real son.

In the last few years of her life,

she was not able to live on her own.

And she moved into our house with us.

Brad was a pillar of support.

I mean he was a saint because, you know,

care-giving is not easy,

and particularly with someone who has Alzheimer's

that gets worse and worse.

That was a test of his love.

And I am eternally grateful.

And my love for him is that much deeper.

We're family.

(music playing)

Through the power of your own love,

I pronounce you spouses for life.

(applause)

My mother is here from Arizona.

Mom, would you wave to the crowd?

Altman: It meant everything to me to have my mother at the wedding.

She was full of platitudes

and excitement and support.

Inouye: If I'm not certain, just about every person

who found themselves with an invitation,

fortunate enough to get it, responded.

I really genuinely was not able to be there physically.

li was away somewhere. I was invited, yes.

Takei: When Brad and I got married,

we sent invitations out

to all the "Star Trek" colleagues.

We got no response from Bill.

So we thought, "Well, it's typical of Bill.

He's not going to show."

To his wedding?

Um, no. I read about it.

And I was glad that he had found someone

to love and to love him.

He was invited to... to the wedding.

In its proper perspective, I don't know him.

And he doesn't know me.

We've done six movies together.

We did three seasons of television together.

Such a personal thing, like a wedding...

I would not have anticipated him asking me.

That's our Bill.

George on phone: Bill, we... we invited you to our wedding.

And then you went on YouTube ranting and raving

about not getting an invitation.

He makes this big deal about not inviting me to his wedding.

I was astounded because we did invite him.

Who even would think two seconds about that or not?

I mean, if George says he sent him a wedding invitation,

of course I believe George.

Nobody cares about these two.

Walter Koenig: Bill no longer has control over George.

George is going on his own way.

He's made a new career for himself.

I can finally say what I've waited 40 years to say.

Fuck you and the horse you rode in on.

That wasn't acting.

There was a lot of truth in that line reading.

Good night.

Takei: It's been 47 years

since I did "Star Trek."

I'm a different person.

I look different. I sound different.

And I am a different person.

Like when you see baby pictures,

you know, that's a baby picture.

What kind?

Takei: And in that sense, I'm quite changed

from that picture of me from my "Star Trek" days.

Takei: Well, Mr. Spock.

These guys follow you on Facebook too.

Takei: Oh, thank you very much.

Live long and prosper.

First of all, I've watched you since I was a kid, Captain Sulu.

And your Facebook contributions

are a wonderful addition to my day.

Well, thank you very much.

I totally love your smart humor on Facebook.

And I'm sure you get told that a million times,

but I totally love it.

Takei: This whole thing started as an effort

to make the general public aware

of "Allegiance."

And to keep an audience coming,

I thought I'd add some funny pictures

and some commentary

as well as some advocacy on equality issues.

And it started to grow and grow.

I now have over two million people

from Britain to Australia to Japan

to Czech Republic.

It's really extraordinary.

My wife handed me the laptop one morning and said,

"You have to look at this picture."

I don't remember what it was, but was very funny.

And it was was content from George Takei.

And I had no idea that he was publishing on Facebook.

He pokes fun at himself a little bit.

He's sharing things that are sort of fun and heartfelt,

but also a little irreverent.

I think people sort of sense that they have

a little piece of him in their timeline.

Can you imagine Brad writing some of the witty comments?

Tate: The fact that he's come out as a gay man

feeds into the perception that he is a very honest and open person.

The fact that he doesn't hide his political viewpoints,

and that he's actually willing to maybe potentially alienate

some of his fans, feeds into the perception

that he's open and honest.

You know, what makes him appealing

is that people feel like they have a very real connection to him.

I want to say thanks for your Facebook posts.

Every day I laugh my ass off.

Well, I like to bring a little smile on people's faces.

Tate: I never would have guessed,

you know, it's going to be 75-year-old ex-"Star Trek" star

engaging with people in a way

that is genuinely very innovative.

Good morning, everybody. I know. I know.

