Leonard Nimoy, Spock of ‘Star Trek,’ Dies at 83http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/27/arts/television/leonard-nimoy-spock-of-star-trek-dies-at-83.html?_r=0 (http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/27/arts/television/leonard-nimoy-spock-of-star-trek-dies-at-83.html?_r=0)
The New York Times
By VIRGINIA HEFFERNANFEB. 27, 2015
Leonard Nimoy, the sonorous, gaunt-faced actor who won a worshipful global following as Mr. Spock, the resolutely logical human-alien first officer of the Starship Enterprise in the television and movie juggernaut “Star Trek,” died on Friday morning at his home in the Bel Air section of Los Angeles. He was 83.
His wife, Susan Bay Nimoy, confirmed his death, saying the cause was end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Mr. Nimoy announced last year that he had the disease, which he attributed to years of smoking, a habit he had given up three decades earlier. He had been hospitalized earlier in the week.
His artistic pursuits — poetry, photography and music in addition to acting — ranged far beyond the United Federation of Planets, but it was as Mr. Spock that Mr. Nimoy became a folk hero, bringing to life one of the most indelible characters of the last half century: a cerebral, unflappable, pointy-eared Vulcan with a signature salute and blessing: “Live long and prosper” (from the Vulcan “Dif-tor heh smusma”).
Mr. Nimoy, who was teaching Method acting at his own studio when he was cast in the original “Star Trek” television series in the mid-1960s, relished playing outsiders, and he developed what he later admitted was a mystical identification with Spock, the lone alien on the starship’s bridge.
Yet he also acknowledged ambivalence about being tethered to the character, expressing it most plainly in the titles of two autobiographies: “I Am Not Spock,” published in 1977, and “I Am Spock,” published in 1995.
In the first, he wrote, “In Spock, I finally found the best of both worlds: to be widely accepted in public approval and yet be able to continue to play the insulated alien through the Vulcan character.”
“Star Trek,” which had its premiere on NBC on Sept. 8, 1966, made Mr. Nimoy a star. Gene Roddenberry, the creator of the franchise, called him “the conscience of ‘Star Trek’ ” — an often earnest, sometimes campy show that employed the distant future (as well as some primitive special effects by today’s standards) to take on social issues of the 1960s.
His stardom would endure. Though the series was canceled after three seasons because of low ratings, a cultlike following — the conference-holding, costume-wearing Trekkies, or Trekkers (the designation Mr. Nimoy preferred) — coalesced soon after “Star Trek” went into syndication.
The fans’ devotion only deepened when “Star Trek” was spun off into an animated show, various new series and an uneven parade of movies starring much of the original television cast, including — besides Mr. Nimoy — William Shatner (as Capt. James T. Kirk), DeForest Kelley (Dr. McCoy), George Takei (the helmsman, Sulu), James Doohan (the chief engineer, Scott), Nichelle Nichols (the chief communications officer, Uhura) and Walter Koenig (the navigator, Chekov).
When the director J. J. Abrams revived the “Star Trek” film franchise in 2009, with an all-new cast — including Zachary Quinto as Spock — he included a cameo part for Mr. Nimoy, as an older version of the same character. Mr. Nimoy also appeared in the 2013 follow-up, “Star Trek Into Darkness.”
His zeal to entertain and enlighten reached beyond “Star Trek” and crossed genres. He had a starring role in the dramatic television series “Mission: Impossible” and frequently performed onstage, notably as Tevye in “Fiddler on the Roof.” His poetry was voluminous, and he published books of his photography.
He also directed movies, including two from the “Star Trek” franchise, and television shows. And he made records, on which he sang pop songs, as well as original songs about “Star Trek,” and gave spoken-word performances — to the delight of his fans and the bewilderment of critics.
But all that was subsidiary to Mr. Spock, the most complex member of the Enterprise crew: both a colleague and a creature apart, who sometimes struggled with his warring racial halves.
In one of his most memorable “Star Trek” episodes, Mr. Nimoy tried to follow in the tradition of two actors he admired, Charles Laughton and Boris Karloff, who each played a monstrous character — Quasimodo and the Frankenstein monster — who is transformed by love.
