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Leonard Nimoy
Nimoy at Phoenix Comicon in May 2011
Born	Leonard Simon Nimoy (1931-03-26)March 26, 1931 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died	February 27, 2015(2015-02-27) (aged 83) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Cause of death	Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Nationality	American
Occupation(s)	Actor, film director, poet, photographer, singer, songwriter
Years active	1951–2013
Television	Star Trek
Spouses	Sandra Zober ​ ​(m. 1954; div. 1987)​ Susan Bay ​ ​(m. 1989; invalid reason 2015)​
Children	Adam Nimoy Julie Nimoy
Website	leonardnimoyphotography.com

Leonard Simon Nimoy (/ˈniːmɔɪ/; March 26, 1931 – February 27, 2015) was an American actor, film director, poet, singer and photographer. He was known for his role as Mr. Spock of the Star Trek franchise.

Nimoy began his career in his early twenties, teaching acting classes in Hollywood and making minor film and television appearances through the 1950s, as well as playing the title role in Kid Monk Baroni. Foreshadowing his fame as a semi-alien, he played Narab, one of three Martian invaders in the 1952 movie serial Zombies of the Stratosphere.

In 1965, he made his first appearance in the rejected Star Trek pilot "The Cage", and went on to play the character of Spock until 1969, followed by eight feature films and guest slots in the various spin-off series. The character has had a significant cultural impact and garnered Nimoy three Emmy Award nominations; TV Guide named Spock one of the 50 greatest TV characters. After the original Star Trek series, Nimoy starred in Mission: Impossible for two seasons, hosted the documentary series In Search of..., narrated Civilization IV, and made several well-received stage appearances. He also had a recurring role in the science fiction series Fringe.

Nimoy's fame as Spock was such that both of his autobiographies, I Am Not Spock (1975) and I Am Spock (1995), were written from the viewpoint of sharing his existence with the character. Nimoy has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Early life

Leonard Simon Nimoy was born on March 26, 1931 in the West End of Boston, Massachusetts, the son of Yiddish-speaking Orthodox Jewish immigrants from Iziaslav, Soviet Union (now Ukraine). His parents left Iziaslav separately—his father first walking over the border into Poland—and reunited in the United States. His mother, Dora (née Spinner), was a homemaker, and his father, Max Nimoy, owned a barbershop in the Mattapan section of the city.

Nimoy began acting at the age of 8 in a children's and neighborhood theater. His parents wanted him to attend college and pursue a stable career, or even learn to play the accordion—with which, his father advised, Nimoy could always make a living—but his grandfather encouraged him to become an actor. His first major role was at 17, as Ralphie in an amateur production of Clifford Odets' Awake and Sing!, which dealt with the struggles of a matriarchal Jewish family during the Great Depression. Nimoy said the role "lit a passion" that led him to pursue an acting career. "I never wanted to do anything else."

Nimoy took drama classes at Boston College and at the Pasadena Playhouse, where he became a devotee of Konstantin Stanislavsky's Method acting concepts. Nimony discovered that the stage can be used to explore the "psychological, emotional, and physical territories of life that can't be done anywhere else," which he said led him into acting. He took method actor Marlon Brando as a role model, and like him, wore jeans and T-shirt. Between studies, to have some income, he took a job at an ice cream parlor on the Sunset Strip.

He had an MA in Education from Antioch College, an honorary doctorate from Antioch University in Ohio, awarded for activism in Holocaust remembrance, the arts, and the environment, and an honorary doctorate of humane letters from Boston University.

In 1953, Nimoy enlisted in the United States Army Reserve at Fort McPherson Georgia, serving for 18 months until 1955, leaving as a sergeant. Part of Nimoy's time in the military was spent with the Army Special Services, putting on shows which he wrote, narrated, and emceed. During that period, he also directed and starred in A Streetcar Named Desire, with the Atlanta Theater Guild.

Acting career

Before and during Star Trek

Nimoy believed that playing the title role in the 1952 film Kid Monk Baroni would make him a star, but later said that "it played about three days as a second bill somewhere in Hollywood and then died." While serving in the military the film gained a larger audience on television, and Nimoy said that after his discharge "I began to work steadily as a 'heavy.' I learned to use a switchblade and a gun, how to kick people, hit people, choke 'em, threaten 'em, torture 'em—all the nice things heavies do." He played more than 50 small parts in B movies, television series such as Perry Mason and Dragnet, and serials such as Republic Pictures' Zombies of the Stratosphere (1952), which Nimoy played Narab, a Martian. To support his family, he often did other work, such as delivering newspapers.

He played an Army sergeant in the 1954 science fiction thriller Them! and a professor in the 1958 science fiction movie The Brain Eaters, and had a role in The Balcony (1963), a film adaptation of the Jean Genet play. With Vic Morrow, he co-produced a 1966 version of Deathwatch, an English-language film version of Genet's play Haute Surveillance, adapted and directed by Morrow and starring Nimoy. The story dealt with three prison inmates. Partly as a result of his role, he then taught drama classes to members of Synanon, a drug rehab center, explaining: "Give a little here and it always comes back."

On television, Nimoy appeared as "Sonarman" in two episodes of the 1957–1958 syndicated military drama The Silent Service, based on actual events of the submarine section of the United States Navy. He had guest roles in the Sea Hunt series from 1958 to 1960 and a minor role in the 1961 The Twilight Zone episode "A Quality of Mercy". He also appeared in the syndicated Highway Patrol starring Broderick Crawford.

In 1959, Nimoy was cast as Luke Reid in the "Night of Decision" episode of the ABC/Warner Bros. western series Colt .45, starring Wayde Preston and directed by Leslie H. Martinson.

Nimoy appeared four times in ethnic roles on NBC's Wagon Train, the No. 1 program of 1962. He portrayed Bernabe Zamora in "The Estaban Zamora Story" (1959), "Cherokee Ned" in "The Maggie Hamilton Story" (1960), Joaquin Delgado in "The Tiburcio Mendez Story" (1961) and Emeterio Vasquez in "The Baylor Crowfoot Story" (1962).