I know what you're saying.

Is there anything exciting happening

this morning in terms of an announcer?

I'm George Takei.

Takei: When I came out,

Howard's people called me and they said,

"We'd like you to be the official announcer."

And I agreed to do it every quarter.

Stern: Do you know anything about laundry?

- Do l... - You're Asian. I mean...

You know who does laundry in our family?

Brad because he's the woman.

He's not the woman. He's a guy.

Eh, he's the woman.

Brad stays at home.

- He's like the stay-at-home wife. - No, no, no.

- He's a stay-at-home manager. - I'm sure he's a bottom.

- Right? - No.

We play all the roles, all the roles.

All right, whatever.

When I started listening to George on the show,

I saw that he was going into areas of privacy

that I never...

I wasn't sure I wanted him to do that.

If you act coy on that show,

Howard has that razor intelligence.

And he will focus in on that.

And he will relentlessly get the honest truth.

And if he can't get it this way, he'll go this way,

or this way, or even this way.

You know, this part is about what...

the role you played, Howard.

And you played a central role in expanding

and giving dimension to my identity as George Takei,

as opposed to Sulu.

Ooh, allow me to introduce myself.

- I'm George Takei. - Oh!

Yes.

Mr. Takei, I'm a huge fan.

Would you sign my doll?

Hello?

I'm George Takei.

Yes?

George gives me way too much credit.

I have to tell you that in my email that I receive from my audience,

no one gets more positives than George,

and I'm including myself in that category.

And if I had some small part in introducing him to America

as George Takei, I'm glad I did because he's

an important voice.

Oh, my. Can I help?

What's George Takei doing here?

Howard, do you have latent homosexual tendencies?

Of course not.

So you say.

Yet here I am.

Koenig: We were in our mid-60s, I think.

And I said George, you know, our careers are over.

Why are you so concerned about this, you know?

He says, "Well, maybe yours."

And of course he was absolutely right.

He went on to a lot of stuff.

Oh, my.

You know George and l, when we got together,

I was in my early 30s.

George was in his late 40s.

And I thought when George turned 65

that we would be enjoying

the fruits of his success.

And that turned out that we're not enjoying it

in any kind of retirement sense whatsoever.

This is our calendar book.

New York, Nashville, Los Angeles.

Announcer: It's a very special celebrity edition

of "The Newlywed Game."

Altman: Denver, Boston,

Raleigh, North Carolina.

Lawrence O'Donnell: Joining me now for a "Last Word" exclusive,

actor and gay rights activist, George Takei.

We're workaholics. We work.

We work some more.

Election day, that's when he did "The Neighbors."

Announcer: "The Neighbors" season finale

with George Takei and Mark Hamill.

Are we going to beam something somewhere?

I'm not your father.

Altman: Kansas City, let's see, Shanghai,

Little Rock, Arkansas.

We travel all the time.

As far as I can remember, I've always been me.

Maybe it's my neediness, but I like to be popular.

I am full of surprises.

You're fired.

I think it takes an innate positive attitude,

an optimistic attitude,

to get over something like the internment

and to be able to...

to achieve things.

Altman: Let me know if you recognize anything.

I don't recognize a thing.

Look at those shacks.

My first pilgrimage, I was just Altman.

I'm coming back this time as a Takei.

I've been married to George for three years.

And the brand name in our family

is George Takei.

And I wanted to be part of the brand.

Brad is a part of my life.

And, you know, I can't imagine what it would

be like without Brad, you know, to do a gig.

I would probably be so lost, so discombobulated,

that it would be a disaster.

I love you.

(music playing)

Takei: As a teenager, I asked my father a lot of questions

about the internment experience.

And I was an idealistic,

self-important, arrogant kid.

And I remember one conversation I'll never forget.

I said I would have organized my friends.

We would have gone downtown.

We would have protested.

We would have done everything we can to stop this.

And I topped it off by saying,

"Daddy, you led us like sheep to slaughter."

And my father was silent for a long time.

