I was not aware of her death until she was pictured on the "In Memoriam" section on last night's Oscars presentation.
As Stephan Palmer notes she was prevailed on by Martin Luther King to not leave
ST. The story is longer. You can read it on Wikipedia.
Here's their precis of her pre-
ST career. Impressive
Career
Nichols began her professional career as a singer and dancer in Chicago. She then toured the United States and Canada with the bands of
Duke Ellington and
Lionel Hampton. In 1959, she appeared as the principal dancer in the film version of
Porgy and Bess. Nichols' acting break came in an appearance in
Kicks and Co.,
Oscar Brown's highly touted but ill-fated 1961 musical. In a thinly veiled satire of
Playboy magazine, she played Hazel Sharpe, a voluptuous campus queen who was being tempted by the devil and
Orgy Magazine to become "Orgy Maiden of the Month". Although the play closed after a short run in Chicago, Nichols attracted the attention of
Hugh Hefner, the publisher of
Playboy, who booked her as a singer for his Chicago
Playboy Club. She also appeared in the role of Carmen for a Chicago stock company production of
Carmen Jones and performed in a New York production of
Porgy and Bess. Between acting and singing engagements, Nichols did occasional modeling work.
In January 1967, Nichols also was featured on the cover of
Ebony magazine, and had two feature articles in the publication in five years. Nichols continued touring the United States, Canada, and Europe as a singer with the
Duke Ellington and
Lionel Hampton bands. On the West Coast, she appeared in
The Roar of the Greasepaint and
For My People and she garnered high praise for her performance in the
James Baldwin play
Blues for Mister Charlie. Prior to being cast as Lieutenant Uhura in
Star Trek, Nichols was a guest actress on television producer
Gene Roddenberry's first series
The Lieutenant (1964) in an episode, "
To Set It Right", which dealt with racial prejudice.
www.theguardian.com
