ICONIC EPISODE: KIRK KISSES UHURA - TV’S MOST FAMOUS INTER-RACIAL KISS
Captain Kirk (William Shatner) rust and salmon striped grecian toga (bottom opposite page) worn when he—under the influence of a spell—kisses Lt. Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) in the Star Trek: The Original Series episode “Plato’s Stepchildren”. One of the first inter-racial kisses on network television, this highly controversial scene had national sponsors dropping their commercials from this historic episode. Acquired from the estate of series costume designer William Ware Theiss.
CURATOR’S NOTE: “I was asked in 1991 to market William Ware Theiss’ personal collection of career memorabilia from Star Trek: The Original Series. The imaginative costume designer for the run of series set forth in his will that it should all be sold to benefit Project Angel Food, a Southern California charity that delivers hot meals to those challenged with HIV-AIDS, where I sat on the Board of Directors. With the help of science fiction archivist Fuller French and memorabilia specialist Kathi Gates of Butterfield & Butterfield auction house, we were able to carefully research and identify hundreds of pieces. Also, personally, I had the intention to purchase a large selection of these Star Trek costumes, jewelry, sketches, correspondence and more that would be on o ff er for the first time (some of which had previously anchored an exhibit at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air & Space Museum). In the end, nearly three decades ago, I spent about $70,000. This was a great financial risk for me, and it was only possible because auction house owner Barney Osher was willing to make loans to those wanting to make larger purchases. Even at 27 years-old and at the beginning of my hunt, I knew that if I wasn’t willing to stretch to collect pieces from classic shows like I Love Lucy, Batman, Star Trek and a few others, I should go back to only watching television.” - James Comisar
“SCREEN MATCH!” designation appears when an image from production or elsewhere features what is likely to be the exact same object pictured from this archive. This is the most di ffi cult manner of authentication to accomplish. 30
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