Nimoy appeared in Bonanza (1960), The Rebel (1960), Two Faces West (1961), Rawhide (1961), The Untouchables (1962), The Eleventh Hour (1962), Perry Mason (1963; playing murderer Pete Chennery in "The Case of the Shoplifter's Shoe", episode 13 of season 6), Combat! (1963, 1965), Daniel Boone, The Outer Limits (1964), The Virginian (1963–1965; first working with Star Trek co-star DeForest Kelley in "Man of Violence", episode 14 of season 2, in 1963), Get Smart (1966) and Mission: Impossible (1969–1971). He appeared again in the 1995 Outer Limits series. He appeared in Gunsmoke in 1962 as Arnie and in 1966 as John Walking Fox.

Nimoy and Star Trek co-star William Shatner first worked together on an episode of The Man from U.N.C.L.E., "The Project Strigas Affair" (1964). Their characters were from opposite sides of the Iron Curtain, though with his saturnine looks, Nimoy was the villain, with Shatner playing a reluctant U.N.C.L.E. recruit.

On the stage, Nimoy played the lead role in a short run of Gore Vidal's Visit to a Small Planet in 1968 (shortly before the end of the Star Trek series) at the Pheasant Run Playhouse in St. Charles, Illinois (now closed).

Star Trek

"His legacy as that character is key to the enjoyment of Star Trek. The way that Spock was used as a device for the writers to examine humanity and examine what it meant to be human, that's really what Star Trek was all about. And in finding Leonard Nimoy, they found the perfect person to portray that."

Nimoy's greatest prominence came from his role as Spock, the half-Vulcan, half-human alien hybrid on Star Trek series. It is considered one of the most popular alien characters ever portrayed on television. Biographer Dennis Fischer notes that television viewers admired Spock's "coolness, his intelligence," and his ability to take on successfully any task. As a result, he adds, Nimoy's character "took the public by storm," nearly eclipsing the star of the show, William Shatner's Captain Kirk.

Nimoy and Shatner, who portrayed his commanding officer, became close friends during the years the show was on television: "We were like brothers." Star Trek was broadcast from 1966 to 1969. Nimoy earned three Emmy Award nominations for his work on the program.

Among Spock's recognized and unique symbols that he incorporated into the series was the Vulcan salute, which became identified with him. Nimoy created the sign himself from his childhood memories of the way kohanim (Jewish priests) hold their hand when giving blessings. During an interview, he translated the Priestly Blessing from Numbers 6:24–26 which accompanies the sign and described it during a public lecture:

May the Lord bless and keep you and may the Lord cause his countenance to shine upon you. May the Lord be gracious unto you and grant you peace. The accompanying spoken blessing, "Live long and prosper."

Nimoy also came up with the concept of the "Vulcan Nerve Pinch," which he suggested as a replacement for the scripted knock out method of using the butt of his phaser. He wanted a more sophisticated way of rendering a person unconscious. Nimoy explained to the show's director that Spock had, per the story, gone to the Vulcan Institute of Technology and had studied human anatomy. Spock also had the ability to project a unique form of energy through his fingertips. Nimoy explained the idea of putting his hand on his neck and shoulder to Shatner, and they rehearsed it. Nimoy credits Shatner's acting during the "pinch" that sold the idea: "It was his reaction that really makes you believe it really works."

He went on to reprise the Spock character in Star Trek: The Animated Series and two episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation. When a new Star Trek series was planned in the late 1970s, Nimoy was to be in only two out of eleven episodes, but when the show was elevated to a feature film, he agreed to reprise his role. The first six Star Trek movies feature the original Star Trek cast including Nimoy, who also directed two of the films. He played the elder Spock in the 2009 Star Trek movie and reprised the role in a brief appearance in the 2013 sequel, Star Trek Into Darkness, both directed by J. J. Abrams.

After Star Trek

Following Star Trek in 1969, Nimoy immediately joined the cast of the spy series Mission: Impossible, which was seeking a replacement for Martin Landau. Nimoy was cast in the role of Paris, an IMF agent who was an ex-magician and make-up expert, "The Great Paris". He played the role during seasons four and five (1969–1971). Nimoy had strongly been considered as part of the initial cast for the show, but remained in the Spock role on Star Trek.

He co-starred with Yul Brynner and Richard Crenna in the Western movie Catlow (1971). He also had roles in two episodes of Rod Serling's Night Gallery (1972 and 1973) and Columbo (1973) where he played a murderous doctor who was one of the few criminals with whom Columbo became angry. Nimoy appeared in various made for television films such as Assault on the Wayne (1970), Baffled! (1972), The Alpha Caper (1973), The Missing Are Deadly (1974), Seizure: The Story Of Kathy Morris (1980) and Marco Polo (1982). He received an Emmy Award nomination for best supporting actor for the television film A Woman Called Golda (1982), for playing the role of Morris Meyerson, Golda Meir's husband opposite Ingrid Bergman as Golda in her final role.

In 1975, Leonard Nimoy filmed an opening introduction to Ripley's World of the Unexplained museum located at Gatlinburg, Tennessee and Fisherman's Wharf at San Francisco, California. In the late 1970s, he hosted and narrated the television series In Search of..., which investigated paranormal or unexplained events or subjects. He also had a character part as a psychiatrist in Philip Kaufman's remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

Stage

During this time, Nimoy also won acclaim for a series of stage roles. In 1971 he played the starring role of Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof, which toured for eight weeks. Nimoy, who had performed in the Yiddish theater as a young man, said the part was like a "homecoming" for him, explaining that his parents, like Tevya, also "came from a shtetl in Russia" and could relate to the play when they saw him in it. Later in 1971 he starred as Arthur Goldman in The Man in the Glass Booth at the Old Globe Theater in San Diego.

