We have Number One, the chief of security, an android and what is still missing? Exactly! The chief engineer. With LeVar Burton, we now have yet another important actor from TNG on board at FedCon 26.
In 1986, Gene Roddenberry approached Burton with the role of the then Lieutenant Geordi La Forge in the Star Trek: The Next Generation television series and had become its chief engineer. At the time, Burton was considerably better known than Patrick Stewart in the United States, due to his role in Roots and Reading Rainbow.
He was host and executive producer of Reading Rainbow starting in 1983 for PBS. The series ran for 23 seasons, making it one of the longest-running children’s programs on the network. Furthermore, the series garnered over 200 broadcast awards over its run, including a Peabody Award and 26 Emmy Awards. LeVar Burton himself won 12 Emmy awards as host and producer of the show.
Besides his roles he has also directed episodes of Charmed, JAG, Las Vegas, and Soul Food: The Series, as well as the miniseries Miracle’s Boys and the documentary The Tiger Woods Story.