People are asking which Star Trek celebrities I’ve invited to the special EVER NEW in mid-June to commemorate the 24th anniversary of DeForest Kelley’s passing and to celebrate the fact that he was here for 79 years blessing our socks off.
I hesitate to name them all, because if they decline, I don’t want people getting upset with them.
So, I will instead name the people who have already given me an enthusiastic YES! These names are not super high-profile, but anyone who is a true Original Star Trek(or StarWars) nerd will certainly know their names.
In alphabetical order by surname, they are …
T.Rick Jones (Daily Star Trek News)
To quote from his official bio:
“T. has been the Managing Editor of Daily Star Trek News since June, 2022. He began with the outlet in May, 2021 as the Trivia and History Writer, and quickly moved into a support role, creating and maintaining FAQ pages and backing up the creator of the website, Alison Pitt, by posting articles from the writing staff. When Alison decided it was time to move on, T. accepted the position that he now holds.
“T. is also a Freelance Writer, contributing articles to Sherlock Holmes Magazine quarterly and getting his story, “The Adventure of the Scorched Sailor,” published in Belanger Books’ anthology, Sherlock Holmes: Adventures Through the Multiverse in early 2022.”
Not on his official bio is that he works in live theater in his community, and has for decades. He’s a true Renaissance Man.
Dan Madsen (super Trek/Wars fan, Mark Twain fan, originator of professional fan magazines for Star Trek and Star Wars, among others — and he actually appeared in Star Wars) has such an extensive, rich bio that I am going to point you to his official bio page at IMDB. Here it is: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0535186/bio.
Yeah, he’s awesome!!!
Larry Nemecek (Will Rogers, Mark Twain, and DeForest Kelley super fan, host of his own podcast, and tour guide for people wanting to learn more about set locations for Star Trek, De’s and other actors’ westerns, and other places; also a tour guide at Will Rogers in southern California) also has an extensive, impressive official bio, so I’m going to point you to it here: https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Larry_Nemecek.
Larry came to my condo once for what was supposed to be perhaps a two-hour visit, but he and my other friends were instantly such kindred spirits that no one headed toward home until about 2 .a.m! I will never forget it.
Amy Ulen (teacher, actor, scrapbook and card maker supreme, Board Member of the Nichelle Nichols Foundation, and all around fabulous person) has apparently been too humble to add to her IMDB page, so I’ve IM’d her and asked her to do that. I know so much about her that should go on that page that I could almost write it myself, but I’d get her public appearance dates and stage play dates wrong, so she needs to do that.
But if you’re a regular viewer of EVER NEW, you know Amy. She has been with us five times so far, taking us vicariously on her treks to Trek sets and location shoots, and she still has a lot of stories yet to tell.
But on this particular date in mid-June (I believe it will be the 10th but it may be on the 17th, depending on guests’ schedules), we’ll all be talking almost exclusively about DeForest Kelley’s enduring legacy. It’s going to be a solid hour or more dedicated to remembering De by people who met, knew, were inspired by, or interacted with him from afar in unforgettable ways.
I have invited the surviving cast members from the original series, and a producer, a director, and a writer from some of the motion pictures. I have also invited graphics creators. I have invited Terry Rioux, who wrote De’s official biography, FROM SAWDUST TO STARDUST.
And I’m inviting Karl Urban, because we had such a great but short conversation about De when I met him at an Emerald City Comic Con in Seattle five years ago. He’s one busy guy, but I have a good feeling that if he can get away, even for a few minutes, he will do so.
I sent an invitation to his agent in New Zealand a couple days ago and they just got back to me to suggest I contact his Beverly Hills agent, since he’s in the U.S. much of the time these days. That puts him in my time zone, which is good, because otherwise, he would have to drag himself out of bed at 5 a.m.on a Sunday morning NZ time to engage on EVER NEW. ( I know this, because that’s what my kiwi friends Helen and Deborah have to do to catch EVER NEW live, and I was a little worried about that!) If he’s here on the west coast the day of the show, he won’t have to get up early, because it goes live at 10:30 a.m.
WHO ELSE SHOULD I INVITE?
Who else wants to do this? Can you think of anybody else? Rod Roddenberry Jr. who knew De? Adam or Julie Nimoy? Rick Berman, who lived across ths street from De and Carolyn? Brent Spiner? Jonathan Frakes? I don’t have any way to reach out to them, but if you do, please give them a heads up and have them contact me at krisATwordwhispererDOTnet to let me know they’d like to weigh in on our super duper special De Day in mid-June!
And any other celebrity or super fan can do this, too if you want to pre-record a short (under two minute) video of yourself talking about what De continues to mean to you. If we can’t show them all on one show, we can share the pre-recorded ones on subsequent shows!
I can have as many as ten people in the virtual Streamyard studio at once. (Hannah might be at a conventon that weekend, but Amy will serve double duty if that’s the case.) Not everyone who comes on will probably want to remain the whole time, or if they do, they can drop into “viewer” mode to allow more people in to speak if we get a bunch of celebrities who want to weigh in.
I know Ben Stiller was a huge De fan. So was Frank Sinatra Jr, but he has passed away. There are other non-Star Trek celebrities who may want to engage. This is an open call for any high-profile celebrity who wants to wax poetic (or prosetic) about DeForest Kelley as an actor, friend, co-worker, or healer.
I want it to be something that will last in cyberspace forever as an additional accolade for De.