He starred as Randle McMurphy in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest in 1974, a year prior to its release as a feature film, with Jack Nicholson in the same role. During the run of the play, Nimoy took over as its director and wanted his character to be "rough and tough," and insisted on having tattoos. The costumer for the show, Sharon White, was amused: "That was sort of an intimate thing. . . . Here I am with Mr. Spock, for god's sakes, and I am painting pictures on his arms."

In 1975 he toured with and played the title role in the Royal Shakespeare Company's Sherlock Holmes. A number of authors have noted parallels between the rational Holmes and the character of Spock, and it became a running theme in Star Trek fan clubs. Star Trek writer Nicholas Meyer wrote that "the link between Spock and Holmes was obvious to everyone." Meyer gives a few examples, including a scene in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, in which Spock quotes directly from a Conan Doyle book and credits Holmes as a forefather to the logic he was espousing. In addition, the connection was implied in Star Trek: The Next Generation, which paid homage to both Holmes and Spock.

In 1981 Nimoy starred in Vincent, a one man show which he wrote and published as a book in 1984. The audio recording of the play is available on DVD under the title, Van Gogh Revisited It was based on the life of artist Vincent van Gogh, in which Nimoy played Van Gogh's brother Theo. Other plays included Oliver!, at the Melody Top Theater in Malwaukee, 6 Rms Riv Vu opposite Sandy Dennis, in Florida, Full Circle with Bibi Anderson in Washington, D.C., and later in Full Circle and Equus on Broadway in New York. He was in Camelot, The King and I, Caligula, The Four Poster, Twelfth Night and My Fair Lady.

Star Trek films

After directing a few television show episodes, Nimoy started film directing in 1984 with the third installment of the film series. Nimoy would go on to direct the second most successful film (critically and financially) in the franchise after the 2009 Star Trek film, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986), and Three Men and a Baby, the highest grossing film of 1987. These successes made him a star director. At a press conference promoting the 2009 Star Trek movie, Nimoy made it clear that he had no further plans or ambition to direct:

No. No, I'm done with all that, thank you. I never set out to be a director. After Spock had died, sort of, in Star Trek II, they brought me in for a meeting and asked if I'd like to be involved in Star Trek III, in the making of it, and I had been told that I should be directing. I took it as an insult because I thought, "what's wrong with my acting?" But I thought maybe now I should do that and I said I'd like to direct the movie, and I suddenly found myself with a directing career which I had enjoyed and I had enough of it. I directed I think five or six films — I had a good time.

Other work after Star Trek

Voice actor

Nimoy lent his voice as narrator to the 1994 IMAX documentary film, Destiny in Space, showcasing film-footage of space from nine Space Shuttle missions over four years time.

In 1999, he voiced the narration of the English version of the Sega Dreamcast game Seaman and promoted Y2K educational films.

Together with John de Lancie, another actor from the Star Trek franchise, Nimoy created Alien Voices, an audio-production venture that specializes in audio dramatizations. Among the works jointly narrated by the pair are The Time Machine, Journey to the Center of the Earth, The Lost World, The Invisible Man and The First Men in the Moon, as well as several television specials for the Sci-Fi Channel. In an interview published on the official Star Trek website, Nimoy said that Alien Voices was discontinued because the series did not sell well enough to recoup costs.

In 2001, Nimoy voiced the role of the Atlantean King Kashekim Nedakh in the Disney animated feature Atlantis: The Lost Empire which featured Michael J. Fox voicing the lead role.

Nimoy provided a comprehensive series of voice-overs for the 2005 computer game Civilization IV. He did the television series Next Wave where he interviewed people about technology. He was the host in the documentary film The Once and Future Griffith Observatory, currently running in the Leonard Nimoy Event Horizon Theater at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles. Nimoy and his wife, Susan Bay-Nimoy, were major supporters of the Observatory's historic 2002–2004 expansion.

In 2009 he voiced the part of "The Zarn", an Altrusian, in the television-based movie Land of the Lost, starring Will Ferrell.

Nimoy also provided voiceovers for the Star Trek Online massive multiplayer online game, released in February 2010, as well as Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep as Master Xehanort, the series' leading villain. Tetsuya Nomura, the director of Birth by Sleep, stated that he chose Nimoy for the role specifically because of his role as Spock.

Nimoy was also a frequent and popular reader for "Selected Shorts", an ongoing series of programs at Symphony Space in New York City (that also tours around the country) which features actors, and sometimes authors, reading works of short fiction. The programs are broadcast on radio and available on websites through Public Radio International, National Public Radio and WNYC radio. Nimoy was honored by Symphony Space with the renaming of the Thalia Theater as the Leonard Nimoy Thalia Theater.

Special appearances

From 1982 to 1987, Nimoy hosted the children's educational show Standby: Lights, Camera, Action on Nickelodeon. He worked occasionally as a voice actor in animated feature films, including the character of Galvatron in The Transformers: The Movie in 1986. Nimoy also provided the narration for the 1991 CBS paranormal series Haunted Lives: True Ghost Stories.

In 1994, Nimoy performed as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in The Pagemaster. In 1998, he had a leading role as Mustapha Mond in Brave New World, a TV-movie version of Aldous Huxley's novel.

From 1994 until 1997, Nimoy narrated the Ancient Mysteries series on A&E including "The Sacred Water of Lourdes" and "Secrets of the Romanovs". He also appeared in advertising in the United Kingdom for the computer company Time Computers in the late 1990s. In 1997, Nimoy played the prophet Samuel, alongside Nathaniel Parker, in The Bible Collection movie David. Nimoy also appeared in several popular television series, including Futurama and The Simpsons, as both himself and Spock.

In 2000, he provided on-camera hosting and introductions for 45 half-hour episodes of an anthology series entitled Our 20th Century on the AEN TV Network. The series covers world news, sports, entertainment, technology, and fashion using original archive news clips from 1930 to 1975 from the National Archives in Washington, D.C. and other private archival sources.