In Episode 24, which was first shown on March 2, 1967, Mr. Spock is indeed transformed. Under the influence of aphrodisiacal spores he discovers on the planet Omicron Ceti III, he lets free his human side and announces his love for Leila Kalomi (Jill Ireland), a woman he had once known on Earth. In this episode, Mr. Nimoy brought to Spock’s metamorphosis not only warmth and compassion, but also a rarefied concept of alienation.
“I am what I am, Leila,” Mr. Spock declared. “And if there are self-made purgatories, then we all have to live in them. Mine can be no worse than someone else’s.”
Born in Boston on March 26, 1931, Leonard Simon Nimoy was the second son of Max and Dora Nimoy, Ukrainian immigrants and Orthodox Jews. His father worked as a barber.
From the age of 8, Leonard acted in local productions, winning parts at a community college, where he performed through his high school years. In 1949, after taking a summer course at Boston College, he traveled to Hollywood, though it wasn’t until 1951 that he landed small parts in two movies, “Queen for a Day” and “Rhubarb.”
He continued to be cast in little-known movies, although he did presciently play an alien invader in a cult serial called “Zombies of the Stratosphere,” and in 1961 he had a minor role on an episode of “The Twilight Zone.” His first starring movie role came in 1952 with “Kid Monk Baroni,” in which he played a disfigured Italian street-gang leader who becomes a boxer.
Mr. Nimoy served in the Army for two years, rising to sergeant and spending 18 months at Fort McPherson in Georgia, where he presided over shows for the Army’s Special Services branch. He also directed and starred as Stanley in the Atlanta Theater Guild’s production of “A Streetcar Named Desire” before receiving his final discharge in November 1955.
He then returned to California, where he worked as a soda jerk, movie usher and cabdriver while studying acting at the Pasadena Playhouse. He achieved wide visibility in the late 1950s and early 1960s on television shows like “Wagon Train,” “Rawhide” and “Perry Mason.” Then came “Star Trek.”
Mr. Nimoy returned to college in his 40s and earned a master’s degree in Spanish from Antioch University Austin, an affiliate of Antioch College in Ohio, in 1978. Antioch College later awarded Mr. Nimoy an honorary doctorate.
Mr. Nimoy directed two of the Star Trek movies, “Star Trek III: The Search for Spock” (1984) and “Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home” (1986), which he helped write. In 1991, the same year that he resurrected Mr. Spock on two episodes of “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” Mr. Nimoy was also the executive producer and a writer of the movie “Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.”
He then directed the hugely successful comedy “Three Men and a Baby” (1987), a far cry from his science-fiction work, and appeared in made-for-television movies. He received an Emmy nomination for the 1982 movie “A Woman Called Golda,” in which he portrayed the husband of Golda Meir, the prime minister of Israel, who was played by Ingrid Bergman. It was the fourth Emmy nomination of his career — the other three were for his “Star Trek” work — although he never won.
Mr. Nimoy’s marriage to the actress Sandi Zober ended in divorce. Besides his wife, he is survived by his children, Adam and Julie Nimoy; a stepson, Aaron Bay Schuck; and six grandchildren; one great-grandchild, and an older brother, Melvin.
Though his speaking voice was among his chief assets as an actor, the critical consensus was that his music was mortifying. Mr. Nimoy, however, was undaunted, and his fans seemed to enjoy the camp of his covers of songs like “If I Had a Hammer.” (His first album was called “Leonard Nimoy Presents Mr. Spock’s Music From Outer Space.”)
From 1995 to 2003, Mr. Nimoy narrated the “Ancient Mysteries” series on the History Channel. He also appeared in commercials, including two with Mr. Shatner for Priceline.com. He provided the voice for animated characters in “Transformers: The Movie,” in 1986, and “The Pagemaster,” in 1994.
