By DAVID K. LI
June 4, 2008
George "Sulu" Takei is speeding to the final frontier of gay marriage - and several "Star Trek" comrades will be by his side.
But conspicuously NOT on the guest list is William Shatner, a k a Capt. Kirk.
When Takei, 71, weds longtime boyfriend Brad Altman in September, his best man will be Walter Koenig, who played Chekhov on "Star Trek," and the matron of honor will be Nichelle Nichols, best known as Uhura.
Leonard "Spock" Nimoy is also an invited guest to the Sept. 14 ceremony in LA.
As for Shatner?
"We have only 200 seats," Altman told AP radio this week.
"Our contact list has, like, 3,500 names, so we have to whittle it down and I don't know if William Shatner is going to make the cut."
The couple diplomatically recounted "Sulu's" longtime beefs with Shatner.
"He's a wonderful actor. No one could have created the character Capt. Kirk the way he brought his singular metabolism to the character," said Takei.
Then he added, "Kirk and Shatner both have this grand ego of sense of self. He sits there in the center of the set and he revels [in] it."
Takei said he was continually miffed with Shatner for pressuring directors to do close-ups of Capt. Kirk, even when the dialogue focused on other characters.
"One or two times, you know, is fine," said Takei. "But when it happens almost regularly, it gets to be a little irritating."
Shatner and his manager did not return messages seeking comment yesterday.
Altman and Takei have been living together for 21 years in LA.
When the California Supreme Court last month ruled that gay marriage was legal, Altman said he dropped to one knee in the couple's kitchen and proposed.
In his blog announcing the wedding, Takei said he couldn't envision life without his partner.
"We've shared the good times as well as struggled through the bad," he said.
"He helped me care for my ailing mother, who lived with us for the last years of her life. He is my love and I can't imagine life without him."
