George Takei (center) enjoys a moment with fellow celebrities (from left) Harland Williams, Sherri Shepherd and Tom Green (right) on the ABC game show “Wanna Bet?”

LOS ANGELES — Actor George Takei, chairman emeritus of the Board of Trustees for the Japanese American National Museum, recently appeared on the ABC TV show “Wanna Bet?” and wound up winning over $100,000 for his favorite non-profit organization: JANM.

Hosted by British comedy sensations Ant and Dec, the show revolves around individuals or groups of people who claim they can accomplish a certain task or feat, often within a time limit.

Four celebrities are then asked to bet on whether the challenge can be done or not. They begin with $25,000 and can bet any or all of it. If they choose correctly, they win their bet. If they choose incorrectly, they lose their wager. The celebrity with the most money at the end of the show gets to contribute all of it to his or her favorite charity.

Takei, best known as one of the original cast members of “Star Trek,” appeared with radio personality Harland Williams, comedian Tom Green, and Sherri Shepherd of ABC’s “The View.”

The panel had to bet whether they thought a man could use a 45-pound truck tire as a hula hoop for 45 seconds, whether a team of female NASCAR fans could successfully change four tires and gas up a race car in less than a minute and 20 seconds, and whether a group of professional movers could load up an assortment of couches and chairs into a truck in less than 2 ½ minutes.

The most unusual challenge was a man who claimed he could identify the artist and album on a CD while blindfolded, using nothing but his tongue.

After some struggles with the size of his initial wagers, Takei began betting large amounts of his stake. Going into the last round, he had amassed $53,100, tops on the panel, and he proceeded to bet $53,050. When he correctly predicted the movers would load the couches in the allotted time, he wound up with $106,150, by far the most money.

All of the funds were donated to JANM, but Takei made a point of allotting $100,000 to its endowment fund.

“As chairman emeritus of the Japanese American National Museum, I was pleased to have had the opportunity to support this important institution in this somewhat unusual fashion,” he said. “I want to thank the producers and staff of ‘Wanna Bet?’ for giving me the chance to participate and for providing the funds that will be put to good use.”

Akemi Kikumura Yano, JANM president and CEO. said, “I thank George and the producers of ‘Wanna Bet?’ for making this generous donation possible. I also applaud his choice of donating the funds to our endowment. Donations to the museum’s endowment help to ensure the long-term financial stability of our institution in the same manner people contribute money for their retirements through their 401k accounts and other savings.

“While our supporters may not be able to go on TV shows and earn prize money like George, they all can follow his example and donate funds to our endowment.”

A long-time supporter of JANM, Takei served two terms as chair of the Board of Trustees. He donated his $20,000 redress payment to the museum and remains active as a trustee.

Besides his “Star Trek” work, Takei had a recurring role on the popular NBC series “Heroes” and is often heard as the announcer for Howard Stern’s radio show.

For more information on the museum, call (213) 625-0414 or go to www.janm.org.

For more information on Takei, visit www.georgetakei.com. There is a link to his new Japanese-language website.