George Takei

About

George Takei an author and actor known for playing the character Hikaru Sulu in the science fiction television series Star Trek and his strong online presence in advocacy of LGBT rights.

Online History

On June 2nd, 1999, Takei registered the domain for his personal website GeorgeTakei.com,^[5] which features biographical information, media galleries, a blog and a contact form. On November 1st, 2010, YouTuber significantjay uploaded a video titled “George Takei Calls Out Anti-Gay Arkansas School Board Member,” in which Takei responded to the former Arkansas school board member Clint McCance by calling him a “douche bag” (shown below). Within two years, the video received over 1.54 million views and 8,650 comments.

Takei joined Twitter^[1] on January 13th, 2011 and went onto accumulate over 490,000 followers in less than two years. On March 23rd, the official Facebook^[3] page for George Takei was created, which received over 2.9 million likes within the next 22 months. On May 19th, YouTuber allegiancebway uploaded a video titled “George Takei vs. Tennessee’s ’Don’t Say Gay’ Bill,” in which Takei offered the use of his last name to substitute for the word “gay.” Within 19 months, the video amassed over 1.2 million views and 9,600 comments.

On November 17th, Takei created a Tumblr^[4] blog titled “Are you talking to Meme?”, which features posts containing photographs and image macros (shown below).

“Oh My”

Takei has often been associated with the catchphrase “Oh My,” which originated from Takei’s character in the Disney Channel sitcom Cory in the House according to the Straight Dope Forums.^[2] The phrase was often sampled on the Howard Stern radio show, typically in response to sexual innuendo. On January 18th, 2009, YouTuber Ralph Miller uploaded a video titled “Oh My ‘The George Takei Song’,” featuring the Howard Stern sample mixed with the song “Oh Yeah” by Yello (shown below, left). On April 27th, 2010, YouTuber bigtvshop uploaded a commercial for the television manufacturer Sharp, in which Takei says the phrase “Oh my” (shown below, right).

Reputation

Takei is seen by many as a respected member of the gay rights community and is often lauded for his humorous interactions through social media. The Asteroid 7307 was named after Takei when it was discovered on April 13th, 1994. Takei was presented with the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette by the Emperor of Japan in 2004 for his contributions to US-Japanese international relations. On June 7th, 2012, Takei received the LGBT Humanist Pride Award for gay rights activism. On November 18th, 2012, BuzzFeed^[6] published a post titled “11 Reasons George Takei is the Absolute Best,” which included several screenshots of several notable tweets by Takei (shown below).

Personal Life

Takei was born in Los Angeles, California to Japanese American parents on April 20th, 1937. In October of 2005, Takei revealed that he was in a committed homosexual relationship with partner Brad Altman for the past 18 years in an interview in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender magazine Frontiers. Takei announced that he would be marrying Altman on May 16th, 2008, becoming the first same-sex couple to apply for a marriage license in West Hollywood, California. The two were married on September 14th, 2008.

Search Interest

External References