Jump to content

Leonard Nimoy: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Content deleted Content added
External links: removing language links per WP:WDATA
Tag: Removal of all interwiki links; Wikidata is live
Jgconway (talk | contribs)
Whether Shatner could attend Nimoy’s funeral is a matter of dispute. Factually and simply, he did not attend.
 
Line 1: Line 1:
{{short description|American actor (1931–2015)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2012}}
{{Use American English|date=October 2023}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2023}}
{{Infobox person
{{Infobox person
| name = Leonard Nimoy
| birth_name = Leonard Simon Nimoy
| name =
| image = Leonard Nimoy by Gage Skidmore.jpg
| caption = Leonard Nimoy in 2011.
| image = Leonard Nimoy Mission Impossible.jpg
| caption = Nimoy in 1973
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|mf=yes|1931|3|26}}
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1931|3|26}}
| birth_place = [[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]], [[Massachusetts]], USA
| birth_place = [[Boston, Massachusetts]], U.S.
| birth_name = Leonard Simon Nimoy
| death_date =
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2015|2|27|1931|3|26}}
| death_place =
| death_place = [[Los Angeles, California]], U.S.
| resting_place = [[Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery]], [[Culver City, California]], U.S.
| death_cause =
| occupation = {{hlist|Actor|author|director|photographer|singer}}
| resting_place =
| years_active = 1950–2015<ref name="NYT-20150227" /><ref>{{cite news|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|title=Nimoy glad to be back with 'Fringe'|url=http://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/TV/2012/05/12/Nimoy-glad-to-be-back-with-Fringe/UPI-23651336833214|date=May 12, 2012|location=New York|publisher=[[News World Communications]]|work=[[United Press International]]|access-date=November 1, 2013}}</ref>
| nationality = American
| television = {{Ubl
| residence = [[Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles]], [[California]]
| ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series|Star Trek]]''
| home_town = Boston, Massachusetts
| ''[[Mission: Impossible (1966 TV series)|Mission: Impossible]]''
| television = [[Star Trek: The Original Series|''Star Trek'']]
}}
| occupation = Actor, film director, poet, photographer, singer, accordion player, songwriter
| spouse = {{Ubl
| years_active = 1951–present
| {{marriage|Sandra Zober|1954|1987|end=div}}
| spouse = Sandra Zober (1954–1987)<br />Susan Bay (1988–present)
| {{marriage|[[Susan Bay]]|January 1, 1989<!--Year omitted per Template:Marriage instructions-->}}

}}
| allegiance = {{Flag|United States of America}}
| children = {{flatlist|
| branch = [[File:United States Department of the Army Seal.svg|25px]] [[United States Army]]
* [[Julie Nimoy|Julie]]
| serviceyears = 1953-1955
* [[Adam Nimoy|Adam]]
| rank = [[File:Army-USA-OR-05.svg|40px]] [[Sergeant]]
}}
| battles = [[Korean War]]
| relatives = {{Plainlist|
* [[Jeff Nimoy]] (second cousin, once removed)
* [[Aaron Bay-Schuck]] (stepson)
* [[Michael Bay]] (cousin-in-law)
* [[Jonah Nimoy]] (grandson)
}}
| module = {{Infobox military person|embed=yes
| allegiance = <!-- United States; obvious -->
| branch = [[United States Army]]
| serviceyears = 1953–1955
| rank = Staff Sergeant
| servicenumber =
| unit = [[Special Services (entertainment)|Special Services]]
| battles =
| awards = }}
| module2 = {{Listen| embed=yes |filename = The Brain's Inner Workings - Part 1 - Structure and Function - Leonard Nimoy voice.ogg |title = Leonard Nimoy's voice |type = speech |description = for a documentary about the brain}}
}}
}}
'''Leonard Simon Nimoy''' ({{IPAc-en|icon|ˈ|n|iː|m|ɔɪ}} {{respell|NEE|moy}}; born March 26, 1931) is an American actor, film director, poet, singer, accordion player and photographer. Nimoy is best known for his role of [[Spock]] in [[Star Trek: The Original Series|the original ''Star Trek'' series]] (1966–1969), and in multiple film, television, and video game sequels.


'''Leonard Simon Nimoy''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|n|iː|m|ɔɪ}} {{respell|NEE|moy}}; March 26, 1931 – February 27, 2015) was an American actor and director,<!--NOTE: The lead sentence should stick to what he was primarily known for. The infobox is there to include additional occupations.--> famed for playing [[Spock]] in the ''[[Star Trek]]'' franchise for almost 50 years.<ref name="NYT-20150227" /> This includes [[Development of Spock|originating Spock]] in [[Star Trek: The Original Series|the original ''Star Trek'' series]] in 1966, then ''[[Star Trek: The Animated Series]]'', the first six [[List of Star Trek films|''Star Trek'' films]], ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'', [[Star Trek (2009 film)|the 2009 ''Star Trek'' film]], and ''[[Star Trek Into Darkness]]''. Nimoy also directed films, including ''[[Star Trek III: The Search for Spock]]'' (1984), ''[[Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home]]'' (1986), and ''[[Three Men and a Baby]]'' (1987), and his career included roles in music videos and video games.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Snaith|first=Kim|date=March 2, 2015|title=Spock did Video Games too: A homage to Leonard Nimoy|url=https://www.gamespew.com/2015/03/leonard_nimoy_video_games/|access-date=October 18, 2021|website=GameSpew|language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Mejia|first=Paula|date=February 28, 2015|title=Ten Memorable Leonard Nimoy Onscreen Appearances|url=https://www.newsweek.com/ten-memorable-leonard-nimoy-onscreen-appearances-310373|access-date=October 18, 2021|website=Newsweek|language=en}}</ref> In addition to acting and filmmaking, Nimoy was a photographer, author, singer, and songwriter.
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]]''. In 1953, he served in the [[United States Army]]. In 1965, he made his first appearance in the rejected ''Star Trek'' pilot, "[[The Cage (Star Trek: The Original Series)|The Cage]]", and would go on to play the character of Mr. Spock until 1969, followed by seven feature films and guest slots in various sequels. His character of Spock had a significant cultural impact and garnered Nimoy three [[Emmy Award]] nominations; ''[[TV Guide]]'' named Spock one of the 50 greatest TV characters.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/leonard-nimoy/photos/161833/4|title=Leonard Nimoy|accessdate=February 3, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ugo.com/tv/best-tv-characters-of-all-time/?cur=spock&morepics=1|title=Spock|work=Top 50 TV Characters|publisher=[[UGO]]|accessdate=February 3, 2009}}</ref> After the original ''Star Trek'' series, Nimoy starred in ''[[Mission: Impossible]]'' for two seasons, hosted the documentary series ''[[In Search of... (TV series)|In Search of...]]'', and narrated ''[[Civilization IV]]'', as well as making several well-received stage appearances.


Nimoy's [[Leonard Nimoy filmography|acting career]] began during his early twenties, teaching acting classes in Hollywood and making minor film and television appearances throughout the 1950s. From 1953 to 1955, he served in the [[United States Army]] as a Staff Sergeant in the [[Special Services (entertainment)|Special Services]], an entertainment branch of the [[United States Armed Forces|American military]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Military.com|date=February 12, 2019|title=Famous Veteran: Leonard Nimoy|url=https://www.military.com/veteran-jobs/career-advice/military-transition/famous-veteran-leonard-nimoy.html|access-date=October 15, 2021|website=Military.com|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Curthoys|first=Kathleen|date=February 27, 2015|title=Leonard Nimoy, a former soldier, dies at 83|url=https://www.armytimes.com/off-duty/movies-video-games/2015/02/27/leonard-nimoy-a-former-soldier-dies-at-82/|access-date=October 15, 2021|website=Army Times|language=en}}{{Dead link|date=October 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> He originated and developed Spock beginning with the February 1964 ''Star Trek'' television pilots "[[The Cage (Star Trek: The Original Series)|The Cage]]" and "[[Where No Man Has Gone Before]]", through series' end in early 1969, followed by eight feature films and guest appearances in spin-offs. From 1967 to 1970, Nimoy had a [[Leonard Nimoy discography|music career]] with [[Dot Records]], with his first and second albums mostly as Spock.<ref>{{Cite magazine|title=Leonard Nimoy Was So Much More Than Mr. Spock|url=https://time.com/3726395/leonard-nimoy-dead-career-besides-spock/|access-date=October 18, 2021|magazine=Time|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Highly Illogical? The singing career of Leonard Nimoy|url=https://www.metv.com/stories/highly-illogical-the-singing-career-of-leonard-nimoy|access-date=October 18, 2021|website=Me-TV Network|language=en}}</ref> After the original ''Star Trek'' series, Nimoy starred in ''[[Mission: Impossible (1966 TV series)|Mission: Impossible]]'' for two seasons, hosted the documentary series ''[[In Search of... (TV series)|In Search of...]]'', appeared in ''[[Columbo]]'', and made several well-received stage appearances.
Nimoy's fame as Spock is such that both his autobiographies, ''[[I Am Not Spock]]'' (1975) and ''[[I Am Spock]]'' (1995), detail his existence as being shared between the character and himself.<ref>Nimoy (1975) pp. 1–6.</ref><ref>Nimoy (1995), pp. 2–17.</ref>


