A Conversation with Majel Barrett Roddenberry, Star Trek's Nurse Chapel (1994)

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  • Опубліковано 21 лип 2020
  • In 1994, Paul Rosa interviewed Majel Barrett Roddenberry, Star Trek's "Nurse Chapel" at her home in Los Angeles. Until now, this interview has been archived. Paul has kindly allowed it to appear for the first time online on The Life Arts Network. Copyright PDR Film and Video.

КОМЕНТАРІ • 112

  • @tayzonday
    @tayzonday 3 роки тому +41

    These longform videos are better than short clips.

  • @FH-ge3wr
    @FH-ge3wr 3 роки тому +50

    What a wonderfully engaging, warm and intelligent woman.

    • @LifeArtsNetwork
      @LifeArtsNetwork  3 роки тому +9

      She was sooo nice. She offered us snacks while we were at her house! Thanks for watching!

    • @jess00821
      @jess00821 3 роки тому +3

      @@LifeArtsNetwork That is so neat!! What snacks and drinks did Majel offer?!

    • @FH-ge3wr
      @FH-ge3wr 2 роки тому

      @@LifeArtsNetwork I've watched all of your 'Star Trek' interviews Paul, all entertaining and insightful. Thank you for making them available. Regards Frank.

    • @Joseph-Mamma
      @Joseph-Mamma Рік тому

      idk she kinda seems like a shrew to me.

  • @harryrobbins7343
    @harryrobbins7343 3 роки тому +31

    I really enjoyed this interview. Majel was a very special Lady and one of my life's biggest regrets is to never have met her personally. The world needs more people like her kind soul.

  • @jess00821
    @jess00821 3 роки тому +21

    The best interview with the late great dearly missed First Lady of Star Trek. What a delightful, fun, funny, warm, and very beautiful person. I met Majel twice and I treasure the memories forever.❤️💗💔

    • @LifeArtsNetwork
      @LifeArtsNetwork  3 роки тому +3

      I am so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for the compliment. It was a great honor.

  • @saftpackerl
    @saftpackerl 3 роки тому +10

    The famous Computer Voice! :D
    She was a treasure. Much love to her.

  • @TheTuubster
    @TheTuubster 3 роки тому +14

    Her greater role for Star Trek is actually not Nurse Chapel, but being the computer voice for TNG, DS9 and VOY. She appears probably in more episodes than any Star Trek actor.

    • @tjmcguire9417
      @tjmcguire9417 4 місяці тому +1

      Majel is the only one in every episode of every Start Trek -- including all series and movies/ Reemember her as #1, the 1st Exec, in the Pilot. "The Cage" Listen harder. Probably -- is incorrect. It's a fact. Her husband, Gene Roddenberry saw her talent and made it work. Prolific.

  • @skyebonaventure
    @skyebonaventure 3 роки тому +23

    Nurse Christine Chapel was awesome! Her unrequited love for Mr. Spock added a poignancy to Star Trek that has never been equaled. (Tasha Yar/Richard Castillo comes close, though.) "The Naked Time" and "Amok Time" would have been nothing without Nurse Chapel. And "What Are Little Girls Made Of?" gave us the first "Redshirts." Number One was awesome, too.

    • @Zooumberg
      @Zooumberg 10 місяців тому

      NBC ultimately rejected "The Cage," but they gave Roddenberry the chance to produce a second pilot. However, the network asked that he drop both the devilish-looking Spock (played by Leonard Nimoy) and Barrett's Number One character, asserting that audiences would never accept a woman being second-in-command of a ship. Roddenberry insisted on keeping Spock but agreed to drop Number One. Barrett jokingly stated that Roddenberry "kept the Vulcan and married the woman, 'cause he didn't think Leonard [Nimoy] would have it the other way around." [2]

  • @tjmcguire9417
    @tjmcguire9417 4 місяці тому +1

    For everyone. Majel was the only solid touchpoint in all of Star Trek. She was in every single one from beginning to end. From the original #1 Exec... to Nurse to every computer voice on every Star Trek show to Luoxana. TV & Movies. An incredible woman who carried on Genes legacy. Always. Literally in every single Star Trek ever. Yes. 9, TNG, DS9. Voyager, Enterrise. All of them. And all movies. LIsten. What a Goddess.

  • @rellman85
    @rellman85 3 роки тому +22

    I had no idea that she was also in TOS: her actual personality seems much more like Lwaxana Troi. Very lively and engaging woman.