In May 2009, he made an appearance as the mysterious Dr. William Bell in the season finale of Fringe, which explores the existence of a parallel universe. Nimoy returned as Dr. Bell in the autumn for an extended arc and, according to Roberto Orci, co-creator of Fringe, Bell will be "the beginning of the answers to even bigger questions." This choice led one reviewer to question if Fringe's plot might be a homage to the Star Trek episode "Mirror, Mirror", which featured an alternate reality "Mirror Universe" concept and an evil version of Spock distinguished by a goatee.

In the May 9, 2009 episode of Saturday Night Live, Nimoy appeared as a surprise guest in the "Weekend Update" segment with Zachary Quinto and Chris Pine, who play the young Spock and Kirk in the Star Trek that had just premiered days earlier. In the sketch, Quinto and Pine attempt to appease long-time Trekkers by assuring them that the new film would be true to the original Star Trek. When the two indicated that they had been the target of harassment and threats by Trekkers, Nimoy appeared, assuring them that fans would enjoy the new film. When host Seth Meyers surmised that Nimoy was about to say that to not do so would be illogical, Nimoy stated, "No, I was going to say was to not like it would make them dickheads."

Producer

In 1991, Nimoy teamed up with Robert B. Radnitz to produce a movie for TNT about a pro bono publico lawsuit brought by public interest attorney William John Cox on behalf of Mel Mermelstein, an Auschwitz survivor, against a group of organizations engaged in Holocaust denial. Nimoy also played the Mermelstein role and believes: "If every project brought me the same sense of fulfillment that Never Forget did, I would truly be in paradise."

In 2007, he produced the play, Shakespeare's Will by Canadian Playwright Vern Thiessen. The one-woman show starred Jeanmarie Simpson as Shakespeare's wife, Anne Hathaway. The production was directed by Nimoy's wife, Susan Bay.

Retirement

In April 2010, Leonard Nimoy announced that he was retiring from playing Spock, citing both his advanced age and the desire to give Zachary Quinto the opportunity to enjoy full media attention with the Spock character. Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep was to be his final performance; however, in February 2011, he announced his intent to return to Fringe and reprise his role as William Bell. Nimoy continued voice acting despite his retirement; his appearance in the third season of Fringe included his voice (his character appeared only in animated scenes), and he provided the voice of Sentinel Prime in Transformers: Dark of the Moon.

In May 2011, Nimoy made a cameo appearance in the alternate version music video of Bruno Mars' "The Lazy Song". Aaron Bay-Schuck, the Atlantic Records executive who signed Bruno Mars to the label, is Nimoy's stepson.

Nimoy provided the voice of Spock as a guest star in a Season 5 episode of the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory titled "The Transporter Malfunction", which aired on March 29, 2012. Also in 2012, Nimoy reprised his role of William Bell in Fringe for the fourth season episodes "Letters of Transit" and "Brave New World" parts 1 & 2. Nimoy reprised his role as Master Xehanort in the 2012 video game Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance. On August 30, 2012, Nimoy narrated a satirical segment about Mitt Romney's life on Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. In 2013, Nimoy reprised his role as Spock Prime in a cameo appearance in the film Star Trek Into Darkness.

Other career work

Photography

Nimoy's interest in photography began in childhood; for the rest of his life, he owned a camera that he rebuilt at the age of 13. In the 1970s studied photography at the University of California, Los Angeles. His photography studies at UCLA occurred after Star Trek and Mission: Impossible, when Nimoy seriously considered changing careers. His work has been exhibited at the R. Michelson Galleries in Northampton, Massachusetts and the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art.

Directing

Nimoy made his directorial debut in 1973, with the "Death on a Barge" segment for an episode of Night Gallery during its final season. It was not until the early 1980s that Nimoy resumed directing on a consistent basis, ranging from television shows to motion pictures. Nimoy directed Star Trek III: The Search for Spock in 1984 and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home in 1986. He also directed the 1987 film Three Men and a Baby. His final directorial credit was in 1995 for the episode "Killshot", the pilot for the television series Deadly Games.

Writing

Nimoy authored two volumes of autobiography. The first was called I Am Not Spock (1975) and was controversial, as many fans incorrectly assumed that Nimoy was distancing himself from the Spock character. In the book, Nimoy conducts dialogues between himself and Spock. The contents of this first autobiography also touched on a self-proclaimed "identity crisis" that seemed to haunt Nimoy throughout his career. It also related to an apparent love/hate relationship with the character of Spock and the Trek franchise.

I went through a definite identity crisis. The question was whether to embrace Mr. Spock or to fight the onslaught of public interest. I realize now that I really had no choice in the matter. Spock and Star Trek were very much alive and there wasn't anything that I could do to change that.

The second volume, I Am Spock (1995), saw Nimoy communicating that he finally realized his years of portraying the Spock character had led to a much greater identification between the fictional character and himself. Nimoy had much input into how Spock would act in certain situations, and conversely, Nimoy's contemplation of how Spock acted gave him cause to think about things in a way that he never would have thought if he had not portrayed the character. As such, in this autobiography Nimoy maintains that in some meaningful sense he has merged with Spock while at the same time maintaining the distance between fact and fiction.

Nimoy also composed several volumes of poetry, some published along with a number of his photographs. A later poetic volume entitled A Lifetime of Love: Poems on the Passages of Life was published in 2002. His poetry can be found in the Contemporary Poets index of The HyperTexts. Nimoy adapted and starred in the one-man play Vincent (1981), based on the play Van Gogh (1979) by Phillip Stephens.

In 1995, Nimoy was involved in the production of Primortals, a comic book series published by Tekno Comix about first contact with aliens, which had arisen from a discussion he had with Isaac Asimov. There was a novelization by Steve Perry.

Music

During and following Star Trek, Nimoy also released five albums of musical vocal recordings on Dot Records. On his first album, Mr. Spock's Music from Outer Space, and half of his second album Two Sides of Leonard Nimoy, science fiction-themed songs are featured where Nimoy sings as Spock. On his final three albums, he sings popular folk songs of the era and cover versions of popular songs, such as "Proud Mary" and Johnny Cash's "I Walk the Line". There are also several songs on the later albums that were written or co-written by Nimoy. He described how his recording career got started:

Charles Grean of Dot Records had arranged with the studio to do an album of space music based on music from Star Trek, and he has a teenage daughter who's a fan of the show and a fan of Mr. Spock. She said, 'Well, if you're going to do an album of music from Star Trek, then Mr. Spock should be on the album.' So Dot contacted me and asked me if I would be interested in either speaking or singing on the record. I said I was very interested in doing both. ... That was the first album we did, which was called Mr. Spock's Music from Outer Space. It was very well received and successful enough that Dot then approached me and asked me to sign a long-term contract.

