Star Trek Chicago '75

[Aeolis7]

This is a real treasure!

Thanks so much for sharing this fantastic footage.

[sonofmohg]

Thanks! and you did a great job narrating. I filmed in super 8 in the 70's so I know what it means to run out of film! People today can't believe how short reels were!

Didn't get the Nimoy-lollipop reference. I read "I am Not Spock" and it was very good, not what alot of people thought (from the title).

Thanks Again!!!

[susantyrellfans]

Nice!

[whats2u2]

I was too I was in the front row

[Aliendear]

Thanks Rich.

[broadbarn]

Actually Gene was not present at this convention. They said he was ill and so could not attend. However, Leonard told the crowd that he thought the immediate goal was to make a movie. I remember this distinctly as it was a "wow" moment. We were all there to bring back the show, and back then, TV shows were not regularly made into movies. It was not announced by anyone formally at that time (as I remember it.)

[audioarcheologist]

Thanks, Richard, for this wonderful bit of history. I was at that convention. It was a thrill to touch "Scotty" as he ran around the room. But do I remember correctly that Gene Roddenberry first announced the plans for the Star Trek Movie at the Chicago convention?

[SenseiSixString]

LOL @ Davey Jones!

[Llaaseil]

Thanks for sharing your film. It was too brief, but great. 8mm was short. I still don't know what the lollipop reference was to unless it was the outtake video where Nimoy dressed as Spock has a lollipop.

[broadbarn]

@Llaaseil They were selling lollipops at the convention with the engraved image of Spock. Someone in the audience asked Leonard if he posed for the lollipop.

[Llaaseil]

@broadbarn Thank you for the clarification. I was way off. I think that audience member was way too cheeky. No wonder LN was a little miffed.

[ZXLNT]

Wow incredible!! Awesome, truly a piece of Trekdom...

[mojoidol]

Great stuff. The main cast all appearing on the same stage. What a treat that was. Thanks for sharing. Nice to see T'Pring.

What was the cost to attend the show?

[broadbarn]

@mojoidol Can't remember the exact cost. Something like $20-$30. I remember thinking the hot dogs were outrageously priced at 80 cents.

[LukeSkywalkerInMe]

OMG, they all have been so young back then. No movies yet, just TAS. Great footage. Thanks so much for sharing!

[david962]

Fantastic! I went to a few early conventions back in the day. You brought back great memories of what it was like before the movies brought it all back to us. Thanks for sharing.

[byvenusia74]

Sembrano i dei dell'olimpo che scendono sulla terra ,fantastici e unici!!!!!

[DrummondsPoint]

Great to see stuff like this, thanks for posting!

[CrescentWolven2]

This makes me wish I was born much earlier D':

[surepromise]

Oh WOW, this was so wonderful to see! Thank you so much for posting this and sharing your experience with us!

If you don't mind, though, what did the Lollipop comment mean, and do you remember what Mr. Nimoy did that made him seem miffed? Poor guy, that book brought him so much unnecessary grief...

[broadbarn]

I remember it clearly. Someone in the audience asked Leonard; "Did you pose for the lollipop?". To which he replied in a disgruntled voice; "We're not here to talk about lollipops". The audience was pretty upset at the guy who asked the question.

[Llaaseil]

@surepromise I think the reference may be to an outake video of ST-TOS where Nimoy on the set and dressed as Spock is seen with a lollipop in his mouth, I have seen that outake video here on YouTube.

[drawnhere]

Awesome....THANKS SO MUCH FOR DIGITIZING THIS !

[broadbarn]

My Pleasure

[seekersm]

You can feel the love -- why wouldn't you want to be a fan of Trek?

[annafrancesca1]

Fantastic!!!! Thanks so much!

[BassFractal]

Great footage! I think this was the first event that had the whole cast together.

[tvTrequer]

incredible!

[somejackball]

cool footage, thanks!

[Forysan]

Being a Star Trek fan since I was 12 years old back in 1996, I have to say thank you from the bottom of my heart for posting what may be the earliest footage of Star Trek conventions around. Thanks dude. :3

[broadbarn]

you are very welcome.

[eepruls]

That was fantastic! Thanks for posting!!!

[stujwilson]

Excellent!!! Thankyou for sharing this rare glimpse of the early convention scene!

[SciFiAssasin]

This is fantastic. Thanks for posting and the commentary too. Nicely shot, considering you must've been a young lad at the time.