    • @jamiecashes
      @jamiecashes 3 роки тому +11

      She is also the voice of all the computer system in all of trek

    • @DrAnac-qh5dc
      @DrAnac-qh5dc Рік тому +1

      She was Nurse Chapel, the voice of the computers in Star Trek, the first Number One in TOS pilot, Lwaxana Troi in TNG and DS9, and Lady Morella in Babylon 5!

  • @DrAnac-qh5dc
    @DrAnac-qh5dc Рік тому +3

    What a delightful person!

  • @corwinmorton3411
    @corwinmorton3411 Рік тому +1

    Yes that she is and more I enjoyed talking with her on several different Star Trek conventions as well as meeting her and her husband in I think it was California Los Angeles

  • @rashida7777
    @rashida7777 3 роки тому +12

    I loved her in Generations. She cracked me up!

    • @LifeArtsNetwork
      @LifeArtsNetwork  3 роки тому +2

      She's pretty much just like that in real-life! Thanks for watching!

  • @ScottMartin1701
    @ScottMartin1701 Рік тому +2

    This is GOLD. I adore her - always have, since my first conventions as a kid, when she was always lovely to me. And THIS, being at the Roddenberry home, well...thank you for sharing!

  • @darquemattre7900
    @darquemattre7900 2 роки тому +3

    What an amazing woman. I would love to have met her in person

  • @Eremon1
    @Eremon1 3 роки тому +5

    Intelligence, class, wit, charm, beauty and patients. Pretty much sums Majel up.

  • @PrinzMidas
    @PrinzMidas Рік тому +2

    She played so great!

  • @emperorpalpatine783
    @emperorpalpatine783 2 роки тому +3

    This is a gem of a find, Thank you so much, Wonderful woman

  • @paulamorton6454
    @paulamorton6454 3 роки тому +4

    Well done. Thank you. Love her candor about Nurse Chapel and Gene Roddenberry’s, um, attitudes. Also love the mural in the opening. I kept thinking of Ray Bradbury’s story, “The Veldt.”

  • @theshitheads3178
    @theshitheads3178 6 місяців тому

    First time I've seen her outside of a role. This interviewer is great too!

  • @jamespatterson4563
    @jamespatterson4563 3 роки тому +9

    She is lovely

    • @LifeArtsNetwork
      @LifeArtsNetwork  3 роки тому +4

      And a very kind person. Thank you for watching!

  • @robertthomas5736
    @robertthomas5736 3 роки тому +2

    I Will Always Love You, Lady Majel Barrett Roddenberry

  • @ewokander
    @ewokander 3 роки тому +8

    What a great interview, thank you!!!

    • @LifeArtsNetwork
      @LifeArtsNetwork  3 роки тому +5

      Thank you! It was an amazing day to actually go to here house and make this video. I'm glad I have been able to share it with so many amazing Star Trek fans so many years later!

  • @illinoisgospelfan650
    @illinoisgospelfan650 3 роки тому +4

    Update: She was 62 at the time of this interview. Secret's out!!

  • @indranidasgupta8982
    @indranidasgupta8982 2 роки тому +2

    I've never seen this before... thank you so much for this!

  • @watchmanschannelofdespair
    @watchmanschannelofdespair 3 роки тому +2

    Thank you so much for these videos (time capsules, really) and sharing the thoughts of these actors~ many of them wonderful people~ that acted on such an iconic show.

  • @rellman85
    @rellman85 3 роки тому +5

    She really is the Auntie Mame of Star Trek, what a perfect comparison.

  • @CloneShockTrooper
    @CloneShockTrooper 2 роки тому +2

    She seems to be such a kind and warm person.

  • @JohnRodriguesPhotographer
    @JohnRodriguesPhotographer 3 роки тому +4

    Star Trek to this day resonates with Society. That's why its popularity has not faded. It inspires us to Aspire to be better as a people. It inspires us to create the future. Two of the things inspired by Star Trek or the CT scan and the flip phone.

  • @musicalfringe
    @musicalfringe 3 роки тому +8

    Ever since seeing the original TOS pilot, I've felt cheated that Number One never made it into the series. What a woman.

    • @aeugnewtype
      @aeugnewtype Рік тому +1

      Well, now she's on Discovery and Strange New Worlds, so we'll be seeing a lot more of her

    • @jacquelinekemp4074
      @jacquelinekemp4074 Місяць тому

      delighted it didn't would've been dreadful

  • @djmccullough9233
    @djmccullough9233 2 місяці тому

    Im glad long form talks like this still exist, paramount might be able to AI her voice and re-use her in trek. give her the immortality in the medium that she deserves

  • @akinoz
    @akinoz 3 роки тому +2

    She was awesome to be exact.