Nimoy's voice appeared in sampled form on a song by the pop band Information Society in the late Eighties. The song, "What's on Your Mind (Pure Energy)" (released in 1988), reached No. 3 on the US Pop charts, and No. 1 on the Dance charts.

Nimoy played the part of the chauffeur in the 1985 music video of The Bangles' cover version of "Going Down to Liverpool". He also appeared in the alternate music video for the song "The Lazy Song" by pop artist Bruno Mars.

Personal life

Nimoy had long been active in the Jewish community. He could speak and read Yiddish, his first language. In 1997, he narrated the documentary A Life Apart: Hasidism in America, about the various sects of Hasidic Orthodox Jews. In October 2002, Nimoy published The Shekhina Project, a photographic study exploring the feminine aspect of God's presence, inspired by Kabbalah. Reactions have varied from enthusiastic support to open condemnation. Nimoy said that objections to Shekhina did not bother or surprise him, but he smarted at the stridency of the Orthodox protests, and was "saddened at the attempt to control thought".

Nimoy was married twice. In 1954, he married actress Sandra Zober (1927–2011), whom he divorced in 1987. On New Year's Day of 1989, he married actress Susan Bay, cousin of director Michael Bay.

In a 2001 DVD, Nimoy revealed that he became an alcoholic while working on Star Trek and ended up in drug rehabilitation. William Shatner, in his 2008 book Up Till Now: The Autobiography, spoke about how later in their lives, Nimoy tried to help Shatner's alcoholic wife, Nerine Kidd.

Nimoy has said that the character of Spock, which he played twelve to fourteen hours a day, five days a week, influenced his personality in private life. Each weekend during the original run of the series, he would be in character throughout Saturday and into Sunday, behaving more like Spock than himself —– more logical, more rational, more thoughtful, less emotional and finding a calm in every situation. It was only on Sunday in the early afternoon that Spock's influence on his behavior would fade off and he would feel more himself again —– only to start the cycle over again on Monday morning. Years after the show he wrote that "To this day, I sense Vulcan speech patterns, Vulcan social attitudes and even Vulcan patterns of logic and emotional suppression in my behavior."

Nimoy was a private pilot and had owned an airplane. The Space Foundation named Nimoy as the recipient of the 2010 Douglas S. Morrow Public Outreach Award for creating a positive role model that inspired untold numbers of viewers to learn more about the universe.

In 2009, Nimoy was honored by his childhood hometown when the Office of Mayor Thomas Menino proclaimed the date of November 14, 2009, as Leonard Nimoy Day in the City of Boston.

In 2014, Walter Koenig revealed in a Las Vegas Sun interview that Leonard Nimoy personally and successfully advocated equal pay for both his and Nichelle Nichols' work on Star Trek to the show's producers. This incident was confirmed by Nimoy in a Trekmovie interview and happened during "the Desilu years."

Illness and death

In February 2014, Nimoy revealed that he had been diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a condition he attributed to a smoking habit he had given up approximately 30 years prior. On February 19, 2015, Nimoy was taken to UCLA Medical Center for chest pain and had been in and out of hospitals for the "past several months."

Nimoy died on February 27, 2015 at the age of 83 in his Bel Air home from complications of COPD. He is survived by his wife, two children, six grandchildren and a great-grandchild. A few days before his death, Nimoy shared some of his poetry on social media website Twitter: "A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. LLAP".

On Twitter, William Shatner wrote of Nimoy, "I loved him like a brother. ... We will all miss his humor, his talent, and his capacity to love." George Takei stated, "The word extraordinary is often overused, but I think it's really appropriate for Leonard. He was an extraordinarily talented man, but he was also a very decent human being." Walter Koenig said he knew the Spock character better than he did Nimoy at first. "When I finally did get to know the man better I discovered his compassion, his intelligence and his humanity. All of which laid the foundation for his keen sense of philanthropy." Nichelle Nichols wrote, "Leonard’s integrity and passion as an actor and devotion to his craft helped transport Star Trek into television history." Zachary Quinto, who portrayed Spock as a young man in Star Trek and Star Trek Into Darkness, wrote, "My heart is broken. I love you profoundly my dear friend. And I will miss you every day."

U.S. President Barack Obama paid tribute to Nimoy, whom he called "a lifelong lover of the arts and humanities, a supporter of the sciences, generous with his talent and his time." Former NASA astronaut Buzz Aldrin called Nimoy "a fellow space traveler because he helped make the journey into the final frontier accessible to us all."

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Music videos

• 1967: "The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins" by Leonard Nimoy
• 1985: "Going Down to Liverpool" by The Bangles
• 2011: "The Lazy Song" by Bruno Mars (alternate official video)

Bibliography

Biography

• I Am Not Spock (1975) ISBN 9781568496917
• I Am Spock (1995) ISBN 9780786861828

Photography

• Shekhina photography (2005) (ISBN 978-1-884167-16-4)
• The Full Body Project (2008) ISBN 9780979472725
• Secret Selves (2010) ISBN 978-0976427698

Screenplays

• Vincent (1981), (teleplay based on the play "Van Gogh" (1979) by Phillip Stephens (OCLC 64819808)
• Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) (story by)
• Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991) (Story by)

Poetry

• You & I (1973) (ISBN 978-0-912310-26-8)
• Will I Think of You? (1974) (ISBN 978-0-912310-70-1)
• We Are All Children Searching for Love: A Collection of Poems and Photographs (1977) (ISBN 978-0-88396-024-0)
• Come be With Me (1978) (ISBN 978-0-88396-033-2)
• These Words are for You (1981) (ISBN 978-0-88396-148-3)
• Warmed by Love (1983) (ISBN 978-0-88396-200-8)
• A Lifetime of Love: Poems on the Passages of Life (2002) (ISBN 978-0-88396-596-2)

