Thursday, Sept. 9, 1999 | 10:40 a.m.
Thirty-three years to the day after Gene Roddenberry launched a science fiction television series that would draw in audiences for generations to come, the U.S. Postal Service unveiled a stamp to honor it.
Fans filed into Quark's Restaurant Wednesday morning at "Star Trek: The Experience" at the Las Vegas Hilton to have the first glimpse of the stamp and to meet Majel Barrett Roddenberry, the wife of the late Gene Roddenberry. Mrs. Roddenberry also has had roles on all four Star Trek television series, starting out as nurse Christine Chapel on the original series.
"It's not something that happens to just anyone," Roddenberry said of the stamp. "I'm very, very honored and Gene would be honored."
The stamp was one of 15 the public voted to represent a cultural trend in the 1960s. It features the original U.S.S. Enterprise NCC 1701 soaring through space and a glowing Star Fleet insignia in the background.
"To see the 1701 original ship on a Star Trek stamp is a dream come true," Henry Espinoza, a 53-year-old Las Vegas resident, said.
A mailroom manager for the Clark County School District, Espinoza said his office is decorated with Star Trek memorabilia. Both he and his 26-year-old son, Andy Espinoza, voted for the stamp.
"The optimistic view of the future gets beyond racism and greed and inspires so many people to do what is right," Andy Espinoza said.
The stamp is part of the Postal Service's Celebrate The Century commemorative stamp and education program that honors the most significant people, places, events and trends of each decade in the passing century. The stamps will be issued Sept. 17 in Green Bay, Wis.
More than 250,000 of the 1 million voters chose the Star Trek stamp out of 30 possibilities, defeating stamp ideas such as Motown and the Kennedy brothers, Teresa Rudkin, spokeswoman for the Postal Service, said.
In addition to Star Trek, the winning stamps include Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream"; Man Walks on the Moon; Woodstock; The Integrated Circuit; Lasers; The Vietnam War; The Beatles; The Peace Corps; Super Bowl I; Green Bay Packers; Roger Maris, 61 in '61; Peace Symbol; Ford Mustang; and Barbie Doll.
The Star Trek TV series originated in 1966 featuring William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy as the captain and his science officer. It gained immediate popularity, but the original series lasted only 79 episodes. The adventures of Star Fleet, however, went on to stardom in three more television series, eight feature films and dozens of novels.
"Star Trek has been an inspiration for many people with its respect for all life forms," Roddenberry said, adding that letters are sent from fans all over the world saying their lives have been transformed through watching Star Trek.
The stamp will serve as a reminder of the show's message of peace and harmony, she added.
As Majel Barrett she has appeared not only as Nurse Chapel, but Dr. Chapel in the motion pictures and then the telepathic, man-hungry Mrs. Troi in both "Star Trek: Next Generation" and "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine," which concluded last season. She also was the computer voice in "Generations" and "Deep Space Nine," plus the current series, "Star Trek Voyager."
Roddenberry said she is talking with the Postal Service about creating a stamp of Gene Roddenberry, who died in 1991.
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