  • @darrellmurdock6880
    @darrellmurdock6880 11 місяців тому

    Growing up we never had cable tv 📺, so catching these gems are a delight to watch 🖖😊

  • @marciathaizpereiradasilva1323
    @marciathaizpereiradasilva1323 3 роки тому +6

    Ela é maravilhosa, uma atriz e produtora talentosa ,minha ídola predileta da série de ficção.

    • @LifeArtsNetwork
      @LifeArtsNetwork  3 роки тому +3

      Thank you for the comment and the view! Here is your comment translated from Portuguese: She is wonderful, a talented actress and producer, my favorite idol in the fictional series.

  • @laurencemartin2797
    @laurencemartin2797 3 роки тому +2

    That was so wonderful.

  • @klingonbaronessprincesskar5519

    Truly awesome thank you

  • @davecampbellknowledgeleader

    Thank you so much still watching original series from time to time, and happens that now is one of those times. Gene Roddenberry has shaped a good deal of my thinking and I see where he gained his insights. Most would disagree with me, but Gene is a perfect name. Rod and berry, is in reference to lifecycle. What shall be done in the dry tree? the same cycle is it is still indeed regenerative, we will be there to see it. if not, who knew?

  • @robertthomas5736
    @robertthomas5736 2 роки тому +1

    I Spent 3 Incredible Hours Having Lunch with and Talking with Lady Majel Barrett Roddenberry, about 30 Years Ago in Milwaukee Wisconsin, At The Red Carpet Hotel,Near Billy Mitchell Field

  • @Moodymongul
    @Moodymongul 3 роки тому +4

    Majel Barrett Roddenberry was a great personality and important factor in the ST series (both onscreen and behind the scenes). Great to be able to view this long form interview.
    Personally, I feel ST has suffered deeply from the loss (of input) of both Roddenberry's.
    I wonder what they would feel about things like swearing (and torture gore) being added (regularly) to a show, originally designed as a family experience? It certainly turned my whole family off.

    • @ericseabury3968
      @ericseabury3968 2 роки тому +1

      I’m not fond of the swearing and attitudes of the recent “Star Trek” characters.
      In the original series, they spoke intelligently and had much respect for the arts, whether it be classic plays, poetry, literature, jazz and classical music, etc.
      “Star Trek” needs to return to the morality tales. I don’t have a problem with action and fight scenes but it shouldn’t overshadow the morality tales.

  • @monicaluketich3106
    @monicaluketich3106 3 роки тому +3

    I recognize the beaded ornaments she made! I have made them, also. They are from a company called Cracker Box and do take 8 or more hours to make EACH one. It's amazing to now find out that she and I shared a hobby.

  • @BigNoseDog
    @BigNoseDog 11 місяців тому +1

    I bet she would be thrilled with what the writers of Strange New Worlds have done with the character of Chapel.

  • @johnsimon2988
    @johnsimon2988 10 місяців тому

    Paul Rosa, thank you. I've been a Trek fan since TOS inception. It was wonderful imagining that the future might be full of tolerant human beings but that particular bubble has burst. Racism, bigotry and hate of all stripes aren't going anywhere soon. It's sad to me but a fact of life. My 68 years have been spent observing the world around me. And with the Internet there isn't much of the world one can't explore. There are many more people living in misery than living in comfort. We are animals barely above our cousins in the instinctual violence department. And greed. Sigh. I yearn for my idealist past. And hope Gen z and future generations can pull themselves out of a non-Trek view of the world. Peace.

  • @Damndrrtyapes
    @Damndrrtyapes 2 роки тому +2

    I’m surprised that Majel and Lucy knew each other. Given Lxwana Troi’s character (redhead comic relief) I think Lucy might approve.

  • @cosminamarcu6089
    @cosminamarcu6089 Рік тому +1

    Superb ❤

  • @jameshutchins8965
    @jameshutchins8965 3 роки тому +2

    Good for you, Majel.

  • @circuitsandparts
    @circuitsandparts 4 місяці тому

    She was a legend.

  • @paulpolpiboon9535
    @paulpolpiboon9535 3 місяці тому

    Wonderful

  • @vyan7258
    @vyan7258 2 роки тому +2

    Majel was so unique. She acted, but she was not "an actress". Meaning, her casting is the only example of nepotism I don't cringe about. I am not familiar with her role as Christine because I don't watch the Original, but I remember her as Lwaxanna Troi...she was such an interesting character.

  • @joshuaharper4439
    @joshuaharper4439 3 роки тому +1

    I feel so bad I never knew that Deanna Troy‘s mom was Major Barrett Roddenberry it made me cry to find out that she had passed away already I didn’t know that either I would so love to meet some of the crew of the original Star Trek the next generation voyager I would give anything for that I’ve always love Star Trek

  • @marsrideroneofficial
    @marsrideroneofficial Рік тому +2

    She could've been the voice of siri. Beautiful person, beautiful voice.