Discography

• Leonard Nimoy Presents Mr. Spock's Music from Outer Space (Dot Records), (1967)
• Two Sides of Leonard Nimoy (Dot Records), (1968)
• The Way I Feel (Dot Records, Stereo DLP 25883), (1968)
• The Touch of Leonard Nimoy (Dot Records, Stereo DLP 25910), (1969)
• The New World of Leonard Nimoy (Dot Records, Stereo DLP 25966), (1970)

References

1. ^ Heffernan, Virginia (February 27, 2015). "Leonard Nimoy, Spock of 'Star Trek,' Dies at 83". The New York Times. Retrieved February 27, 2015.
2. "Nimoy glad to be back with 'Fringe'". New York: News World Communications. United Press International. May 12, 2012. Retrieved November 1, 2013.
3. "Leonard Nimoy: Biography". TVGuide.com. San Francisco, California: CBS Interactive. Retrieved February 3, 2009.
4. Jensen, K. Thor (November 20, 2008). "Spock". UGO.com. San Francisco, CA: IGN Entertainment, Inc. Retrieved February 3, 2009.
5. Nimoy (1975), pp. 1–6
6. Nimoy (1995), pp. 2–17
7. Leonard Nimoy: Obama leads tributes to Star Trek actor BBC News, 28 February 2015
8. Sammarco, Anthony Mitchell (1998). Boston's West End. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing. p. 85. ISBN 0-7524-1257-4. LCCN 98087140. OCLC 40670283.
9. "Biography". The Official Leonard Nimoy Fan Club. Coventry, England: Maggy Edwards. Retrieved June 22, 2010.
10. "Leonard Simon Nimoy". Genealogy of Lucks, Kai and Related Families. Columbia, MD: Michael Lucks. Retrieved November 1, 2013.
11. ^ Ellin, Abby (May 13, 2007). "Girth and Nudity, a Pictorial Mission". The New York Times. Retrieved November 1, 2013.
12. ^ "Leonard Nimoy's Mameloshn: A Yiddish Story". Yiddish Book Center. February 6, 2014. Retrieved February 26, 2015.
13. "Leonard Nimoy Biography (1931–)". Film Reference. Hinsdale, IL: Advameg, Inc. Retrieved November 1, 2013.
14. "Leonard Nimoy". Yahoo! Movies. Sunnyvale, CA: Yahoo!. Retrieved November 1, 2013.
15. ^ Shatner, William (host) (January 6, 2009). "Leonard Nimoy". Shatner's Raw Nerve. Season 1. Episode 7. The Biography Channel.
16. ^ Fischer, Dennis (2000). Science Fiction Film Directors, 1895-1998. McFarland. pp. 480–492. ISBN 9780786460915.
17. ^ Diehl, Digby (August 25, 1968). "Girls All Want To Touch The Ears". The New York Times. p. 173. Retrieved February 27, 2015.
18. "Story Book: Legends from the Heights". Boston College Magazine. Chestnut Hill, MA: Office of Communications. Spring 2005. ISSN 0885-2049. Retrieved August 2, 2010. Adapted from Legends of Boston College (2004); Boston, MA: New Legends Press. ISBN 978-0-975-55070-0. OCLC 57510969.
19. "Dr. Leonard Nimoy" (PDF). Alumni News. Yellow Springs, OH: Antioch University McGregor. November 2000. Retrieved November 1, 2013.
20. Laskowski, Amy (May 22, 2012). "Leonard Nimoy Urges CFA Grads to 'Live Long and Prosper'". BU Today. Boston, MA: Marketing & Communications. Retrieved June 14, 2012.
21. "Famous Veteran: Leonard Nimoy". Military.com. Retrieved February 27, 2015.
22. "Nimoy, Leonard, SSG". Army: Together We Served. Retrieved February 28, 2015.
23. Curthoys, Kathleen (February 27, 2015). "Leonard Nimoy, a former soldier, dies at 83". Army Times.
24. "The Case of the Shoplifter's Shoe" at IMDb
25. Kleiner, Dick (December 4, 1967). "Mr. Spock's Trek To Stardom". Warsaw Times-Union. Warsaw, IN: Reub Williams & Sons, Inc. Newspaper Enterprise Association. p. 7. Retrieved May 7, 2011.
26. Chawkins, Steve (February 27, 2015). "Leonard Nimoy dies at 83; 'Star Trek's' transcendent alien Mr. Spock". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 1, 2015.
27. Branham, Stacy L. Nevada State Prison, Arcadia Publishing (2012) p. 50
28. "Night of Decision". Colt .45. Season 2. Episode 13. June 28, 1959. ABC. Retrieved November 1, 2013.
29. "Stage". Beyond Spock – A Leonard Nimoy Fan Page. Hamburg, Germany: Christine Mau. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
30. "Leonard Nimoy, Spock of ‘Star Trek,’ dead at 83", Fox News, Feb. 27, 2015
31. "Science Fiction". Pioneers of Television. Season 2. Episode 1. January 18, 2011. PBS. Retrieved November 1, 2013. "People: Leonard Nimoy".
32. Pogrebin, Abigail (2007) . Stars of David: Prominent Jews Talk About Being Jewish. New York: Broadway Books. p. 198. ISBN 978-0-7679-1613-4. LCCN 2005042141. OCLC 153581202.
33. "Leonard Nimoy: The Origin of Spock's Greeting – Greater Talent Network" on YouTube
34. Miller, Ken (August 8, 2012). "The man who would be Spock". Las Vegas Weekly. Henderson, NV: Greenspun Media Group. Retrieved June 14, 2014.
35. Isenberg, Barbara. Tradition!, St. Martin's Press (2014) p. 137
36. Gershom, Yonassan. Jewish Themes in Star Trek, (2009) Lulu p. 119
37. San Diego Magazine, Vol. 24, San Diego Publishing (1971)
38. Shervey, Beth Conway. The Little Theatre on the Square, Southern Illinois Univ. Press (2000) p. 41
39. ^ Sturgis, Amy H. Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine, #10, Volume 10, Wildside Press (2013) p. 41
40. Nimoy, Leonard. Vincent, Dramatic Publishing (1984)
41. Dill, Karen E. The Oxford Handbook of Media Psychology, Oxford Univ. Press (2013) p. 22
42. Harmetz, Aljean (October 30, 1988). "Leonard Nimoy at the Controls". The New York Times. Retrieved May 24, 2011.
43. Nimoy, Leonard; Quinto, Zachary (May 1, 2009). "Leonard Nimoy And Zachary Quinto: The Two Faces Of Spock". SuicideGirls (Interview). Interviewed by Nicole Powers. Los Angeles: Sg Services, Inc. Retrieved August 2, 2010. {{cite interview}}: Unknown parameter |subjectlink2= ignored (|subject-link2= suggested) (help)
44. "Y2K" on YouTube (excerpt). Bisley, Donnie (Director); Nimoy, Leonard (Host, Narrator) (1998). The Y2K Family Survival Guide. La Vergne, TN: Monarch Home Video (Distributor). OCLC 41107104.