Nimoy's portrayal of Spock made [[Cultural influence of Star Trek|a significant cultural impact]] and earned him three [[Emmy Award]] nominations.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/leonard-nimoy/bio/161833 |title=Leonard Nimoy: Biography |website=TVGuide.com |publisher=[[CBS Interactive]] |location=San Francisco, California |access-date=February 3, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ugo.com/tv/best-tv-characters-of-all-time/?cur=spock&morepics=1 |title=Spock |last=Jensen |first=K. Thor |date=November 20, 2008 |website=[[UGO Networks]] |publisher=[[IGN]] Entertainment, Inc. |location=San Francisco, CA |access-date=February 3, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080913050255/http://www.ugo.com/tv/best-tv-characters-of-all-time/?cur=spock&morepics=1 |archive-date=September 13, 2008 }}</ref> His public profile as Spock was so strong that both his autobiographies, ''[[I Am Not Spock]]'' (1975) and ''[[I Am Spock]]'' (1995), were written from the viewpoint of coexistence with the character.<ref>Nimoy (1975), pp. 1–6</ref><ref>Nimoy (1995), pp. 2–17</ref> Leonard Nimoy played the elder Spock, with [[Zachary Quinto]] portraying a younger Spock, in the 2009 [[Star Trek (2009 film)|''Star Trek'']] reboot film, directed by [[J. J. Abrams]]. In 2010, Nimoy announced that he was retiring from playing Spock, citing both his advanced age and the desire to give Quinto full media attention as the character.<ref name=":0" /> His final role as Spock was in the 2013 sequel, ''[[Star Trek Into Darkness]]''.<ref name="NYT-20150227" />
==Early life==
Nimoy was born in Boston, Massachusetts in the [[West End, Boston|West End]],<ref>Sommarco, Antssiahony Mitchell. Boston's West End. (Charleston: Arcadia Publishing, 1998) 85.</ref> to [[Yiddish]]-speaking Orthodox Jewish immigrants from [[Iziaslav, Ukraine|Iziaslav]], Soviet Union (now [[Ukraine]]). Nimoy is four days younger than his [[Star Trek]] co-star [[William Shatner]]. <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.theofficialleonardnimoyfanclub.com/Biography.html |title=The Official Leonard Nimoy Fan Club, Biography Page |accessdate=June 22, 2010 }}</ref><ref>[http://www.mlucks.com/genealogy/lucks/getperson.php?personID=I3854&tree=6 Leonard Simon Nimoy genealogy]</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/05/20/MNG5VPS5F71.DTL&feed=rss.news | title=Leonard Nimoy – a paladin for the plump / Ex-actor's images sing out in praise of naked plus-size body | first=Abby | last=Ellin | date=May 20, 2007 | work=The San Francisco Chronicle}}</ref><ref>[http://www.adherents.com/people/pn/Leonard_Nimoy.html Sfgate: Leonard Nimoy – a paladin for the plump]</ref> His father, Max Nimoy, owned a barbershop in the [[Mattapan]] section of the city. His mother, Dora Nimoy (née Spinner), was a homemaker.<ref>[http://www.filmreference.com/film/40/Leonard-Nimoy.html Leonard Nimoy Biography (1931–)<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref>[http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800021221/bio Leonard Nimoy Biography – Yahoo! Movies<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Nimoy began acting at the age of eight in 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.<ref name="rawnerve">"Leonard Nimoy". ''[[Shatner's Raw Nerve]]'', January 6, 2009.</ref> His first major role was at 17, as Ralphie in an amateur production of [[Clifford Odets]]' ''[[Awake and Sing!]]''.<ref>[http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/05/15/arts/nimoy.php From 'Spock': The beauty of big women – International Herald Tribune<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Nimoy took drama classes at [[Boston College]] in 1953 but failed to complete his studies,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bcm.bc.edu/issues/spring_2005/ll_legends.html |title=Story book – BCM – Spring 2005 |publisher=Bcm.bc.edu |accessdate=August 2, 2010}}</ref> and in the 1970s studied photography at the [[University of California, Los Angeles]].<ref name="rawnerve"/> He has an [[Master of Arts|MA]] in Education from [[Antioch College]], an honorary doctorate from [[Antioch University]] in Ohio,<ref>http://www.mcgregor.edu/PDF/alumni_news0011.pdf</ref> and an honorary doctorate of humane letters from [[Boston University]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Laskowski |first=Amy |url=http://www.bu.edu/today/2012/leonard-nimoy-urges-cfa-grads-to-live-long-and-prosper |title=Leonard Nimoy Urges CFA Grads to "Live Long and Prosper" &#124; BU Today &#124; Boston University |publisher=Bu.edu |date=2012-05-22 |accessdate=2012-06-14}}</ref>


Nimoy died in February 2015 after a long case of [[chronic obstructive pulmonary disease]] (COPD). His death was international news and was met with expressions of shock and grief by fans, ''Star Trek'' co-stars, scientists, celebrities, and the media.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Celebrities and scientists remember Leonard Nimoy|url=https://www.today.com/popculture/celebrities-scientists-remember-leonard-nimoy-t5791|access-date=October 15, 2021|website=TODAY.com|date=February 27, 2015 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|author=Variety Staff|date=February 27, 2015|title='Star Trek' Co-Stars William Shatner, George Takei Remember Leonard Nimoy|url=https://variety.com/2015/tv/people-news/leonard-nimoy-death-hollywood-reacts-twitter-1201443225/|access-date=October 15, 2021|website=Variety|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Obama Mourns Star Trek's Leonard Nimoy: 'I Loved Spock'|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/i-loved-spock-obama-mourns-star-treks-leonard-nimoy-n314461|access-date=October 15, 2021|website=NBC News|date=February 27, 2015 |language=en}}</ref> An [[asteroid]] was named [[4864 Nimoy]] in his honor.<ref name="planet">[http://www.inquisitr.com/2150132/leonard-nimoy-honored-asteroid-4864-nimoy-named-after-actor-who-played-star-treks-spock/ "Leonard Nimoy, Honored: Asteroid 4864 Nimoy Named After Actor Who Played 'Star Trek's' Spock"], ''Inquisitr'', June 6, 2015</ref> ''[[For the Love of Spock]]'' (2016) was produced by his son [[Adam Nimoy|Adam]] about his life and career, and ''[[Remembering Leonard Nimoy]]'' (2017) was produced by his daughter [[Julie Nimoy|Julie]] about his illness.<ref>[https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2016/09/08/for-the-love-of-spock-documentary-leonard-nimoy/89796538/ "New documentary by Leonard Nimoy's son honors both his dad and Spock"], ''USA Today'', September 8, 2016</ref>
Nimoy served as a sergeant in the U.S. Army from 1953 through 1955,<ref>[http://www.nndb.com/people/629/000022563/ NNDB Profile for actor Leonard Nimoy (accessed September 11, 2009)]</ref> alongside fellow actor [[Ken Berry]] and architect [[Frank Gehry]].


