The iconic Star Trek VISOR left LeVar Burton nearly blind on set and in constant pain; now 69, he's recovering from hip surgery

Actor LeVar Burton is best known for playing Geordi La Forge in Star Trek: The Next Generation. The 69-year-old actor was spotted a few months back spotted and photographed walking with a cane in Paris. He had stepped out with his wife Stephanie Cozard Burton. The actor relied on his cane to walk in Paris as he underwent hip surgery four months prior. Despite that, he looked stylish. He was spotted wearing a black tee, a checkered jacket and light-wash jeans. He paired it with sunglasses and a black pendant. The couple travelled to the French capital to celebrate their 34th wedding anniversary. His wife shared the photographs on social media and captioned the post "Fun in Paris with my boo." The couple first met in 1988 and then tied the knot in 1992. They welcomed their daughter, Mica, two years later.

What exactly happened?

LeVar has had several health issues. This also included a hip replacement in February. He had also shared that wearing the iconic VISOR in Star Trek left him with limited visibility and constant pain.

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What did he say about VISOR?

He told the BBC, "I bumped into everything the first season – light stands, overhead microphones, cables at my feet – I tripped over it all, I walked and sometimes ran into walls and pieces of set."

He claimed that it was really hard and said, "The blind man, who puts on the VISOR and sees much more than everyone else around him, when the actor actually does that, he's turned into a blind person."

LeVar talked about the pain. He said the team redesigned the VISOR during the show's second season. But, it was heavier than the original and was attached using screws that tightened its fittings. The discomfort became a part of his life and he then had daily headaches for around six years.

He recalled, "So there were screws that we would turn, and there were flanges on the inside that would press into my temples, and so after fifteen or twenty minutes of that I got headaches."