45. "Leonard and Susan Nimoy Donate $1 Million to Griffith Observatory Renovation" (Press release). Los Angeles: Griffith Observatory. March 19, 2001. Retrieved November 1, 2013.
46. Snider, Mike (December 22, 2009). "Leonard Nimoy joins 'Star Trek Online' crew". USA Today. Tysons Corner, VA: Gannett Company. Retrieved November 1, 2013.
47. "Standby: Lights, Camera, Action". tv.com. Retrieved February 27, 2015.
48. O'Connor, Mickey (April 8, 2009). "Fringe: Meet Dr. William Bell". TVGuide.com. San Francisco, CA: CBS Interactive. Retrieved April 9, 2009.
49. T'Bonz (April 9, 2009). "Nimoy Joins Fringe". TrekToday. Utrecht, Netherlands: Christian Höhne Sparborth. Retrieved November 1, 2013.
50. Parker, Emerson (May 6, 2009). "TV Review: FRINGE – SEASON ONE – 'The Road Not Taken'". iFMagazine.com. Archived from the original on January 2, 2010. Retrieved November 1, 2013.
51. Jacobs, Matthew (February 27, 2015). "Zachary Quinto Pays Tribute To His Spock Predecessor Leonard Nimoy". The Huffington Post.
52. Nimoy (1995)
53. Simpson, Jeanmarie (October 5, 2011). "Jeanmarie Simpson – Artivist in the Modern Landscape (Part 2)". The Huffington Post (Interview). Interviewed by Dylan Brody. New York: AOL. Retrieved November 1, 2013. {{cite interview}}: Unknown parameter |subjectlink= ignored (|subject-link= suggested) (help)
54. Nimoy, Leonard (June 2007). "Exclusive Interview with Leonard Nimoy". Thanks to Leonard Nimoy (Interview). Interviewed by Margitta. Margitta. Retrieved June 14, 2012.
55. Kadosh, Dikla (June 28, 2007). "Youngest Torme, Shakespeare, photography, poetry, enamelwork". The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles. Los Angeles. Retrieved March 1, 2012.
56. "Mr. Spock Set to Hang Up His Pointy Ears". MSN Entertainment News. Redmond, WA: Microsoft. WENN. Retrieved November 1, 2013.
57. "Leonard Nimoy Confirms Return To Fringe". TrekMovie.com. SciFanatic Network. February 25, 2011. Retrieved November 1, 2013.
58. ^ "Watch: Leonard Nimoy Gets 'Lazy' In Bruno Mars Music Video [UPDATED]". TrekMovie.com. SciFanatic Network. May 26, 2011. Retrieved June 3, 2011.
59. "Listings – BIG BANG THEORY, THE". TheFutonCritic.com. Retrieved June 14, 2012.
60. Wyman, Joel (April 20, 2012). "JWFRINGE: @naddycat #FringeLiveTweet We did". Twitter. Retrieved May 5, 2012. We did.
61. Leonard Nimoy’s Passion for Photography, PetaPixel, February 27, 2015
62. B., Jared (May 24, 2007). "Leonard Nimoy's Love/Hate Relationship with Mr. Spock". Trekdom – Star Trek Fanzine (Blog). Retrieved November 1, 2013.
63. "The HyperTexts". Retrieved November 1, 2013.
64. "Two Sides Of Leonard Nimoy". The Musical Touch of Leonard Nimoy. Maidenwine.com. Retrieved May 29, 2011.
65. "The Musical Touch of Leonard Nimoy". The Musical Touch of Leonard Nimoy. Maidenwine.com. Retrieved May 29, 2011.
66. ^ Snider, John C. (2002). "Leonard Nimoy: Shedding Light on Shekhina". SciFiDimensions. Atlanta, GA: John Snider. Retrieved November 1, 2013.
67. Jaysen, Peter (Director) (2001). Mind Meld: Secrets Behind the Voyage of a Lifetime. Creative Light Video. ISBN 1931394156. OCLC 49221637.
68. "Star Trek 'drove Nimoy to drink'". BBC News. London: BBC. October 31, 2001. Retrieved August 2, 2010.
69. "Bring Back...Star Trek". Bring Back.... May 9, 2009. Channel 4. Retrieved November 1, 2013. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help)
70. "An interview of Leonard Nimoy-SuperstarSuperfans part2/2" on YouTube. Interview with Bob Wilkins from the mid-1970s.
71. Hively, Carol (January 12, 2010). "Space Foundation Recognizes Leonard Nimoy with Douglas S. Morrow Public Outreach Award" (Press release). Colorado Springs, Colorado: Space Foundation. Retrieved November 1, 2013.
72. Clark, Shaula (November 14, 2009). "Hardly Illogical: Leonard Nimoy Day, November 14". Boston Phoenix (Blog). Retrieved March 31, 2012.
73. Nichelle Nichols Remembers Leonard Nimoy: He Made Star Trek into TV History Adam Carlson, People.com February 28, 2015
74. Koenig: Leonard Nimoy Fought to get Nichelle Nichols Pay Equity for Star Trek + Nimoy Confirms Anthony Pascale, trekmovie.com, July 31, 2014
75. "Astronaut Salutes Nimoy From Orbit". NASA. February 28, 2015. Retrieved March 2, 2015.
76. Pawlowski, A. (February 27, 2015). "Diagnosed with COPD, Leonard Nimoy urged people to quit smoking". The Today Show. Retrieved February 28, 2015.
77. France, Lisa Respers (February 24, 2015). "Internet to Leonard Nimoy: Live long and prosper". CNN. Retrieved February 27, 2015.
78. Gee, Catherine (February 27, 2015). "Star Trek actor Leonard Nimoy dies aged 83". The Daily Telegraph.
79. "Leonard Nimoy Dies at the age of 83". Renegade Cinema. February 27, 2015. Retrieved February 27, 2015.
80. "Leonard Nimoy, Spock of 'Star Trek,' dead at 83". Fox News Channel. February 27, 2015. Retrieved February 27, 2015.
81. Rosen, Christopher (February 27, 2015). "William Shatner, George Takei Pay Tribute to Leonard Nimoy". The Huffington Post.
82. Koenig, Walter (February 28, 2015). "Chekov Remembers Spock: Walter Koenig On Leonard Nimoy". TIME. Retrieved February 28, 2015. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
83. Carlson, Adam (February 28, 2015). "Leonard Nimoy Dead: Nichelle Nichols Comments". People. Retrieved February 28, 2015.
84. Quinto, Zachary (February 27, 2015). "zacharyquinto – February 27, 2015". Retrieved February 27, 2015. my heart is broken. i love you profoundly my dear friend. and i will miss you everyday. may flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.
    McMillan, Graeme (February 27, 2015). "How the Internet Is Remembering the Legendary Leonard Nimoy". Wired.com. Wired. Retrieved February 28, 2015.
    