==Career==
== Early life ==
Leonard Simon Nimoy was born on March 26, 1931, in an Irish<ref>{{cite news |last1=Bernstein |first1=Adam |date=February 27, 2015 |title=Leonard Nimoy, a pop culture force as Spock of 'Star Trek,' dies at 83 |newspaper=[[Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/leonard-nimoy-a-pop-culture-force-as-spock-of-star-trek/2015/02/27/20867702-bea4-11e4-8668-4e7ba8439ca6_story.html |url-status=live |access-date=October 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20231001030323/https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/leonard-nimoy-a-pop-culture-force-as-spock-of-star-trek/2015/02/27/20867702-bea4-11e4-8668-4e7ba8439ca6_story.html |archive-date=October 1, 2023}}</ref> section of the [[West End, Boston|West End]]<ref name="yiddishbookcenter-nimoy-west-end">
*{{cite web |author1=Yiddish Book Center |title=Leonard Nimoy |url=https://archive.org/details/LeonardNimoy15Oct2013YiddishBookCenter |website=archive.org |access-date=October 11, 2022 |date=October 15, 2013}}
*{{cite web |title=Leonard Nimoy Remembers Boston's West End Neighborhood |url=https://www.yiddishbookcenter.org/collections/oral-histories/excerpts/woh-ex-0002348/leonard-nimoy-remembers-boston-s-west-end-neighborhood |website=Yiddish Book Center |access-date=October 11, 2022 |language=en}}
*{{cite news |title=A Look Into Leonard Nimoy's Time in Boston's West End |url=https://www.bdcwire.com/leonard-nimoy-boston/ |access-date=October 11, 2022 |work=BDCWire |date=February 26, 2015}}
*{{cite news |last1=Rosenbaum |first1=S.I. |title=Leonard Nimoy: An Alien from Boston |url=http://blog.thephoenix.com/BLOGS/laserorgy/archive/2011/05/09/nimoy.aspx |access-date=October 11, 2022 |work=[[The Phoenix (newspaper)|The Phoenix]] |date=May 9, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120324054712/http://blog.thephoenix.com/BLOGS/laserorgy/archive/2011/05/09/nimoy.aspx |archive-date=March 24, 2012}}
</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Sammarco |first=Anthony Mitchell |title=Boston's West End |year=1998 |publisher=[[Arcadia Publishing]] |location=Charleston, SC |page=[https://archive.org/details/bostonswestend00samm/page/85 85] |isbn=978-0-7524-1257-3 |oclc=40670283 |lccn=98087140 |ref=Sammarco |url=https://archive.org/details/bostonswestend00samm/page/85 }}</ref> of [[Boston|Boston, Massachusetts]], to Jewish immigrants from [[Iziaslav, Ukraine|Iziaslav]], [[Ukraine]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.theofficialleonardnimoyfanclub.com/Biography.html |title=Biography |website=The Official Leonard Nimoy Fan Club |publisher=Maggy Edwards |location=Coventry, England |access-date=June 22, 2010 |archive-date=May 14, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514052249/http://www.theofficialleonardnimoyfanclub.com/Biography.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Leonard Simon Nimoy |url=http://www.mlucks.com/genealogy/lucks/getperson.php?personID=I3854&tree=6 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20231001030909/https://www.mlucks.com/genealogy/lucks/getperson.php?personID=I3854&tree=6 |archive-date=October 1, 2023 |access-date=November 1, 2013 |website=Genealogy of Lucks, Kai and Related Families |publisher=Michael Lucks |location=Columbia, MD}}</ref><ref name="Ellin">{{cite news |last=Ellin |first=Abby |date=May 13, 2007 |title=Girth and Nudity, a Pictorial Mission |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/13/fashion/13nimoy.html?pagewanted=print&_r=0 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=November 1, 2013}}</ref> His parents left Iziaslav separately, his father first walking over the border into Poland while his mother and grandmother were smuggled out of the [[Soviet Union]] in a horse-drawn wagon by hiding under bales of hay.<ref name=Shatner />{{rp|7}} They reunited after arriving in the United States.<ref name="yiddish">{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QAYvI5CC5s | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/9QAYvI5CC5s| archive-date=December 11, 2021 | url-status=live|title=Leonard Nimoy's Mameloshn: A Yiddish Story |publisher=Yiddish Book Center|date=February 6, 2014 |access-date=February 26, 2015 }}{{cbignore}}</ref> His mother, Dora (née Spinner; 1904–1987), was a homemaker, and his father, Max Nimoy (1901–1987), owned a barbershop in the [[Mattapan]] section of Boston.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Boston City Directory |publisher=Sampson & Murdock company |year=1963 |pages=1308 |language=English}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Gerber |first=Barbara |date=July 1962 |title=First haircut by Leonard Nimoy's (Dr. Spock's) father, 1962 |url=https://openarchives.umb.edu/digital/collection/p15774coll6/id/5139 |access-date=October 1, 2023 |website=openarchives.umb.edu |language=en}}</ref> He had an elder brother, Melvin (1926–2022).<ref name="NYT-20150227">{{cite news |last=Heffernan |first=Virginia |author-link=Virginia Heffernan |title=Leonard Nimoy, Spock of 'Star Trek,' Dies at 82|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/27/arts/television/leonard-nimoy-spock-of-star-trek-dies-at-83.html |date=February 27, 2015 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=February 27, 2015 }}</ref>


As a child, Nimoy took miscellaneous jobs to supplement his family's income, including selling newspapers and greeting cards, shining shoes, or setting up chairs in theaters, and when he got older, selling vacuum cleaners.<ref name=Shatner />{{rp|12}} He began acting at the age of eight in a children's and neighborhood theater.<ref name="yiddish" /> His parents wanted him to attend college and pursue a stable career, or even learn to play the [[accordion]], so he could always make a living, but his grandfather encouraged him to do what he then wanted to do most, which was acting.<ref name="rawnerve">{{cite episode |title=Leonard Nimoy |series=[[Shatner's Raw Nerve]] |date=January 6, 2009 |url=http://www.biography.com/tv/shatners-raw-nerve/episodes/07-leonard-nimoy |network=[[FYI (American TV channel)|The Biography Channel]] |season=1 |number=7 |last=Shatner |first=William (host) |author-link=William Shatner}}</ref> Nimoy realized he had an aptitude for singing, which he developed in his synagogue's choir.<ref name=Shatner />{{rp|17}} His singing during his [[bar mitzvah]] at age 13 was so good he was asked to repeat his performance the following week at another synagogue. [[William Shatner]] said, "He is still the only man I know whose voice was two bar mitzvahs good!"<ref name=Shatner />{{rp|18}}
===Stage and screen===
{{unreliable sources|section|date=September 2012}}
Nimoy's film and television acting career began in 1951, but after receiving the title role in the 1952 film ''[[Kid Monk Baroni]]'', a story about a street punk turned professional boxer, he played more than 50 small parts in B movies, TV shows such as ''[[Perry Mason (TV series)|Perry Mason]]'',<ref>{{cite web|title=The Case of the Shoplifter's Shoe|url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0673388/}}</ref> and ''[[Dragnet (drama)|Dragnet]]'', and [[Serial (film)|serials]] such as [[Republic Pictures]]' ''[[Zombies of the Stratosphere]]'' (1952). To support his family Nimoy often worked other jobs, such as delivering newspapers in the morning.<ref name="kleiner19671204">{{cite news | url=http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=B7dGAAAAIBAJ&sjid=tHsMAAAAIBAJ&pg=3727,498929 | title=Mr. Spock's Trek To Stardom | work=Warsaw Times-Union | date=December 4, 1967 | agency=Newspaper Enterprise Association | accessdate=May 7, 2011 | author=Kleiner, Dick | location=Warsaw, Indiana | page=7}}</ref>


His first major role was at 17, as Ralphie in an amateur production of [[Clifford Odets]]'s ''[[Awake and Sing!]]'',<ref name="Ellin" /> about the struggles of a matriarchal Jewish family similar to his during the [[Great Depression in the United States|Great Depression]]. He said, "Playing this teenage kid in this Jewish family that was so much like mine was amazing{{nbsp}}... The same dynamics, the same tensions in the household."<ref>Pogrebin, Abigail. ''Stars of David'', Broadway Books (2005) p. 197</ref> The role "lit a passion" that led to his acting career, saying "I never wanted to do anything else."<ref name=Fischer>{{cite book|author=Fischer, Dennis|title=Science Fiction Film Directors, 1895–1998|publisher=McFarland|year=2000|pages=480–492|isbn=978-0-7864-6091-5}}</ref> Shatner has said that Nimoy also worked on local radio shows for children, often [[voice acting]] Bible stories:
He played an Army sergeant in the 1954 science fiction thriller, ''[[Them!]]'', a professor in the 1958 science fiction movie ''[[The Brain Eaters]]'', and had a role in ''[[The Balcony (film)|The Balcony]]'' (1963), a film adaptation of the [[Jean Genet]] [[The Balcony|play]]. Together with [[Vic Morrow]], he produced a 1966 version of [[Deathwatch (1966 film)|''Deathwatch'']], an English language film version of Genet's play [[Deathwatch (play)|''Haute Surveillance'']], adapted and directed by Morrow and starring Nimoy.
{{blockquote|Obviously, there was something symbolic about that. Many years later as Captain Kirk, I would be busy rescuing civilizations in distress on distant planets while Leonard's Mr. Spock would be examining the morality of man- and alienkind.<ref name=Shatner />{{rp|17}}}}


