Star Trek

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Barbara Walters, December 30th, 2022.

CHICAGO – The grim reaper spares no one, despite even having a celebrity status. But photographer Joe Arce, who has taken thousands of Exclusive Portraits of famous folks, gives some notables one more memorial image as we say adios to last year. Through his lens, from Barbara Walters at the end of December back to January, below is the Slideshow of Celebrities who passed away in 2022.

SILVER CITY, N.M.– No more can Uhura communicate. The ground breaking actor who originated the role of Nyota Uhura, the Communications Officer on The Original Series (TOS) “Star Trek,” passed away on July 30th at her home in New Mexico. Nichelle Nichols was 89. Photographer Joe Arce of HollywoodChicago.com took this Exclusive Portrait in Chicago in 2018.

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Lana Parrilla of TV’s ‘Once Upon a Time’ and ‘Why Woman Kill.’

CHICAGO – The fan gathering conventions are coming back, and a new one has emerged. The 2022 Fan Expo is the new name for the former Wizard World, which had met in pre-pandemic Chicago for years. The Fan Expo offers the same celebrity meet-and-greets, including Joel McHale (“Star Girl”), Carl Weathers (“Rocky”), Ron Perlman (“Hellboy”), Anthony Daniels (“Star Wars”), Jonathan Frakes (“Star Trek; TNG”) and director Kevin Smith (“Clerks”).

CHICAGO – As a TV and Movie Star, Sally Kellerman may not be a household name, but as an influencer in the “New American Cinema” of the 1970s she was everywhere.

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Nichelle Nichols, Uhura of the original TV ‘Star Trek.’

CHICAGO – It’s baaaaack! One of the best annual pop culture entertainment and comic book gatherings returns to Chicagoland once again, as the Wizard World Comic Con will make its yearly visit to the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Ill., the weekend of August 22th through the 25th, 2019. Besides the fan costumes, vendor booths and comic book legends, Wizard World has appearances from TV and movie celebrities, highlighted in 2019 by Jason Momoa (“Aquaman”), Ben McKenzie (“Gotham”), Henry Winkler (“Happy Days,” Barry”), Cary Elwes (“Stranger Things,” “Princess Bride”) and Melissa Joan Hart (“Sabrina, the Teenage Witch”).

CHICAGO – There is nothing like the original, and Nichelle Nichols is certainly in that category. Nichols portrayed Uhura in the original 1960s “Star Trek” series, and broke barriers for African American performers by being an equal member of the ground-breaking Starship Enterprise crew during the civil rights era.

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Loni Anderson of ‘WKRP in Cincinnati.’

CHICAGO – It’s coming back! One of the best annual pop culture entertainment and comic book gatherings returns to Chicagoland once again, as the Wizard World Comic Con will make its yearly visit to the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Ill., the weekend of August 23rd through the 26th, 2018. Besides the fan costumes, vendor booths and comic book legends, Wizard World has appearances from TV and movie celebrities, highlighted in 2018 by David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson (“The X-Files”), Ben Savage (“Boy Meets World”), Henry Winkler (“Happy Days,” Barry”) and Nichelle Nichols (“Star Trek,” Original Series).

CHICAGO – The ageless Joan Collins is probably best known for the prime time soap opera “Dynasty,” which ran from 1981 to 1989, but she is also a throwback to the last of the old studio system in Hollywood, when she was signed to a contract with 20th Century Fox in 1955. For her latest act, she will appear in the upcoming eighth season of FX Channel’s “American Horror Story.” Her birthday, May 23rd, is today.

LOS ANGELES – The actor who created one of the greatest pop-culture characters in TV and film history has passed away. Leonard Nimoy will always be known for the role of Mr. Spock, science officer for the USS Enterprise of the “Star Trek” TV and film series. He died of pulmonary disease on Feb. 27, 2015, according to his wife Susan. He was 83.

CHICAGO – When is comes to appreciating life, one great practitioner is Anson Williams, better known as the character “Potsie” from the 1970s TV series “Happy Days.” Williams wants to remind everybody to “pay it forward,” as he does in highlighting his unlikely mentor in his new book, “Singing to a Bulldog.”