In 2001 he voiced the king of Atlantis in the Disney animated movie “Atlantis: The Lost Empire,” and in 2005 he furnished voice-overs for the computer game Civilization IV. More recently, he had a recurring role on the science-fiction series “Fringe” and was heard, as the voice of Spock, in an episode of the hit sitcom “The Big Bang Theory.”
Mr. Nimoy was an active supporter of the arts as well. The Thalia, a venerable movie theater on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, now a multi-use hall that is part of Symphony Space, was renamed the Leonard Nimoy Thalia in 2002.
He also found his voice as a writer. Besides his autobiographies, he published “A Lifetime of Love: Poems on the Passages of Life” in 2002. Typical of Mr. Nimoy’s simple free verse are these lines: “In my heart/Is the seed of the tree/Which will be me.”
In later years, he rediscovered his Jewish heritage, and in 1991 he produced and starred in “Never Forget,” a television movie based on the story of a Holocaust survivor who sued a neo-Nazi organization of Holocaust deniers.
In 2002, having illustrated his books of poetry with his photographs, Mr. Nimoy published “Shekhina,” a book devoted to photography with a Jewish theme, that of the feminine aspect of God. His black-and-white photographs of nude and seminude women struck some Orthodox Jewish leaders as heretical, but Mr. Nimoy asserted that his work was consistent with the teaching of the kabbalah.
His religious upbringing also influenced the characterization of Spock. The character’s split-fingered salute, he often explained, had been his idea: He based it on the kohanic blessing, a manual approximation of the Hebrew letter shin, which is the first letter in Shaddai, one of the Hebrew names for God.
“To this day, I sense Vulcan speech patterns, Vulcan social attitudes and even Vulcan patterns of logic and emotional suppression in my behavior,” Mr. Nimoy wrote years after the original series ended.
But that wasn’t such a bad thing, he discovered. “Given the choice,” he wrote, “if I had to be someone else, I would be Spock.”
Daniel E. Slotnik and Peter Keepnews contributed reporting.
the universe feels wrong without him in it.
Leonard Nimoy leaves legacy beyond science-fiction
Associated Press
By DERRIK J. LANG 3 hours ago
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In this June 28, 1973 file photo, actor Leonard Nimoy speaks during an interview in New York. Nimoy, famous for playing officer Mr. Spock in “Star Trek” died Friday, Feb. 27, 2015 in Los Angeles of end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. He was 83. (AP Photo/Jerry Mosey, File)
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Leonard Nimoy didn't just leave a lasting impression on the science-fiction world, he also left his mark on science itself.
Seth Shostak, who researches the possibility of real-world extraterrestrial life as the senior astronomer at SETI Research, recalled that Nimoy was regularly willing to lend the organization a helping hand. When he was asked to narrate a planetarium introduction or appear as a guest at an event, Nimoy did so graciously and never charged.
"That struck me then, and it strikes me now," said Shostak. "If you play a famous alien, you might have little interest in how science is searching for real aliens, but Nimoy was actually interested in the science — and he was always willing to help us out."
Remembrances poured in from beyond the entertainment spectrum after news spread Friday about the death of the 83-year-old actor, who played the half-alien, half-human Spock in "Star Trek" films, TV shows and video games. NASA, Virgin Galactic, Intel and Google all sent messages, as did other groups motivated by Nimoy and his role as the truth-seeking science officer.
"Leonard Nimoy was an inspiration to multiple generations of engineers, scientists, astronauts and other space explorers," said NASA administrator Charles Bolden. "As Mr. Spock, he made science and technology important to the story, while never failing to show, by example, that it is the people around us who matter most."
NASA posted a photo online taken in 1976 of Nimoy and his "Trek" cast mates in front of NASA's real-life space shuttle Enterprise, parked outside the agency's manufacturing facilities in Palmdale, California.
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In this Oct. 17, 1995 file photo, actor Leonard Nimoy poses during an interview in New York to promote his book, "I Am Spock." Nimoy, famous for playing officer Mr. Spock in “Star Trek” died Friday, Feb. 27, 2015 in Los Angeles of end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. He was 83. (AP Photo/Wyatt Counts, File)
Samantha Cristoforetti, an Italian astronaut aboard the International Space Station, similarly tweeted her condolences from space.