    • @earthangel1457
      @earthangel1457 Рік тому +1

      We have the technology to revive her voice with deepfake chatgpt

  • @THEC.O.VISIT.
    @THEC.O.VISIT. 2 роки тому

    and the voice of the computaaaa

  • @DjDoug4ever41
    @DjDoug4ever41 2 роки тому

    ❤️❤️❤️

  • @JohnRodriguesPhotographer
    @JohnRodriguesPhotographer 3 роки тому +4

    I was support person for cellular phone products , tier 3 oh, and I took a call from a person that was blind that needed assistance using one of our products. I always tried to find some common ground with people I was talking to so would be a smoother flow and I just like people. I like helping them. And one of the problems he was having was an application that read the screen to him verbally. While I was trying to help him we had to reboot the product. And I made a comment that it's a shame that he was visually challenge because the camera was really nice on this product. The customer was blind not just legally but completely. And he said to me very conversational oh I use the camera! And I blurted out do you? The customer reply yes whenever I get lost I take a picture of where I'm at and send it to a friend or two and they tell me where I am. I said I never would have thought of that! He said something else I can't remember what but it was kind of tongue-in-cheek. And I replied oh there you go making fun of sighted person! The customer burst out laughing and I'll admit I had a good chuckle over it too. About 10 minutes later we were done correcting the issues he was having with a phone and configuring it so it would do what he needed better. It was an amazing conversation about 15 years ago. I hope he is doing well and is safe.

  • @ericseabury3968
    @ericseabury3968 2 роки тому +4

    I always thought Majel Barrett was an attractive woman, whether it was as “Number One”, “Christine Chapel” or “Lwaxana Troi”.
    Even in this interview, Barrett is attractive.

  • @paulpolpiboon9535
    @paulpolpiboon9535 3 місяці тому +1

    @10:00...Dear Levar Burton.
    Put it back on

  • @danielpowers5891
    @danielpowers5891 3 роки тому +1

    Where's the missing 19 minuted? /s. Guy says 1 hour.

  • @mikemadden2092
    @mikemadden2092 3 роки тому +5

    She was also number one in man trap..pilot...

    • @theroadrunner5519
      @theroadrunner5519 3 роки тому +2

      No, she was NOT in that episode. Sorry.

    • @mikemadden2092
      @mikemadden2092 3 роки тому +1

      Yes she was..but ok. .

    • @theroadrunner5519
      @theroadrunner5519 3 роки тому +3

      @@mikemadden2092 Ok, maybe you're right. But I looked her up on imdb and also watched the episode man trap. Didn't see her. But I don't wanna argue! LOL! Lets just enjoy her in our memories. She was such a beautiful person. My friend met her twice. He told me she was so kind . And the second time he met her, she was so drunk, she asked my friend where her room was, cuz she forgot! I almost died laughing when he told me! But seriously, I wish I had met her. I still watch all her performances on star trek.
      Peace, my friend. Live long and prosper......

    • @mikemadden2092
      @mikemadden2092 3 роки тому +1

      Haha.. funny..ok just for argument sake..just plug in star trek pilot episode cast..she pops up...wishi met her too..

    • @mikemadden2092
      @mikemadden2092 3 роки тому +2

      My bad..the cage..it's been awhile sry..haha oh well..

  • @mollygarden9535
    @mollygarden9535 3 роки тому

    39:30 That's her pet _what_ named Oscar? Couldn't understand what she said.

  • @beingsshepherd
    @beingsshepherd 3 роки тому +1

    TOS crew were _paid???_

  • @markjahnke5130
    @markjahnke5130 2 роки тому

    Number 1, nurse chapel the computer voice for first Star Trek and then lox Anna Troy and the computer voice

  • @jacquelinekemp4074
    @jacquelinekemp4074 Місяць тому

    so glad they got rid of no.1 would've been horrible

  • @geordi5054
    @geordi5054 3 роки тому +1

    Computer, playback once more.

  • @bobsradio6025
    @bobsradio6025 3 роки тому

    Amanda Blake (Miss Kitty on Gunsmoke) was also an animal lover and dedicated use of much of her property to animals.
    It is scary that Mrs. Troy could read your mind, but it is cool that she had no problem with nudity. Perhaps it's natural for nudists to be open minded, since they are not trying to hide anything.

  • @j.b.9581
    @j.b.9581 3 роки тому

    It's a good long video, wish that the lip discussions could match. Too distracting.

