11:59 AM CST on Monday, March 13, 2006

By TOM MAURSTAD / The Dallas Morning News

No matter what George Takei does, two words are always going to be the first things that pop into people's minds when they hear his name – Star Trek.

That's in spite of the fact that no other Enterprise crew member, save William Shatner, has gone on to have such a varied post-Trek career. The once and future Sulu (returning to starship duty to take part in the latest, Internet-only continuation of the series, Star Trek: New Voyages) has succeeded in achieving a celebrity orbit beyond Star Trek conventions and autograph signings.

While he hasn't achieved a Boston Legal or even a T.J. Hooker level of success, he has made frequent guest appearances on TV shows – you can see him on an upcoming Will & Grace episode on March 30. And with Howard Stern's move to satellite radio, Mr. Takei became the official announcer of the new show. Years of appearances and recorded bits made him and his voice (with his unmistakably clipped and precise speaking style) a fan favorite.

But through his political and social activism, Mr. Takei has created a post-Trek persona. He ran and lost a race for mayor of Los Angeles in 1973, but that was the start rather than end of his public campaigning. In 2005, he discussed his homosexuality in an interview with Frontiers magazine.

Most significantly, he became a prominent voice in Asian-American culture: He was appointed by President Bill Clinton to serve on the Japan-United States Friendship Committee and is host of the public-radio series Crossing East, "the first radio series on Asian-American history."

It is that role that brings Mr. Takei to Dallas to be honored tonight at the first Legacies Banquet organized by the Asian American Journalists Association, a group dedicated to encouraging Asian-Americans to enter the journalism profession.

E-mail tmaurstad@dallasnews.com