"Live Long and Prosper, Mr. #Spock!" she wrote.
Don Lincoln, a senior physicist at Fermilab, said he was inspired to go into science not just because Nimoy's portrayal of the logical Mr. Spock but also because of "In Search of...," the curious 1970s TV series hosted by Nimoy that was dedicated to mysterious phenomena.
"Despite the fact he worked in fiction, anyone who can inspire that many people to look into the sky and wonder has done something really important for mankind," he said.
Lincoln noted that "Trek" and the character of Spock, armed with his Vulcan nerve pinch and phase set to stun, provided the world with a dynamic look at someone interested in science.
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In this Jan. 11, 1982 file photo, actor Leonard Nimoy poses for a photo in Los Angeles. Nimoy, famous for playing officer Mr. Spock in “Star Trek” died Friday, Feb. 27, 2015 in Los Angeles of end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. He was 83. (AP Photo/Lennox McLendon, File)
"The fact is that Spock was a cool geek," said Lincoln. "Scientists are not always portrayed as being very strong. Usually, they're the guy with the tape on their glasses and their pants too high. He was clearly a person who had desirable components beyond just being smart."
Nimoy's commitment to astronomy frequently warped from beyond the Alpha Quadrant and into the real world. He and his wife, Susan, donated $1 million to the renovation of the iconic Griffith Park observatory complex overlooking Los Angeles. The observatory's theater is named after Nimoy.
"Mr. Nimoy was committed to people, community and the enlarged perspective conferred by science, the arts and the places where they meet," the observatory said in a statement. "The theater honors Nimoy's expansive and inclusive approach to public astronomy and artful inspiration."
The actor, director and photographer narrated several films focusing on astronomy, including a 2012 short film about NASA's Dawn mission and the 1994 IMAX documentary film "Destiny in Space."
"All I can say is if and when we pick up a signal, it'll be wonderful if the real aliens are half as appealing as Mr. Nimoy was as Spock," said Shostak of SETI Research.
Leonard Nimoy's final tweet is beautiful, and it broke my heart
The Verge
By Bryan Bishop on February 27, 2015 01:44 pm
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My dad was — and is — a huge Star Trek nerd, and when I was a kid he'd excitedly show me episodes of the original series in syndication. It was a show that he watched in college, he'd say, explaining why Kirk was Kirk, Bones was Bones, and most importantly, why Leonard Nimoy's Spock was Spock. One of my earliest moments of geek fandom was when I tracked down the script for the original Star Trek pilot, "The Cage." I got it, read it, and excitedly took it to my dad. Kirk wasn't even in it, I explained to him. Spock had these crazy emotions!
My dad knew, of course. He was a Star Trek geek after all.
Nimoy was there too, when I sat down cross-legged on our living room carpet to watch episodes of In Search Of. The show was a kind of Cosmos for crazy murders and conspiracy theories, and with Nimoy narrating, I loved it. It was his voice: Calm. Commanding. Instant gravitas, but never off-putting. It was the kind of warm, almost paternal presence that invited you into a story, telling you This is important, and you will want to see what happens.
Then came Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. For my money, it's easily the best of the Star Trek films, and when Spock died, I was devastated. I've cried far too many times over his final scene in that film — to this day it still pushes those buttons — but that's what Nimoy brought to his portrayal of Spock. A character that was not only the most stoic of the stoic, but paradoxically, the most human of the human.
Nimoy stepped into the director's chair for the next two installments in the franchise, and I still remember how the young me was amazed that somebody could both act and direct a movie. I was eight when The Search for Spock came out, and it was the turning point when I understood that the movies weren't just something magical that I went to with my dad every weekend; they were things that were made. It was a revelation that would basically dictate my interests and the direction of my life from that day forward.
And as I grew up, Leonard Nimoy continued to be that comforting presence. Whenever he showed up in anything — yes, even Fringe — the movie or show became instantly grounded. Safe. His presence simply meant that I was going to enjoy what I was watching more than I had before. There aren't many actors that do that; he was one. (There's a reason he's been the best thing about J.J. Abrams' Star Trek films, after all.)