And then he said, "Maybe you're right."

And he got up. He'd never done that.

And then he walked into his bedroom and closed the door.

And I was stunned, but at the same time

I realized that I had hurt him.

And that's the one regret I have,

that I never apologized to him for that... for what I said

and for my wounding him so deeply.

(music playing)

Sturdy and sure

Keep faith and endure

We shall endure...

Gaman, gaman

Takei: And so I take my inspiration from my parents,

what they did for us and what I feel

is my obligation to repay that debt to them.

My father wanted to see a better America.

I loved you so much.

I've missed you terribly.

I should have told you while I still had the chance.

And now it's too late,

60 years too late.

You're here today...

Takei: It's my parents that I'm visiting

in that cemetery scene.

There's so much I want to share with them,

but that's part of life, isn't it?

You lose those people you love very much.

And in some ways,

I consider this my tribute

and gift to them, as well as my legacy to the future.

With strength to carry on

Hold your head up high

Gaman.

(applause)

I'm thrilled to be on stage with somebody who symbolizes,

you know, the making true of a dream

for many Asian American actors.

And for me to be able to share a stage him,

it's just... it's just nuts.

What a wonderful thing to do at this time in your life.

You know, to have an opportunity like this.

He calls this his legacy project.

Yeah, absolutely.

Koenig: I'm so pleased for him

because I really think he's done things with his life.

He has done things.

George has had a life in the public.

He's been involved in politics.

He goes all over the world enlightening people.

And all those things, I think, are very worthwhile.

I hope he realizes it.

I hope he realizes what he has succeeded in doing.

- Okay, this way, George. - This way?

Oh, well.

Opening night jitters, I guess.

Well, what did you think?

You did a lot of line mishaps tonight.

50 years.

You thought your emotional overlay was good, though.

- Didn't you? - What did you think?

Yeah, I thought the emotion was real good.

- Well, that's what carried me. - Yeah.

But everybody was on a high.

It was a wonderful, wonderful evening.

Are you happy?

Well, we're gonna keep working on those lines and get them memorized.

Well, I have them, but things happen on stage.

Yeah.

That's unpredictable.

- Well... - You can't prepare for.

They just happen.

Walter's gone?

He's at Prado with Judy.

- It's Prahdo. - Yeah.

Well, the haircut looks good,

except that the...

that there.

I think you cut too much off here.

No, what are talking about? It looks great.

Mr. "Tak-eye," thank you very much.

Jerry, you've mispronounced George's last name.

- Takei. - Jerry: Takei?

You've only known him for 55 years.

- Give me a break. - Yeah.

Give me a break.

I'm just going to put everything here so I don't forget.

Love you, Jerry.

- Take care. - Thank you.

Thank you.

We're going to head up to the Starbucks coffee shop.

And we're gonna go to the farmer's market.

Yeah, let's go.

Are we still... I'm waiting for Jennifer to...

She's not giving me any clues on what to do,

so let's just walk up and see what happens.

Takei: You've got to like... you know, and now we cut.

(music playing)

(phone rings)

Hello, hello? Oh, no, no.

We can't talk right now because we're driving.

Okay, thank you very much.

- Bye-bye. - Who was it?

He was conducting a survey on seat belts.

(laughing)

Altman: It almost sounds like a joke, doesn't it?

Bill's book is coming out.

He's talking about the same old things.

George, Brad,

I've been looking all over the galaxy for you.

Look what I found, my wedding invitation.

Takei: There it is.

George, Brad, I'm sorry.

Can you ever forgive me?

Will you take back everything that you...

Everything. The part about when you were psychotic,

- And how I stole your... - Psychosis.

Psychosis. And how I stole your close up.

Bravo. Wonderful performance.

Live long and prosper.

I got Bill to kiss me.

(music continues)

(Takei singing) Farewell for now

That's all the filming for a while

Farewell to our dear filming friends

And the times that we enjoyed together

Farewell.

Oh, the rainbow's moved over there.

I love those little waves of green.

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