Nimoy took drama classes at [[Boston College]], and after moving to [[Los Angeles]], he used $600 he saved from selling vacuum cleaners to enroll at the [[Pasadena Playhouse]], supporting himself by being a theatre usher, taxicab driver and stocking vending machines.<ref name="diehl19680825">{{cite news | url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1968/08/25/91290697.html?pageNumber=173 | title=Girls All Want To Touch The Ears | work=The New York Times | date=August 25, 1968 | access-date=February 27, 2015 | author=Diehl, Digby | pages=173}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Goodyear |first=Dana |date=December 25, 2023 |title=Mr. Spock's Widow Puts on a Show |magazine=[[The New Yorker]] |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/01/01/mr-spocks-widow-puts-on-a-show |access-date=December 31, 2023 |issn=0028-792X}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |date=Spring 2005 |title=Story Book: Legends from the Heights |url=http://bcm.bc.edu/issues/spring_2005/ll_legends.html |journal=Boston College Magazine |issn=0885-2049 |access-date=August 2, 2010 |archive-date=September 21, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110921213619/http://bcm.bc.edu/issues/spring_2005/ll_legends.html |url-status=dead }} Adapted from ''Legends of Boston College'' (2004); Boston, MA: New Legends Press. {{ISBN|978-0-975-55070-0}}. {{OCLC|57510969}}.</ref>{{r|darrach19770725}} However, he was soon disillusioned and quit after six months, feeling that the acting skills he had already acquired from earlier roles were more advanced: "I thought, I have to study here three years in order to do this level of work, and I'm already doing better work".<ref name=Shatner>Shatner, William. ''Leonard: My Fifty-Year Friendship with a Remarkable Man'', St. Martin's Press N.Y. (2016), {{ISBN|978-1250083319}}</ref>{{rp|25}}
On television Nimoy appeared as "Sonarman" in two episodes of the 1957–1958 [[Television syndication|syndicated]] military drama, ''[[The Silent Service (TV series)|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 had a minor role in 1961 in ''[[The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)|The Twilight Zone]]'' episode "[[A Quality of Mercy]]". He also appeared in the syndicated ''[[Highway Patrol (TV series)|Highway Patrol]]''. starring [[Broderick Crawford]].


He became a devotee of [[method acting]] concepts derived from the teachings of [[Konstantin Stanislavsky]], realizing the stage allowed him to explore his original inspirations for acting: the "psychological, emotional, and physical territories of life that can't be done anywhere else".<ref name=Fischer />{{rp|481}} Like his method actor role model, [[Marlon Brando]], Nimoy wore jeans and T-shirts. Between studies, he took a job at an ice cream parlor on the [[Sunset Strip]].<ref name=Fischer />{{rp|481}}
In 1959, Nimoy he was cast as Luke Reid in the episode "Night of Decision" of the [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]/[[Warner Brothers]] [[Western (genre)|western]] series, ''[[Colt .45 (TV series)|Colt .45]]'', starring [[Wayde Preston]]. The episode was directed by [[Leslie H. Martinson]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ctva.biz/US/Western/Colt45.htm|title=''[[Colt .45 (TV series)|Colt .45]]''|publisher=ctva.biz|accessdate=December 22, 2012}}</ref>


In 1953, Nimoy enlisted in the [[United States Army Reserve]] at [[Fort McPherson]] Georgia, serving for 18 months until 1955, leaving as a Staff Sergeant. He had been in the [[Special Services (entertainment)|Army Special Services]], putting on shows which he wrote, narrated, and emceed.<ref name="Military">{{cite web | title = Famous Veteran: Leonard Nimoy | publisher =Military.com | url =http://www.military.com/veteran-jobs/career-advice/military-transition/famous-veteran-leonard-nimoy.html | access-date = February 27, 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Nimoy, Leonard, S/SGT {{!}} TWS |url=https://army.togetherweserved.com/army/servlet/tws.webapp.WebApps?cmd=ShadowBoxProfile&type=Person&ID=350515 |access-date=October 1, 2023 |website=army.togetherweserved.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Curthoys |first=Kathleen |date=February 27, 2015 |title=Leonard Nimoy, a former soldier, dies at 83 |url=https://www.armytimes.com/off-duty/movies-video-games/2015/02/27/leonard-nimoy-a-former-soldier-dies-at-83/ |access-date=October 1, 2023 |website=Army Times |language=en}}</ref> One of his soldiers was [[Ken Berry]], whom he encouraged to go into acting as a civilian and helped contact agents.<ref>{{cite news |last=Gates |first=Anita |date=December 2, 2018 |title=Ken Berry, Star of 'F Troop' and 'Mama's Family,' Dies at 85 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/02/obituaries/ken-berry-dies-at-85.html |newspaper=The New York Times |location=New York City |access-date=December 4, 2018}}</ref> During that period, he directed and starred in ''[[A Streetcar Named Desire (play)|A Streetcar Named Desire]]'', with the Atlanta Theater Guild.<ref name=Fischer />{{rp|481}}{{efn|In 2002, the [[Military Personnel Records Center]] reported that Nimoy's entire Army personnel file had been destroyed in the [[National Personnel Records Center fire]] of 1973. A reconstructed file, containing a pay sheet and some personal details, was then created and placed in the agency's security vault for high-profile military service records.<ref>"Freedom of Information Act Request, Leonard Nimoy", NPRC-NARA, published March 13, 2002</ref>}} Soon after he was discharged, his wife Sandi was pregnant with their second child, and they rented an apartment while he became a cab driver in Los Angeles.<ref name=Shatner />{{rp|41}} He once picked up Senator [[John F. Kennedy]] at the [[Bel Air Hotel]] in 1956, before the [[1956 Democratic National Convention|Democratic Convention]] began on August 13. As the Senator was not carrying any cash, Nimoy had to follow him into the [[Beverly Hilton]] to collect his $1.25 from someone Kennedy knew. He got a $1.75 tip.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://metv.com/stories/spock-once-picked-up-jfk-in-his-cab |title=Spock once picked Up JFK in his cab |publisher=metv |date=May 11, 2023 |accessdate=May 13, 2023}}</ref>
Nimoy appeared three 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), and Joaquin Delgado in "The Tiburcio Mendez Story" (1961).


== Acting career ==
Throughout the 1960s, Nimoy appeared in ''[[Bonanza]]'' (1960), ''[[The Rebel (TV series)|The Rebel]]'' (1960), ''[[Two Faces West]]'' (1961), ''[[Rawhide (TV series)|Rawhide]]'' (episode, Incident Before Black Pass. 1961), ''[[The Untouchables (1959 TV series)|The Untouchables]]'' (1962), ''[[The Eleventh Hour (1962 TV series)|The Eleventh Hour]]'' (1962), ''[[Combat!]]'' (1963, 1965), ''[[Daniel Boone (TV series)|Daniel Boone]]'', ''[[The Outer Limits (1963 TV series)|The Outer Limits]]'' (1964), ''[[The Virginian (TV series)|The Virginian]]'' (1965), ''[[Get Smart]]'' (1966), and ''[[Mission Impossible (TV series)]] ''(1969-1971). He appeared again in the 1995 ''[[The Outer Limits (1995 TV series)|Outer Limits]]'' series.


=== Before and during ''Star Trek'' ===
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. This play was staged at the Pheasant Run Playhouse in St. Charles, Illinois (which has since been closed).<ref>{{cite web|last=Roufs|first=David|title=A Visit to a Small Planet|url=http://www.beyondspock.de/stage.php|work=Billboard, March 23, 1968; p.46|work=The Billboard|accessdate=July 12, 2011}}</ref>
{{multiple image
| align = right
| direction = vertical
| header = In ''[[Kid Monk Baroni]]'' (1952)
| image1 = Kid Monk Baroni 2.jpg
| image2 = Kid Monk Baroni 1.jpg
| caption2 = With Richard Rober (top) and [[Kathleen Freeman]] (bottom)
}}
Nimoy spent more than a decade playing only small parts in [[B movies]] and the lead in one, along with a minor TV role.<ref name="darrach19770725">{{cite news | url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20068391,00.html | title=Leonard Nimoy Beams Himself Aboard 'Equus' and Out from Under Mr. Spock's Pointy Ears | work=People | date=July 25, 1977 | access-date=March 2, 2015 | author=Darrach, Brad}}</ref> He believed his performance as the title role in the 1952 film ''[[Kid Monk Baroni]]'' would make him a star, but the film failed after a brief cinema showing. During his military career, the film gained a larger audience on television, and after his discharge he got steadier work portraying a "heavy", where his character used street weapons like switchblades and guns or had to threaten or attack people.{{r|diehl19680825}} He overcame his [[Boston accent]], but realized his lean appearance made stardom unlikely.{{r|darrach19770725}}