And now he's gone.
It's really strange to type that, and while I can't say I ever had the pleasure of meeting or interviewing Nimoy, he's nevertheless felt like a continual presence in my life. That can happen with media personalities, of course. You see somebody on the television every day, and you begin to think you know them; you follow the ups and downs of a fictional character, and you become emotionally bonded to them. Nimoy was something slightly different, though. A star in the media constellation that remained forever constant; true north.
Of course, it should go without saying that the sense of someone we get from their acting and public appearances often bears little resemblance to who they actually are. But what is undeniable is the emotional impact their work has on us. And for the millions of people, like myself, that grew up with Leonard Nimoy, those are the memories that we will carry with us throughout our lives.
It's a sentiment that Nimoy himself reflected upon on Twitter this past Sunday, in his very last post. "A life is like a garden," he wrote. "Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory."
That's what we'll have to do, then.Quote(https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1858927432/color_nimoy_headshot_normal.jpg) Leonard Nimoy ✔ @TheRealNimoy Follow[/size]
A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. LLAP
2:36 AM - 23 Feb 2015
220,442 Retweets 145,118 favorites Reply Retweet
If anyone wants a Spock avatar besides what's already in the user gallery, please speak up.
[ninja'd] In Search Of - fantastic show, if stories about bigfoot flying saucers from Atlantis fascinate.
Syfy to air five hours of Leonard Nimoy programming on Sundayhttp://www.ew.com/article/2015/02/27/syfy-air-five-hours-leonard-nimoy-programming-sunday?asdf (http://www.ew.com/article/2015/02/27/syfy-air-five-hours-leonard-nimoy-programming-sunday?asdf)
Entertainment Weekly
by Will Robinson • @Will_Robinson_ Posted February 27 2015 — 4:11 PM EST
(http://www.ew.com/sites/default/files/i/2015/02/27/star-trek-spock.jpg)
In the wake of Leonard Nimoy’s death, stars like William Shatner, to Patrick Stewart, and Spock successor Zachary Quinto have come forward to remember the Star Trek legend. On Sunday, Syfy will pay their tribute to the genre titan with a five-hour programming block.
Starting at 9 a.m. and running until 2 p.m., the channel will feature Nimoy’s appearance in the original Twilight Zone, his two-episode arc on Star Trek: The Next Generation, and the final original cast Star Trek film, Star Trek 6.
Nimoy died Friday at his home in Los Angeles of end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. He was 83.
What did you do to it? Nothing wrong with an oval, but it won't display that way as an avatar unless it's reduced first; when the forum software rescales down to 80x, it turns the result into a .jpg.Did nothing to it. Just scaled down and blended the pumpkin a bit.
The best sendoff to Spock came from the International Space Stationhttp://www.vox.com/2015/3/1/8129063/leonard-nimoy-astronaut-vulcan-salute (http://www.vox.com/2015/3/1/8129063/leonard-nimoy-astronaut-vulcan-salute)
Vox
Updated by Ezra Klein on March 1, 2015, 11:11 a.m. ET@ezraklein
On Saturday, NASA astronaut Terry Virts, who is currently aboard the International Space Station, marked the passing of Leonard Nimoy with a Vulcan salute … delivered from the final frontier, and sent over Twitter.
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As Kyle Hill writes at Nerdist, NASA has long known the power of Star Trek in inspiring astronauts and galvanizing the public:QuoteNASA has always recognized the galvanizing power of Star Trek. Nichelle Nichols, who played Lieutenant Uhura alongside Nimoy's Spock, later became a recruiter for NASA. She toured the country encouraging diversity in astronaut applicants. Among those who listened were Charles Bolden, the current NASA administrator, and Sally Ride, the first American woman in space.
And in 1976, NASA revealed the space shuttle "Enterprise," which was supposed to be called "Constitution" if not for a write-in campaign from Star Trek fans.
I'm tempted, of course, to end this with a sappy "Live Long and Prosper." But the truth is that the future of NASA's exploration of the final frontier looks very grim right now.
