Mr. Sulu Ties the Knot

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MIKE PESCA, host:

Some counties in California began issuing marriage licenses to gay couples at 5:01 P.M. yesterday. The rest begin today, and standing in line in Los Angeles County will be George Takei and Brad Altman. Takei you know as Mr. Sulu from "Star Trek," or a hero's dad from "Heroes."

Brad you may not know, but George knows him well as his partner of more than 20 years and his business manager. I spoke to the newlyweds-to-be a few days ago.

The wedding is planned for September. What's the plan for the ceremony?

Mr. BRAD ALTON: We're going to get married at the Democracy Forum of the Japanese American National Museum in downtown Los Angeles. The Democracy Forum has 200 seats. Our contacts list has 3,500 names, so it's going to be a tough ticket.

(Soundbite of laughter)

PESCA: Now, I'm sure moms and dads and relatives and everyone who you can invite, but the public wants to know, who from "Star Trek" is going to come?

Mr. GEORGE TAKEI (Actor): Well, as a matter of fact, more than coming, they're part of the wedding party. The best man is Walter Koenig, you may know him as Chekov from "Star Trek," and our matron of honor is the actress that played Uhura, Nichelle Nichols, and she's a very dear friend and a generous person. And so they're part of our wedding party.

PESCA: Now, I know that James Doohan and DeForest Kelley, they have passed on. People want to know, what about Kirk and Spock? Are you close to them, Nimoy and Shatner?

Mr. TAKEI: Leonard is a very, very good friend, and he's been very supportive.

PESCA: And Bill Shatner has other plans?

Mr. ALTMAN: I think you and other members of the press that have asked that question, Mike, are going in the - headed in the wrong direction.

PESCA: Uh-huh.

Mr. ALTMAN: When you focus on William Shatner, he's not being excluded. We're being inclusive. The whole point of our wedding, Mike, is diversity. We're going for - we're trying to create diversity and show that same-gender couples can have a wonderful wedding, like opposite-sex couples.

PESCA: That...

(Soundbite of laughter)

Mr. TAKEI: Well, now you know why Brad manages my affairs.

(Soundbite of laughter)

PESCA: That was perhaps ungracious of me, and for that, I do apologize. When the Supreme Court ruled that a ban on gay marriage was unconstitutional, did you guys look at each other and know? Was there a proposal? How did that work?

Mr. TAKEI: Well, you know, we knew that the Supreme Court was going to be coming down with its ruling, either that day or the day before or the day after. So we had CNN on all the time, and I happened to be munching on a sandwich at that time when the word came down. And suddenly, Brad got down on his knees, and I said, what are you doing? And he asked, George, would you marry me? And I said, Brad, you beat me to it!

(Soundbite of laughter)

Mr. TAKEI: I was going to ask you, but, of course, I said, Brad, I love you. I would be honored to marry you.

PESCA: I know that there's been some opposition to the recent ruling, as, of course, you'd expect there to be. What do you think when you hear people - I know it's being introduced, this anti-gay marriage amendment. Do you think that your ceremony will change any minds? You're doing a lot of media appearances. You know, do you think that anyone is actually able to be swayed on this issue, or do you just say, you know, the people who are against it, they're against it. And that's fine, and I can't deal with them.

Mr. TAKEI: I'm the optimist. I think the fair-minded people of California will reject this extreme reaction, you know, particularly because the anti-gay ballot measure is now going to be taking away something that people have. It makes them seem mean-spirited.

PESCA: Uh-huh.

Mr. TAKEI: And I don't think Californians are that.

Mr. ALTMAN: In other words, Mike, what George is trying to say is, if that anti-gay California ballot initiative passes on November 4th, right now, the California Constitution as of June 17th says that gays and straights are equal. We have equal legal protection when it comes to the institution of marriage.

That ballot initiative, however, if it passed, it would say that straight people can marry each other. Gay people could not marry each other. In other words, suddenly, there would not be fairness when it comes to marriage, and so regardless of how you feel about gay relationships, under our democracy, all people should be treated equally.

PESCA: And in other words, people will say - it won't just be an abstraction. Oh, some gay people who I don't know now can't be married. They might say something like, oh, wait a minute. George Takei, who I loved in "Star Trek," and he's funny on "Howard Stern," that's like a real person who I could relate to. I'm kind of screwing with George Takei's life and Brad Altman, who I don't know, but those two guys seem happy together.