He decided to be a supporting actor rather than take lead roles, an attitude he acquired from his childhood: "I'm a second child who was educated to the idea my older brother was to be given respect and not perturbed. I was not to upstage him{{nbsp}}[...] So my acting career was designed to be a supporting player, a character actor."<ref name=Shatner />{{rp|25}} He played more than 50 small parts in B movies, television series such as ''[[Perry Mason (1957 TV series)|Perry Mason]]'' and ''[[Dragnet (franchise)|Dragnet]]'', and [[Serial film|serials]] such as ''[[Zombies of the Stratosphere]]'' (1952), in which he played a Martian named Narab. To support a wife and two children, he often took other work, such as delivering newspapers, working in a pet shop, and driving cabs.<ref name="kleiner19671204">{{cite news |last=Kleiner |first=Dick |author-link=Dick Kleiner |date=December 4, 1967 |title=Mr. Spock's Trek To Stardom |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=B7dGAAAAIBAJ&pg=3727,498929 |newspaper=Warsaw Times-Union |location=Warsaw, IN |publisher=Reub Williams & Sons, Inc. |agency=[[Newspaper Enterprise Association]] |page=7 |access-date=May 7, 2011}}</ref>{{r|darrach19770725}}<ref name="chawkins20150227">{{cite news | url=http://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-leonard-nimoy-20150227-story.html | title=Leonard Nimoy dies at 83; 'Star Trek's' transcendent alien Mr. Spock | work=Los Angeles Times | date=February 27, 2015 | access-date=March 1, 2015 | last=Chawkins | first=Steve}}</ref>
[[File:Leonard Nimoy William Shatner Star Trek 1968.JPG|thumb|180px|Nimoy as Spock with William Shatner as Kirk, 1968.]]
Nimoy and [[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 predictably{{opinion|date=September 2012}} the villain, with Shatner playing a reluctant U.N.C.L.E. recruit.


Nimoy 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 (film)|The Balcony]]'' (1963), a film adaptation of the [[Jean Genet]] [[The Balcony|play]]. With [[Vic Morrow]], he co-produced ''[[Deathwatch (1965 film)|Deathwatch]]'', a 1965 English-language film version of Genet's play [[Deathwatch (play)|''Haute Surveillance'']], adapted and directed by Morrow and starring Nimoy. The story deals 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".<ref>Branham, Stacy L. ''Nevada State Prison'', Arcadia Publishing (2012) p. 50</ref>
Nimoy first worked with [[DeForest Kelley]] in "Man of Violence", a season two episode of ''[[The Virginian (TV series)|The Virginian]]''.


He had guest roles in the ''[[Sea Hunt]]'' series from 1958 to 1960 and a minor role in the 1961 ''[[The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)|The Twilight Zone]]'' episode "[[A Quality of Mercy]]". He also appeared in the syndicated ''[[Highway Patrol (American TV series)|Highway Patrol]]'' starring [[Broderick Crawford]],<ref>{{cite news|last1=Guttenberg|first1=Steve|last2=Higgins|first2=Bill|url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/leonard-nimoy-remembered-by-three-779357|title=Leonard Nimoy Remembered by ''Three Men and a Baby'' Star Steve Guttenberg|work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|date=March 5, 2015|access-date=March 8, 2015}}</ref> and as Luke Reid in the "Night of Decision" episode of the [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]/[[Warner Bros.]] [[Western (genre)|western]] series ''[[Colt .45 (TV series)|Colt .45]]''.<ref>{{cite episode |title=Night of Decision |url=http://ctva.biz/US/Western/Colt45_02_%281958-59%29.htm |access-date=November 1, 2013 |series=[[Colt .45 (TV series)|Colt .45]] |network=[[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] |date=June 28, 1959 |season=2 |number=13}}</ref>
===''Star Trek''===
{{unreliable sources|section|date=September 2012}}
{{rquote|right|For the first time I had a job that lasted longer than two weeks and a dressing room with my name painted on the door and not chalked on|Nimoy, on being cast as Spock{{r|harmetz19881030}}}}
Nimoy's greatest prominence came from his role in the original ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series|Star Trek]]'' series. As the half-[[Vulcan (Star Trek)|Vulcan]], half-human [[Spock]]—a role he chose instead of one on the soap opera ''[[Peyton Place (TV series)|Peyton Place]]''—Nimoy became a star, and the press predicted that he would "have his choice of movies or television series."{{r|kleiner19671204}} He formed a long-standing friendship with Shatner, who portrayed his commanding officer, saying of their relationship, "We were like brothers."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pbs.org/opb/pioneersoftelevision/pioneering-people/leonard-nimoy/|title=Pioneers of Television: Leonard Nimoy|accessdate=January 5, 2010}}</ref> ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series]]'' was broadcast from 1966 to 1969. Nimoy earned three [[Emmy]] nominations for his work on the iconic program that has defined American television science fiction, both for fans of science fiction, and beyond.{{or|date=September 2012}}


Nimoy appeared four times in ethnic roles on [[NBC]]'s ''[[Wagon Train]]'', the number one rated program of the 1961–1962 season. 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).<ref>{{Citation|last=Vogel|first=Virgil W.|title=The Baylor Crowfoot Story|date=March 21, 1962|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0743040/|others=John McIntire, Robert Horton, Robert Culp|access-date=January 31, 2018}}</ref><ref name="Lentz1996">{{cite book|author=Harris M. Lentz|title=Western and Frontier Film and Television Credits 1903–1995: Section I. Actors and actresses. Section II. Directors, producers, and writers|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eWVZAAAAMAAJ|year=1996|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0-7864-0217-5|page=592}}</ref>
He went on to reprise the Spock character in ''[[Star Trek: The Animated Series]]'' and two episodes of ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]''. The [[Star Trek (film series)|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 (film)|''Star Trek'' movie]], directed by [[J. J. Abrams]].


Nimoy appeared in numerous episodes of ''[[Gunsmoke]]'', as well as in ''Steve Canyon'' (1959), ''[[Bonanza]]'' (1960), ''[[The Rebel (American TV series)|The Rebel]]'' (1960), ''[[Two Faces West]]'' (1961), ''[[Laramie (TV series)|Laramie]]'' (1961), ''[[Rawhide (TV series)|Rawhide]]'' (1961), ''[[The Untouchables (1959 TV series)|The Untouchables]]'' (1962), ''[[The Eleventh Hour (1962 TV series)|The Eleventh Hour]]'' (1962), ''[[Perry Mason (1957 TV series)|Perry Mason]]'' (1963), ''[[Combat!]]'' (1963, 1965), ''[[Daniel Boone (1964 TV series)|Daniel Boone]]'', ''[[The Outer Limits (1963 TV series)|The Outer Limits]]'' (1964), ''[[The Virginian (TV series)|The Virginian]]'' (1963–1965; first working with ''Star Trek'' co-star [[DeForest Kelley]] in "Man of Violence", episode 14 of season 2, in 1963), and ''[[Get Smart]]'' (1966). He appeared in the 1995 ''[[The Outer Limits (1995 TV series)|Outer Limits]]'' series. He appeared on ''[[Gunsmoke]]'' in 1961 as Grice, in 1962 as Arnie, and in 1966 as John Walking Fox.<ref>{{cite web|title=Leonard Nimoy on Gunsmoke|url=http://gunsmoketv.org/leonard-nimoy/|website=gunsmoketv.org|access-date=May 14, 2015|archive-date=May 31, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150531032720/http://gunsmoketv.org/leonard-nimoy/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
[[File:Leonard Nimoy, 2011, ST Con-2.jpg|thumb|left|Nimoy giving the Vulcan salute in 2011]]
[[File:Leonard Nimoy William Shatner Star Trek 1968.JPG|thumb|upright|Publicity photo of Nimoy as [[Spock]], alongside [[William Shatner]] as Captain [[James T. Kirk]]]]
Spock's [[Vulcan salute]] became a recognized symbol of the show and was identified with him. Nimoy created the sign himself from his childhood memories of the way ''[[kohanim]]'' (Jewish priests) held their hand when giving blessings. During an interview, he translated the [[Priestly Blessing]] which accompanied the sign<ref>Pogrebin, Abigail. ''[[Stars of David: Prominent Jews Talk About Being Jewish]]'', Random House (2007) p. 198</ref> and described it during a public lecture:<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1d83XOORP0 "YouTube – Leonard Nimoy: The Origin of Spock's Greeting"]</ref>


Nimoy and ''Star Trek'' co-star [[William Shatner]] first worked together on an episode of the NBC spy series ''[[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 appearance, Nimoy played the villain and Shatner played a reluctant U.N.C.L.E. recruit.<ref name="Sackett1993">{{cite book|first=Susan |last=Sackett|title=Prime-time hits: television's most popular network programs, 1950 to the present|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=viLuAAAAMAAJ|date=September 1993|publisher=Billboard Books|isbn=978-0-8230-8392-3|page=82 |quote=One classic episode (now available on video- cassette) was "The Project Strigas Affair," with guest stars William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy together for the first time in their pre-"Star Trek" days.}}</ref>
:''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.''