  • @DeMan59
    @DeMan59 3 дні тому

    Ya’ll know that the Chapel character was created so Gene could give his girlfriend a paycheck now and then right? She was never meant to be anything more than the nurse who hands McCoy his tricorder or annoys Spock with her school girl crush.

  • @Elphaba1952
    @Elphaba1952 3 роки тому

    I don't remember anything about Nurse Chapel being an MD prior to being a Nurse on the Enterprise. WTH?!
    BTW... her cat looks like a Snowshoe Siamese.

    • @mollygarden9535
      @mollygarden9535 3 роки тому

      Chapel being a doctor was some backstory that she made up, all the actors made up backstories to their characters that were never (or seldom) actually used on the show. Like DeForest Kelley saying McCoy was from Georgia, I think they used that in "This Side of Paradise." But usually they didn't, but the actors knew it and used it in their performances.

  • @distantlands
    @distantlands 2 роки тому

    Couldn’t afford 2 mikes? Really? So said!!!

    • @PDRFILMVIDEOsince
      @PDRFILMVIDEOsince 2 роки тому +1

      We had two mics and a boom.... ...except for the opening. :) Paul Rosa

  • @illinoisgospelfan650
    @illinoisgospelfan650 3 роки тому +1

    Wonder why she was so afraid someone would learn her age. She was born February 23, 1932. Guess it's okay for the world to know now that she's dead.

  • @Tarotlynx
    @Tarotlynx 2 роки тому +1

    She does Christine wrong, though. Christine becomes a doctor again by the first film, and director of Starfleet medical by the 4th. And she has stood up to Dr. McCoy on occasion. There's more to her than even Majel realized.
    I don't know exactly what she did beyond convincing Sarek to speak before Starfleet on Kirk's behalf, but Christine was an important character in the first act of the 4th film until they chopped her part down to one line and then hugging Scott after the trial. The 4th seems to have a woman problem, as in simply getting rid of Saavik, Christine, and Gillian when we didn't need to lose any of them.

  • @rossmartenak5517
    @rossmartenak5517 Рік тому

    Changing one's birth name is like slapping your parents in the face. It's disrespectful and unnecessary. This is especially true if it's done for the anticipation of greater recognition and or financial gain. It's like selling-out, while at the same time being ashamed of your Father.

    • @melissapinol7279
      @melissapinol7279 7 місяців тому +1

      I knew a woman in college who had been named "La Trina" ( as in "Latrine") by her parents who thought it was "pretty" and yes, she changed it. I suppose she was "disrespectful to her parents". Sheesh. We have the right to go through life with any name we want, for whatever reason. Any father who would feel insulted ( hurt or confused would be reasonable) is disrespectful himself. We do not own our children.

    • @rossmartenak5517
      @rossmartenak5517 7 місяців тому

      Precisely

  • @cheedevulan8547
    @cheedevulan8547 3 роки тому +2

    Let's b honest. Gene was a womanising junkie. He rubbed many people up the wrong way. Optimistic sure - but overtly so.

    • @benneclone7991
      @benneclone7991 3 роки тому +3

      It's hard to balance people's behavior in personal life and their creative works. It's an ethical dilemma. Just appreciate Gene's legacy; his back life at this point is mostly irrelevant.

    • @melindahall5062
      @melindahall5062 10 місяців тому +1

      Majel was a classic case of moving from the producer’s couch to a role in Star Trek. Nichelle also took part in this “Producer’s couch” politics early in the show. Things were so much different back then. We women have come a long way since then. It was the only way for women to survive and thrive getting parts back in the Sixties and Gene Roddenberry took every opportunity to take advantage of it. So, when people wax nostalgic of the ideals of Mr. Roddenberry then they really don’t know the whole story. He was not “a great guy”.

  • @tjmcguire9417
    @tjmcguire9417 4 місяці тому

    Going Sideways. George Carlin. Atheist. If there were an all knowing all seeing omniscient God, This woman would NOT have been taken from us so soon. What a load of crap. Chime in Theists.

  • @jimhenderson9173
    @jimhenderson9173 2 роки тому

    Her description of Laxwanna(sp) right off the top as the Auntie Mame of the universe is appropriate. When I was about 6 years old I saw an old movie with Rosalind Russell in that Auntie Name role and it was an immediate turn off. Her role on Next Generation was easily my least favorite character on the show. No need to view any further past those first 2 minutes with that annoying intro with jungle pictures silliness.

  • @freddyfurrah3789
    @freddyfurrah3789 Рік тому +1

    Why would you play a character that you HATED? Whiny rich people.