Mr. TAKEI: Exactly.

Mr. ALTMAN: And also, George and I are all about strengthening the institution of marriage. We believe in the institution of marriage, and the marriage is about love.

Mr. TAKEI: Yeah. Let's look at marriage as we have it right now, opposite-sex couples. Statistics show that over half of those marriages end up in divorce. A marriage, a true marriage, a strong marriage, a lasting marriage, is founded on love. I can tell you, you know, I am deeply indebted to Brad because about 15 years ago, I had foot surgery...

PESCA: Uh-huh.

Mr. TAKEI: And I was bedridden for a few days, and then I was in a wheelchair. And the doctor told me I couldn't get my foot wet. It was still in a cast. And...

Mr. ALTMAN: This is too much detail, George.

Mr. TAKEI: Well, you know...

(Soundbite of laughter)

Mr. TAKEI: He, without him...

PESCA: If you start mentioning specific metatarsals, we'll have to dump out. Yes.

Mr. TAKEI: I could not have taken a bath without Brad's help, you know, so, you know, that is what a marriage is. It isn't necessarily a man and a woman. It's the bond of love that defines marriage.

Mr. ALTMAN: And, you know, Mike, no matter what happens in November with that ballot initiative thing, I know that George's and my relationship will continue to live long and prosper...

(Soundbite of laughter)

Mr. ALTMAN: But I'm also very optimistic that the voters of California will make the right decision.

PESCA: And do you think this is the final frontier, or are there more?

Mr. TAKEI: Oh, no, no.

Mr. ALTMAN: How many more cliches do we have to go with?

(Soundbite of laughter)

PESCA: I don't know. You started it.

Mr. ALTMAN: I thought that live long and prosper was...

PESCA: That's good. Ding.

Mr. TAKEI: But we are boldly going where we haven't gone before...

PESCA: Oh, lord. Well, did...

Mr. TAKEI: To keep you happy.

PESCA: Back when you...

Mr. ALTMAN: This relationship should conclude at warp speed, Mike.

PESCA: Oh.

Mr. TAKEI: What do you mean, conclude?

Mr. ALTMAN: All the good material we've already...

PESCA: Are you giving her all she's got? She cannot take any more.

Mr. TAKEI: Incidentally, we're going to have bagpipe music at our wedding, as well.

PESCA: To honor Doohan?

Mr. ALTMAN: Partly.

Mr. TAKEI: Yes.

PESCA: That's nice.

Mr. TAKEI: He was my favorite drinking buddy, and, you know, he is going to be there with us in that 200-seat forum.

Mr. ALTMAN: Although Jimmy Doohan actually was Canadian, but we won't go there.

PESCA: Yeah...

Mr. TAKEI: Well, he was actually Irish too, but he told me that he's drunk enough of the libation of Scotland to qualify playing a Scotsman.

(Soundbite of laughter)

PESCA: I wanted to ask you, George. When you were making "Star Trek," did your fellow cast members who you were close to, did they know you were gay?

Mr. TAKEI: Not initially. You know, yeah - during the TV series, you know, I was a young actor who wanted to build a career, and, you know, an acting career is a very chancy thing. The producers are interested in having a successful series, and they want to have as few things to negatively impact the success of that series as possible. So, you know, I was quietly closeted.

Mr. ALTMAN: He - what's he - what he's saying is, Mike, was - he was in the closet, to answer your question.

Mr. TAKEI: However, however, you know, once we started doing the movies.

PESCA: Uh-huh.

Mr. TAKEI: I started taking Brad to the wrap parties, you know, on Friday nights when we finish filming for the week, and Brad would come with me. And then at another wrap party, Brad would be there again, and, you know, they're very sophisticated people. So, you know, they put two and two together, and so it was a normal kind of transition, rather than a, tada!

PESCA: Right.

Mr. TAKEI: You know, stepping out from the curtain.

PESCA: George Takei and Brad Altman, very, very soon to be newlyweds. Thank you.

Mr. TAKEI: Thank you very much.

Mr. ALTMAN: Thanks a lot, Mike.

PESCA: Thank you.

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