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'Spocking' Laurier on $5 not illegal, says Bank of Canadahttp://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/spocking-laurier-on-5-not-illegal-says-bank-of-canada-1.2978860 (http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/spocking-laurier-on-5-not-illegal-says-bank-of-canada-1.2978860)
But defaced bills may not circulate for as long and risk being rejected by retailers
CBC News
By Andy Blatchford, The Canadian Press Posted: Mar 02, 2015 3:29 PM ET| Last Updated: Mar 02, 2015 6:57 PM ET
(http://i.cbc.ca/1.2978657.1425321973!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/original_300/wdr-spock-5.jpg)
The death of Leonard Nimoy last week inspired people to post photos of marked-up banknotes on social media that show the former prime minister transformed to look like Spock, Nimoy's famous Star Trek character. (Design Canada/Twitter)
It turns out there's not a lot of logic after all in the belief that it's against the law to Vulcanize Wilfrid Laurier's likeness on the $5 bill.
The death of Leonard Nimoy last week inspired people to post photos of marked-up banknotes on social media that show the former prime minister transformed to look like Spock, Nimoy's famous Star Trek character.
For years, Canadians have been wielding pens to draw Spock's pointy Vulcan ears, sharp eyebrows and signature bowl haircut on the fiver's image of Laurier.
Contrary to what many believe, the Bank of Canada said Monday it's not illegal to deface or even mutilate banknotes, although there are laws that prohibit reproducing both sides of a current bill electronically.
Nonetheless, bank spokeswoman Josianne Menard pointed out there are reasons to resist the urge to scribble on bills.
"The Bank of Canada feels that writing and markings on bank notes are inappropriate as they are a symbol of our country and a source of national pride," Menard wrote in an email.
Long life and prosperity might also take a hit: Menard said disfigured bills may not circulate for as long and risk being rejected by retailers.
Following Nimoy's death Friday, social media users posted their own versions of Laurier's Vulcan makeover to honour the actor.
"Spock your $5 bills for Leonard Nimoy," a group called the Canadian Design Resource tweeted alongside its depiction.
The online images of the altered bills circulated widely and attracted international media attention to something many Canadians were already familiar with.
It wasn't exactly a place that no Canadian had boldly gone before.
Calgary artist Tom Bagley, who posted his own Spock-Laurier hybrid on Facebook and Flickr after Nimoy's death, described it as an old bar trick to impress the waitress.
He compared it to folding the $20 bill along the Queen's face to make her smile or frown.
Bagley said he had no concerns about any potential legal issues over defacing the banknote. Besides, he said, he drew his with a pencil crayon, which can be erased.
"I don't know anyone that's gone to jail for it," he said in an interview.
"I always thought it was OK as long as the numbers were intact — it still counted as money. That's what I heard. Because stuff happens, like say you spill spaghetti sauce all over it or something like that."
© The Canadian Press, 2015
I dunno why the potheads love hemp so, anyway - you can't get high off it and it would cross-pollinate with their maryhootchie, ruining the potency of the weed.
Remembering Leonard Nimoyhttp://wilwheaton.net/ (http://wilwheaton.net/)
Wil Wheaton27 February, 2015
Normally, I’m pretty good with words. At the moment, I’m not at my best, for reasons I hope are self evident. However, I’m going to do my best to remember someone who gave more to my life than he ever knew.
I never got to know Leonard Nimoy the way my fellow cast members did, so I can’t remember him in the personal way that they can. I didn’t know Leonard as a friend, or even as a colleague. I can’t tell you what he was like off the set, because I never had the privilege of visiting with him off the set. In fact, by the time he worked on Next Generation, my character was off exploring other planes of existence, and I was a nineteen year-old kid who was stumbling around, trying to figure out what he was going to do with the rest of his life.