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]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.beyondspock.de/stage.php |title=Stage |website=Beyond Spock – A Leonard Nimoy Fan Page |publisher=Christine Mau |location=Hamburg, Germany |access-date=July 12, 2011}}</ref>
Nimoy was asked to read these verses as part of his narration for ''[[Civilization IV]]''.{{citation needed|date=April 2012}}


===After ''Star Trek''===
=== ''Star Trek'' ===
{{quote box|align=right|width=50%|bgcolor =|quote=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.|source=Matt Atchity, editor-in-chief of [[Rotten Tomatoes]]<ref>[https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/leonard-nimoy-spock-of-star-trek-dead-at-83/ "Leonard Nimoy, Spock of 'Star Trek', dead at 83"], Fox News, Feb. 27, 2015</ref>}}


Nimoy was best known for his portrayal of [[Spock]], the half-human, half-[[Vulcan (Star Trek)|Vulcan]] character he played on ''[[Star Trek]]'' from the first TV episode in 1966 to the film ''[[Star Trek Into Darkness]]'' in 2013.<ref name="NYT-20150227" /><ref name=BBC /> According to biographer Dennis Fischer, Spock was Nimoy's "most important role".<ref name=Fischer />{{rp|482}} Spock became an icon and one of the most popular alien characters ever featured on television. Viewers admired his composure and intellect and his ability to take on any task successfully. As a result, Nimoy's character "took the public by storm", nearly eclipsing the star of the series, [[William Shatner]]'s Captain Kirk, adds Fischer.<ref name="Fischer" />{{rp|482}} Nimoy was later credited for bringing "dignity and intelligence to one of the most revered characters in science fiction".<ref name="Morrow" /><!-- Cites paragraph. -->
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 the [[List of Mission: Impossible episodes#Season 4|fourth and fifth seasons]] of the show from 1969 to 1971.


Nimoy and Shatner, who portrayed his commanding officer, became close friends during the series' television run, and were "like brothers", according to Shatner.<ref>{{cite episode |title=Science Fiction |url=https://www.pbs.org/wnet/pioneers-of-television/pioneering-programs/science-fiction/ |access-date=November 1, 2013 |series=Pioneers of Television |network=[[PBS]] |date=January 18, 2011 |season=2 |number=1}} [https://www.pbs.org/wnet/pioneers-of-television/pioneering-people/leonard-nimoy/ "People: Leonard Nimoy"].</ref> ''Star Trek'' was broadcast from 1966 to 1969. For his role as Spock, Nimoy was nominated three times for an [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series|Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series]], and has long remained the only ''Star Trek'' actor nominated for an [[Emmy Award|Emmy]].<ref>{{cite web|date=February 28, 2015|title=Leonard Nimoy Dies at Age 83: 7 Things You Didn't Know About Star Trek's Spock|url=https://www.eonline.com/news/630585/leonard-nimoy-dies-at-age-83-read-7-fascinating-facts-about-the-iconic-actor-who-played-star-trek-s-spock|access-date=November 16, 2020|website=E! Online}}</ref>
[[File:Leonard Nimoy 1972.jpg|thumb|left|Nimoy in 1972]]


Among Spock's recognized and unique symbols Nimoy incorporated into the series is the [[Vulcan salute]], which became identified with him in pop culture. Nimoy created the sign from his childhood memories of the way ''[[Kohen|kohanim]]'' (Jewish priests) hold their hands when giving the [[Priestly Blessing]]. The accompanying spoken blessing is "Live long and prosper".<ref>{{cite book |last=Pogrebin |first=Abigail |author-link=Abigail Pogrebin |title=Stars of David: Prominent Jews Talk About Being Jewish |orig-year=Originally published 2005 |year=2007 |publisher=[[Broadway Books]] |location=New York |page=198 |isbn=978-0-7679-1613-4 |oclc=153581202 |lccn=2005042141|title-link=Stars of David: Prominent Jews Talk About Being Jewish }}</ref><ref>{{YouTube|id=G1d83XOORP0|title="Leonard Nimoy: The Origin of Spock's Greeting – Greater Talent Network"|link=no}}</ref>
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 (TV series)|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 (TV miniseries)|Marco Polo]]'' (1982). He received an [[Emmy award]] nomination for best supporting actor for the TV film ''[[A Woman Called Golda]]'' (1982).


Nimoy conceived 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 director that Spock had, per the story, attended the Vulcan Institute of Technology and had studied human anatomy. Spock possessed 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 and made it work on screen.<ref name=Fischer />{{rp|482}}
In 1975, Leonard Nimoy filmed an opening introduction to Ripley's [[World of the Unexplained museum]] located at [[Gatlinburg, Tennessee]] and [[Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco|Fisherman's Wharf]] at [[San Francisco]], California. In the late 1970s, he hosted and narrated the television series ''[[In Search of... (TV series)|In Search of...]]'', which investigated paranormal or unexplained events or subjects. He also has a memorable character part as a psychiatrist in [[Philip Kaufman]]'s remake of ''[[Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978 film)|Invasion of the Body Snatchers]]''.


Nimoy reprised Spock in ''[[Star Trek: The Animated Series]]'' and two episodes of ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]''. When the new series ''[[Star Trek: Phase II]]'' was planned in the late 1970s, Nimoy was to be in only two of eleven episodes, but when the series was elevated to a feature film, he agreed to reprise his role. The [[List of Star Trek films#The Original Series films|first six ''Star Trek'' movies]] feature the original cast including Nimoy, who also directed two of the films, ''[[Star Trek III: The Search for Spock]]'' and ''[[Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home]]''. He played the elder Spock in the 2009 [[Star Trek (2009 film)|''Star Trek'']] reboot film and briefly in the 2013 sequel, ''[[Star Trek Into Darkness]]'', both directed by [[J. J. Abrams]].
During this time, Nimoy also won acclaim for a series of stage roles. He appeared in such plays as ''[[Vincent]]'', ''[[Fiddler on the Roof]]'', ''[[The Man in the Glass Booth]]'', ''[[Oliver!]]'', ''Six Rms Riv Vu'', ''[[Full Circle]]''{{Disambiguation needed|date=June 2011}}, ''[[Camelot (musical)|Camelot]]'', ''[[One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (play)|One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest]]'', ''[[The King and I]]'', ''[[Caligula (play)|Caligula]]'', ''The Four Poster'', ''[[Twelfth Night]]'', ''[[Sherlock Holmes]]'', ''[[Equus (play)|Equus]]'' and ''[[My Fair Lady]]''.


===''Star Trek'' films===
=== After ''Star Trek'' ===
[[File:Leonard nimoy 1980.jpg|thumb|right|Nimoy signing autographs at a Star Trek convention, c. 1980]]
[[File:Leonard Nimoy Mission Impossible 1970 (cropped).jpg|thumb|Nimoy in a [[Mission: Impossible (1966 TV series)|''Mission: Impossible'']] photoshoot in 1970|218x218px]]
Following ''Star Trek'' in 1969, Nimoy immediately joined the cast of the spy series ''[[Mission: Impossible (1966 TV 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, "[[List of Mission: Impossible characters#The Great Paris|The Great Paris]]". He played the role during [[Mission: Impossible season 4|seasons four]] and [[Mission: Impossible season 5|five]] from 1969 to 1971. Nimoy had been strongly considered as part of the initial cast for the show, but remained on ''Star Trek''.<ref>{{cite news |last=Miller |first=Ken |date=August 8, 2012 |title=The man who would be Spock |url=http://www.lasvegasweekly.com/as-we-see-it/weekly-qa/2012/aug/08/man-who-would-be-spock/ |newspaper=[[Las Vegas Weekly]] |location=Henderson, NV |publisher=[[Greenspun Media Group]] |access-date=June 14, 2014}}</ref>
When a [[Star Trek: Phase II|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. After directing a few television show episodes, Nimoy started film directing in 1984 with the [[Star Trek III: The Search for Spock|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, made him a star director.<ref name="harmetz19881030">{{cite news | url=http://www.nytimes.com/1988/10/30/movies/leonard-nimoy-at-the-controls.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm | title=Leonard Nimoy at the Controls | work=The New York Times | date=October 30, 1988 | accessdate=May 24, 2011 | author=Harmetz, Aljean}}</ref> At a press conference promoting the 2009 ''Star Trek'' movie, Nimoy made it clear that he had no further plans or ambition to direct:


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). He appeared in 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 TV series)|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.
{{cquote|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.<ref>{{cite web|last=Powers |first=Nicole |url=http://suicidegirls.com/interviews/Leonard+Nimoy+and+Zachary+Quinto%3A+The+Two+Faces+of+Spock |title=Interviews > Leonard Nimoy And Zachary Quinto: The Two Faces Of Spock |publisher=Suicidegirls.com |date=May 3, 2009 |accessdate=August 2, 2010}}</ref>}}


In 1975, Nimoy filmed an opening introduction to Ripley's [[World of the Unexplained museum]] located at [[Gatlinburg, Tennessee]], and [[Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco|Fisherman's Wharf]] at San Francisco, California. In the late 1970s, he hosted and narrated the television series ''In Search of{{nbsp}}...'', which investigated [[paranormal]] or unexplained events or subjects. In 2000–2001 he hosted [[CNBC]] TV series ''The Next Wave With Leonard Nimoy'', which explored how e-businesses were integrating with technology and the Internet. He also had a character part as a psychiatrist in [[Philip Kaufman]]'s 1978 remake of ''[[Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978 film)|Invasion of the Body Snatchers]]''.
===Other work after ''Star Trek''===
[[File:Mission impossible cast 1970.JPG|thumb|Nimoy with ''[[Mission: Impossible (1966 TV series)|Mission: Impossible]]'' cast in 1970]]
In 1978, Nimoy played Dr. David Kibner in ''[[Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978 film)|Invasion of the Body Snatchers]]''. He also did occasional work as a [[voice acting|voice actor]] in animated feature films, including the character of [[Galvatron]] in ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]'' in 1986.


=== Stage ===
Nimoy was featured as the voice-over narrator for the [[CBS]] paranormal series ''[[Haunted Lives: True Ghost Stories]]'' in 1991.
[[File:Leonard nimoy 1980.jpg|thumb|upright|Nimoy at a 1980 sci-fi convention]]
Nimoy 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. Having performed in the Yiddish theater as a young man, he said the part was like a "homecoming" for him because his parents, like Tevye, also came from a [[shtetl]] in Russia and could relate to the play when they saw him in it.<ref name=Isenberg>Isenberg, Barbara. ''Tradition!'', St. Martin's Press (2014) p. 137</ref> Later that year he starred as Arthur Goldman in ''The Man in the Glass Booth'' at the [[Old Globe Theater]] in San Diego.<ref>Gershom, Yonassan. ''Jewish Themes in Star Trek'', (2009) Lulu p. 119</ref><ref>''San Diego Magazine'', Vol. 24, San Diego Publishing (1971)</ref>


He starred as [[Randle McMurphy]] in ''[[One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (play)|One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest]]'' in 1974, one 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.{{nbsp}}... Here I am with Mr. Spock, for god's sakes, and I am painting pictures on his arms."<ref>Shervey, Beth Conway. ''The Little Theatre on the Square'', Southern Illinois Univ. Press (2000) p. 41</ref>
In 1991, Nimoy teamed up with [[Robert B. Radnitz]] to produce a movie for [[TNT (TV channel)|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."<ref>Nimoy, Leonard, ''I Am Spock'', New York: Hyperion, 1995.</ref>


In 1975, Nimoy toured with and played the title role<ref>{{cite magazine| magazine= [[Playboy]] | title= In Search of Nielsen Ratings and Other Ancient Mysteries| volume= 23| number= 9| page= 208| date= September 1976| publisher= }}</ref> in the [[Royal Shakespeare Company]]'s ''[[Sherlock Holmes]]''.<ref name=Fischer />{{rp|483}} A number of authors have perceived 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]] said that "the link between Spock and Holmes was obvious to everyone."<ref name=Sturgis /> Meyer gives a few examples, including a scene in ''Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country,'' in which Spock quotes directly from a [[Arthur Conan Doyle|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.<ref name=Sturgis>Sturgis, Amy H. ''Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine'', #10, Volume 10, Wildside Press (2013) p. 41</ref>
Nimoy performed as [[The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde|Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde]] in ''[[The Pagemaster]]'' in 1994. In 1998, he had a leading role as Mustapha Mond in the made-for-television production of [[Aldous Huxley]]'s ''Brave New World.''


By 1977, when Nimoy played Martin Dysart in ''[[Equus (play)|Equus]]'' on Broadway, he had played 13 important roles in 27 cities, including Tevye, [[Malvolio]] in ''[[Twelfth Night]]'', and [[Randle McMurphy]] in ''[[One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (play)|One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest]]''.{{r|darrach19770725}} In 1981, Nimoy starred in ''Vincent'', a one-man show which he wrote and published as a book in 1984.<ref>Nimoy, Leonard. ''Vincent'', Dramatic Publishing (1984)</ref> The audio recording of the play is available on DVD under the title, ''Van Gogh Revisited.''<ref>Dill, Karen E. ''The Oxford Handbook of Media Psychology'', Oxford Univ. Press (2013) p. 22</ref> 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 Milwaukee, ''[[6 Rms Riv Vu]]'' opposite [[Sandy Dennis]], in Florida, ''Full Circle'' with Bibi Anderson on Broadway and in Washington, D.C. He was in ''[[Camelot (musical)|Camelot]]'', ''[[The King and I]]'', ''[[Caligula (play)|Caligula]]'', ''The Four Poster'', and ''[[My Fair Lady]].''
Together with [[John de Lancie]], another ex-actor from the Star Trek series, Nimoy created ''Alien Voices'', an audio-production venture that specializes in audio dramatizations. Among the works jointly narrated by the couple are ''[[The Time Machine]]'', ''[[A Journey to the Center of the Earth]]'', ''[[The Lost World (Conan Doyle novel)|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 didn't sell well enough to recoup costs.


=== ''Star Trek'' films ===
From 1994 until 1998, Nimoy narrated the ''[[Ancient Mysteries]]'' series on [[A&E Network|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 [[Granville Technology Group|Time Computers]] in the late 1990s. In 1997, Nimoy played the prophet Samuel, alongside Nathaniel Parker, in The Bible Collection movie "David". He had a central role in ''[[Brave New World (film)|Brave New World]]'', a 1998 TV-movie version of [[Aldous Huxley]]'s novel where he played a character reminiscent of Spock in his philosophical balancing of unpredictable human qualities with the need for control. Nimoy has also appeared in several popular television series{{mdash}}including ''[[Futurama]]'' and ''[[The Simpsons]]''{{mdash}}as both himself and Spock.
After Paramount agreed to settle a lawsuit by Nimoy for ''Star Trek'' merchandise royalties, he agreed to join ''[[Star Trek: The Motion Picture]]'', the first in the [[Star Trek films|''Star Trek'' film series]]. By 1986, Nimoy had earned more than half a million dollars in royalties.<ref name="harmetz19861102">{{cite news | url=http://www.nytimes.com/1986/11/02/arts/new-star-trek-plan-reflects-symbiosis-of-tv-and-movies.html?pagewanted=all | title=New 'Star Trek' Plan Reflects Symbiosis of TV and Movies |work=The New York Times| date=November 2, 1986 | access-date=February 11, 2015 | last=Harmetz |first=Aljean | page=31}}</ref>


=== Other roles ===
Nimoy appeared in ''[[Hearts of Space]]'' program number 142 – "Whales alive."
==== Voice actor ====
In 1975, Nimoy's renditions of [[Ray Bradbury]]'s "[[There Will Come Soft Rains (short story)|There Will Come Soft Rains]]" and "Usher II", both from ''[[The Martian Chronicles]]'' (1950), were released on [[Caedmon Records]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.discogs.com/Ray-Bradbury-Read-By-Leonard-Nimoy-The-Martian-Chronicles-There-Will-Come-Soft-Rains-Usher-II/master/343686 |title=Ray Bradbury Read By Leonard Nimoy&nbsp;— The Martian Chronicles: There Will Come Soft Rains&nbsp;— Usher II at Discogs |year=1975 |publisher=Discogs.com |access-date=October 5, 2013}}</ref> During 1980, Nimoy hosted the Friday "Adventure Night" segment of the radio drama series ''[[Mutual Radio Theater]]'', heard via the [[Mutual Broadcasting System]]. In 1986, Nimoy lent his voice to the 1986 cartoon movie ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]'' for the character Galvatron.


