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They refused to honor the contract, but Roddenberry was free to hire her on a daily basis, which he did throughout the series. Nichols faced numerous racial and sexist barriers throughout her career, including conflict with the stuffed shirts of NBC around her role in ``Star Trek.'' Only after Nichols agreed to sign the contract did NBC executives learn that Roddenberry intended to hire a black woman as fourth in command on the Enterprise. Nichols ended it when she discovered he was seeing someone else, although by her account, Roddenberry never quite forgave her for walking away. Her friendship with the married Roddenberry quickly turned into an affair. Nichols met Gene Roddenberry, later the producer of ``Star Trek,'' in 1963 when she was cast in an episode of one of his early television series. Growing up in Robbins, a black-populated and black-governed town just outside of Chicago, Nichols began her singing and dancing career at the age of 14, touring nightclubs for many years. One of the first black women to star in a television series (``Star Trek'') provides a valuable commentary on racism in the business, along with numerous sugarcoated stories about friends, fans, and family.
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