When you are part of the Star Trek family — and that’s what it is, in ways that are as wonderful and complicated as all families are — you are part of a very small and special group, where news travels fast. Though I never got to be close to Leonard, I knew that he was a wonderful and lovely man, because that’s all anyone ever said about him. I feel that I haven’t earned the right to eulogize him, but a lot of people are asking me to, so if you’ll allow me a few minutes of your time, I’d like to do my best to remember Leonard the way most of us will be remembering him today: as the actor who played a character who was deeply important to all of our lives, because everyone who watched and loved Star Trek is part of our extended family.
When I was a kid, long before I put on Wesley Crusher’s sweaters or piloted the Enterprise, I loved Star Trek. I watched it all the time in syndication on our black and white television, and when the other kids at school wanted to play CHiPs or the A-Team on the playground, I wanted to turn the jungle gym into the Enterprise. On those rare occasions that I convinced my classmates that we were boldly going toward new worlds on lunch recess, one of the Cool Kids would claim the role of Captain Kirk, and I would always happily assume the role of Mister Spock.
I was too young to fully understand why, but as I got older and looked back on those years, it became clear: I identified with Spock because he was weird, and cerebral, and he was different from everyone else. He was just like me, but the things that made me a target of ridicule on the playground made him a valuable and vital member of his ship’s crew. In ways that I couldn’t articulate at the time, I wanted to be Mister Spock because if I was, I could be myself –quiet, bookish, alien to the people around me — and it wouldn’t be weird. It would be awesome.
When I was cast to play Wesley Crusher, and became part of the Star Trek family, one of the first things I got excited about was meeting Mister Spock, and the actor who played him. It never happened, really, so I never got to know the man behind the ears and the eyebrows and the character that meant so much to me. But as I said on Twitter this morning, we in the Next Generation stood upon his shoulders, and we got to explore a universe that wouldn’t have existed without him. I’ve met thousands of people over the last decade, who have told me that Wesley Crusher meant the same thing to them that Mister Spock meant to me, and for that I am eternally grateful to everyone who was part of Star Trek before I was, including Leonard.
Mister Spock made it okay for me to be the weird kid who eventually grew into a slightly-less weird adult, but it was Leonard Nimoy who made Mister Spock live, and who made Star Trek — and every science fiction TV series since 1966 — possible.
Thank you, Leonard, for making it okay to be me, and for making it possible for me to explore brave new worlds, and boldly go where you had gone before. I wish I’d gotten to know you the way so many others did, because everyone says you were as awesome and wonderful as I hoped you would be. Rest in peace, sir.
It was Sunday.
Nimoy attracted the attention of a hate group?They picket celebrities' funerals as well as those of the military, gays, and anyone else they disapprove of for some stupid reason.
Jewish tradition not to wait around about burials.
William Shatner and a Westboro picket line failed to make it on such short notice.
Leonard Nimoy: 1931-2015http://startrekfactcheck.blogspot.com/ (http://startrekfactcheck.blogspot.com/)
Star Trek Fact Check Friday, February 27, 2015
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Leonard Nimoy's first close-up as Spock in "The Menagerie" (1964) Image Courtesy of Trek Core.
Frequent readers of this blog will know that I'm not usually at a loss for words, but on the subject of Leonard Nimoy's death, I am almost speechless. For as long as I can remember, Star Trek and Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock have been a part of my life. Now Nimoy is gone.
I had the pleasure of seeing Mr. Nimoy in person twice in my life — in the early 2000s, at a Seattle-area Star Trek convention alongside William Shatner, and more recently, at a Hammer Museum event where he spoke about his career as a photographer alongside fellow Star Trek (2009) actor Zachary Quinto. On both occasions, I was struck by the depth of the man's intelligence, the warmth of his sense of humor, and the genuine affection he showed for both his friends and his fans.
True to his character's now iconic salutation, Mr. Nimoy lived long and prospered, finding success as an actor, director, author, poet, singer, and photographer in a career that spanned seven decades. He may be most famous for portraying Mr. Spock on Star Trek (a role which garnered him three consecutive Emmy nominations), but Nimoy leaves behind a tremendous body of work far beyond this role. He'll be long remembered and deeply missed by many.
Goodbye, Mr. Nimoy.
..., Spock looked more and more like himself.