[costumebot]

Thanks for posting this. I went to a convention in Atlanta at about the same time but it only featured Gene Roddenberry. He was a blast to listen to (if you've ever heard his record album of stories about trek this was a very similar presentation). He also showed the blooper reels and the original pilot which at that time was only known to exist in B&W. Thanks for bringing back the memories of a more innocent time as a fan.

[vookap]

Rich, you just brought a tear to me eye. Gracias.

[broadbarn]

De nada

[INUN0TAISHO]

Takei coming into the hotel drenched after jogging all around the park nearby and all the fans that ran with him. The lobby when Leonard Nimoy came in and people went from being busy to INSANE in a matter of just minutes. My first sale of artwork at that con, to Hal Clement, (author); and going to the dealer's room and spending every penny. An escalator when crowds were nuts and being held back by the Klingons. One held up his foot and asked the crowd, "Would you hit a Klingon in toesocks??"

[gwynnyd]

No,no! The toe-socks incident was in New York the next February. Same con committee, same Klingons. He was trying to keep the crowd from surging up a shut-down escalator and assuring them there was no room at the top either. Some agitators began saying, "How can you trust a Klingon?" To which he replied, "How can you not trust a Klingon who wears toe-socks?" while shaking off a boot to show striped toe-socks. THe crowd laughed so hard, they forgot to riot.

[gwynnyd]

Oh my! Blast from the past. The Klingons are members of the Dorsai Irregulars who were hired to do crowd management at the event. I am one of them, but I was managing a section of the ballroom instead of being on stage. The first Klingon seen in the video was Robert L. Aspirin, who went on to become an SF author. The bagpipes were played by Corinna and it's Lucy who is being hugged.

Thanks for sharing.

[broadbarn]

My friend and I were almost defenestrated by a Klingon after sneaking up to the top floor where the cast was staying. They did their job well.

[uzimodem]

Awesome footage! Sure brings back memories. I was only 15 and by then a full fledged Trekker by then. Nice to see the entire crew there. Hard to believe that those times are gone and the original crew are passing away into history.

[SamualShark]

Incredible.  Thanks for sharing.

[broadbarn]

My pleasure

[coolioman9606]

love it! thank you for recording this for those of us who weren't even alive to see it when it happened!!

[frow9405]

This is really great, thank you so much for uploading it.

[lernorlu]

I remember that convention very well: 3 days for $40! I attended the main ballroom cast presentations - twice! After their little speech and a short Q & A, the cast member sat at the side to sign autographs. There were two movie "theaters" (one that exclusively showed episodes, and another showing Sci-Fi films) and another room had guest speakers. Harlan Ellison was there, so was David Gerrold (who can be seen giving Nichelle Nichols a short kiss in the video above).

[broadbarn]

Seeing the film projection of the episodes was truly awesome and unsurpassed.

[lernorlu]

When Nimoy got up to speak, a Mother asked if her little boy could take a close look at his ears, which made a very cute moment. In the morning, from a taxi, I could see George Takai jogging to the Hilton. Finally, the hallways were full of vendors selling mostly homemade stuff, as this was long before mass merchandising production. Four years later, the movie premiered! Yeah, I was there, too, and it was a great time.

[spsmith1965]

Thanks very much for posting this.

[TR0LL2R0CKS]

Thank you very much for shareing this =) I will not pretend to be a startrek fan, but this is a unique glimpse into a time peroid in what many consider to be a great franchise. Thank you =) i enjoyed watching this. ps uhura looked awfull with those glasses and afro lol. still was the style at the time, as they say, im sure people will look and laugh at our clothes today in 30 years time. hell i laugh at them even today =)

[lamtsite]

This is a wonderful little look back in time.

Its funny kids today probably don't know what 8" even means - they just shoot some footage on their cell phones *g*

[Kirok]

This was PRICELESS. I MISS that era.

It would have been great to see the shot of the cast standing arm-in-arm, taking a bow. I can't help but suspect that this specific convention inspired the bits bookending "Galaxy Quest" (which remains my favorite Star Trek film, as it were).

[toomanytribbles]

wonderful! thank you.

[littlevera]

Oh wow, thank you for posting this!

[Dmviewing]

Fantastic stuff, really great to see such an early convnetion.

[broadbarn]

Can anyone confirm if Mark Lenard was also at this convention?

[NameRedactable]

A great addition to the Star Trek memory banks.