85. Korte, Gregory (February 27, 2015). "Obama on death of Leonard Nimoy: 'I loved Spock'". USA Today. Retrieved March 1, 2015. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
86. Aldrin, Buzz (February 28, 2015). "Buzz Aldrin: Leonard Nimoy, my fellow space traveler". CNN. Retrieved March 1, 2015.
87. Daum, Menachem (Producer, Director); Rudavsky, Oren (Producer, Director) (1997). A Life Apart: Hasidism In America (Motion picture). New York: First Run Features. OCLC 47827649. Retrieved November 1, 2013.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
88. Breznican, Anthony (March 31, 2011). "Leonard Nimoy joins 'Transformers: Dark of the Moon' voice cast – EXCLUSIVE". Entertainment Weekly. New York: Time division of Time Warner. Retrieved November 1, 2013.
89. Boston Museum of Science documentary New England Time Capsule.
90. Ausiello, Michael (February 29, 2012). "Big Bang Theory Exclusive: Leonard Nimoy Finally Agrees to Cameo – But There's a Twist!". TVLine. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved November 1, 2013.
91. "Return to the Magical Realm of Kingdom Hearts on September 7, 2010" (Press release). Los Angeles: Square Enix; Disney Interactive Studios. May 17, 2010. Retrieved August 2, 2010.
92. rad-Monkey (May 31, 2012). "The Voice Talent of KINGDOM HEARTS 3D" (Blog). Square Enix. Retrieved November 1, 2013.

External links

• Official website
• Leonard Nimoy at IMDb
• Leonard Nimoy at the TCM Movie Database
• Template:AllMovie name
• Leonard Nimoy's entry at Startrek.com
• Leonard Nimoy at Alien Voices
• Interview with Leonard Nimoy at hossli.com
• Leonard Nimoy Poetry and Photography on The HyperTexts
• Leonard Nimoy at The Interviews: An Oral History of Television
• 2010 Interview with Nimoy about his "Secret Selves" show at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art
• Bruno Mars – The Lazy Song (alternate official video) featuring Nimoy

Media

• Newsmaker of the Week: Leonard Nimoy (30-min. interview, free)
• Archive of American Television Interview with Leonard Nimoy November 2, 2000
• Interview with Leonard Nimoy about photography, on The Callie Crossley Show
• 2014 Interview with Leonard Nimoy about Spock, photography, and living with COPD

v t e Leonard Nimoy
Filmography Discography
Films directed	Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984) Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) Three Men and a Baby (1987) The Good Mother (1988) Body Wars (1989) Funny About Love (1990) Holy Matrimony (1994)
Discography	Leonard Nimoy Presents Mr. Spock's Music from Outer Space "The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins" Two Sides of Leonard Nimoy The Way I Feel The Touch of Leonard Nimoy The New World of Leonard Nimoy Highly Illogical Alien Voices
Books	I Am Not Spock I Am Spock Shekhina
Related	Adam Nimoy (son) Susan Bay (second wife) Primortals (comic book) Mind Meld (2001 documentary) For the Love of Spock (2016 documentary) Remembering Leonard Nimoy (2017 documentary) Symphony Space
Category

Template:Star Trek film crew

Template:Persondata

• Leonard Nimoy
• 1931 births
• 2015 deaths
• Deaths from lung disease
• Disease-related deaths in California
• 20th-century American male actors
• 21st-century American male actors
• American film directors
• American male film actors
• American male television actors
• American male video game actors
• American male voice actors
• American military personnel of the Korean War
• American people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent
• American male poets
• American television directors
• Antioch College alumni
• Dot Records artists
• English-language film directors
• Jewish American male actors
• Male actors from Boston, Massachusetts
• Science fiction film directors
• Singers from Massachusetts
• United States Army soldiers
• Yiddish-speaking people