johnny dymond re ”ortin drop to his work. johnny dymond reporting on _ drop to his work.for i drop to his work. johnny dymond reporting on that story for us. i and before we go, the american actress nichelle nichols, best known for playing lieutenant uhura in the original 1960s series of star trek, has died at the age of 89. her role was trailblazing. she was one of the first black actresses on american tv to play an authority figure. 0ur entertainment correspondent lizo mzimba looks back at her career. lieutenant uhura was the starship enterprise's communications officer. confident, charismatic, calm under pressure. ship to ship. hailing frequencies open, sir. hailing frequencies open. hailing frequencies open, sir. conscious, too, of some of the limitations of the role. mr spock, sometimes i think if i hear that word "frequency" once more, i'll cry. nichelle nichols' background was in musical theatre — a talent the show occasionally exploited. # 0h, on the starship enterprise... her character on star trek was ground—breaking in many ways. the show broadcast one of telev