In 1999, he voiced the narration of the English version of the [[Sega Dreamcast]] game [[Seaman (video game)|''Seaman'']] and promoted Y2K educational films.<ref>{{cite web| |url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cL5Yu3Ub9nA |title=Y2K |publisher=YouTube |accessdate=August 2, 2010}}</ref>
In Bradbury's 1993 animated TV film ''[[The Halloween Tree (film)|The Halloween Tree]]'', Nimoy was the voice of Mr.{{spaces}}Moundshroud, the children's guide. 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 [[Dreamcast|Sega Dreamcast]] game [[Seaman (video game)|''Seaman'']] and promoted [[Year 2000 problem|Y2K]] educational films.<ref>{{YouTube|id=RoF8PBbK-9o|title="Y2K"|link=no}} (excerpt). {{cite AV media |people=Bisley, Donnie (Director); Nimoy, Leonard (Host, Narrator) |year=1998 |title=The Y2K Family Survival Guide |location=La Vergne, TN |publisher=[[Ingram Entertainment Holdings Inc.|Monarch Home Video]] (Distributor) |oclc=41107104}}</ref>


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 (Doyle novel)|The Lost World]]'', ''[[The Invisible Man]]'', ''[[The First Men in the Moon]]'', and 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 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 2001, Nimoy voiced the Atlantean King Kashekim Nedakh in the Disney animated feature ''[[Atlantis: The Lost Empire]]''. Nimoy provided a comprehensive series of voice-overs for the 2005 computer game ''[[Civilization IV]]''. In the television series ''The Next Wave'' he interviewed people about technology. He hosts the documentary film ''The Once and Future Griffith Observatory''. Nimoy and his wife, [[Susan Bay]]-Nimoy, were major supporters of the [[Griffith Observatory]]'s historic 2002–2004 expansion.<ref>{{cite press release |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Leonard and Susan Nimoy Donate $1 Million to Griffith Observatory Renovation |url=http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=4402 |location=Los Angeles |publisher=[[Griffith Observatory]] |date=March 19, 2001 |access-date=November 1, 2013}}</ref>
In 2003, he announced his retirement from acting to concentrate on photography, but subsequently appeared in several television commercials with [[William Shatner]] for [[Priceline.com]]. He appeared in a commercial for [[Naproxen|Aleve]], an [[arthritis]] pain medication, which aired during the [[Super Bowl XL|2006 Super Bowl]].


In 2009, he voiced "The Zarn" in the television-based movie ''[[Land of the Lost (film)|Land of the Lost]]''. He voiced the ''[[Star Trek Online]]'' massive multiplayer online game, released in February 2010,<ref>{{cite news |last=Snider |first=Mike |date=December 22, 2009 |title=Leonard Nimoy joins 'Star Trek Online' crew |url=http://content.usatoday.com/communities/gamehunters/post/2009/12/leonard-nimoy-joins-star-trek-online-crew/1 |work=[[USA Today]] |location=Tysons Corner, VA |publisher=[[Gannett Company]] |access-date=November 1, 2013}}</ref> and ''[[Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep]]'' as [[Xehanort]], the series' leading villain. [[Tetsuya Nomura]], the director of ''Birth by Sleep'', said Nimoy was chosen for the role specifically because of his role as Spock, to play opposite [[Mark Hamill]], famous for his role as [[Luke Skywalker]] in ''[[Star Wars]]'', as Nomura was a fan of both series and wanted to pit them against each other. Nimoy reprised this role for ''[[Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance]]'' in 2012. After his death in 2015, Nimoy was replaced for the role as Xehanort by [[Rutger Hauer]], who died and was succeeded by Nimoy's ''Star Trek'' co-star [[Christopher Lloyd]].
Nimoy provided a comprehensive series of voiceovers for the 2005 computer game ''[[Civilization IV]]''. He did the TV series ''[[Next Wave]]'' where he interviewed people about technology. He is the host in the documentary film ''The Once and Future Griffith Observatory'' currently running in the Leonard Nimoy Event Horizon Theater located at the recently reopened [[Griffith Observatory]] in Los Angeles, California.


Nimoy voiced Sentinel Prime in the 2011 film ''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon]]''. He was 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]], [[NPR|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.
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 (Shakespeare)|Anne Hathaway]]. The production was directed by Nimoy's wife, Susan Bay.<ref>{{cite news|last=Brody|first=Dylan|title=Jeanmarie Simpson -- Artivist in the Modern Landscape (Part 2)|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dylan-brody/jeanmarie-simpson_b_994437.html|newspaper=Huffington Post|date=10/5/11}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.leonardnimoy.de/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1445:exclusive-interview-with-leonard-nimoy-&catid=23:articles-and-quotes&Itemid=11 |title=Exclusive Interview with Leonard Nimoy |publisher=Leonardnimoy.de |date=2007-06-28 |accessdate=2012-06-14}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Kadosh |first=Dikla |url=http://www.jewishjournal.com/picks_clicks/article/youngest_torm_shakespeare_photography_poetry_enamelwork_20070629 |title=Youngest Torme, Shakespeare, photography, poetry, enamelwork &#124; Picks and Clicks |publisher=Jewish Journal |date= |accessdate=2012-06-14}}</ref>


==== Special appearances ====
Nimoy was given casting approval over who would play the young Spock in the newest film.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://suicidegirls.com/interviews/Leonard+Nimoy+and+Zachary+Quinto%3A+The+Two+Faces+of+Spock/ | title = Leonard Nimoy and Zachary Quinto: The Two Faces of Spock | publisher = [[SuicideGirls.com]] |date = May 3, 2009 | accessdate =March 4, 2009}}</ref>
From 1982 to 1987, Nimoy hosted the children's educational show ''[[Standby...Lights! Camera! Action!]]'' on Nickelodeon.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/02/14/arts/action-group-aroused-by-nickelodeon-ad-plan.html|title=Action group aroused by Nickelodeon ad plan|website=[[The New York Times]]|last=Harmetz|first=Aljean|date=February 14, 1984|author-link=Aljean Harmetz}}</ref> He was an occasional voice actor in animated feature films, including the character of [[Galvatron]] in ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]'' in 1986. He narrated the 1991 [[CBS]] paranormal series ''[[Haunted Lives: True Ghost Stories]]''. In 1994, he voiced [[Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde|Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde]] in ''[[The Pagemaster]]''. In 1998, he had a leading role as Mustapha Mond in ''[[Brave New World (1998 film)|Brave New World]]'', a TV-movie version of [[Aldous Huxley]]'s [[Brave New World|1932 novel]].
[[File:Leonard Nimoy (handprints in cement).jpg|right|thumb|Handprints of Leonard Nimoy in front of [[Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway]] at [[Walt Disney World]]'s [[Disney's Hollywood Studios]] theme park]]


From 1994 to 1997, he narrated the ''[[Ancient Mysteries]]'' series on [[A&E (TV channel)|A&E]] including "The Sacred Water of [[Lourdes]]" and "Secrets of the [[House of Romanov|Romanovs]]". He appeared in advertising in the United Kingdom for the computer company [[Granville Technology Group|Time Computers]] in the late 1990s. In 1997, he played the prophet Samuel, alongside Nathaniel Parker, in ''The [[Bible Collection]]'' movie [[David (1997 film)|''David'']]. He appeared in several popular television series, including ''[[Futurama]]'' and ''[[The Simpsons]]'', both as himself and as Spock. In 2000, he provided on-camera hosting and introductions for 45 half-hour episodes of the anthology series ''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.
On January 6, 2009, he was interviewed by William Shatner on [[Biography Channel]]'s ''[[Shatner's Raw Nerve]]''.


In 2001, Nimoy appeared on the television show ''[[Becker (TV series)|Becker]]'', where he played Dr. Emmett Fowler, a professor who cannot recall his former student.
In May 2009, he made an appearance as the mysterious Dr. William Bell in the season finale of ''[[Fringe (TV series)|Fringe]]'', which explores the existence of a [[multiverse|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."<ref>[http://www.trektoday.com/content/2009/04/nimoy-joins-fringe.html Nimoy Joins Fringe]</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.tvguide.com/News/Fringe-Meet-Dr-1004879.aspx |title=''Fringe'': Meet Dr. William Bell |publisher=[[TV Guide]] |author=O'Connor, Mickey |date=April 8, 2009 |accessdate=April 9, 2009}}</ref> This choice led one reviewer to question if ''Fringe'''s plot might be a [[homage]] to the ''Star Trek'' episode "[[Mirror, Mirror (Star Trek)|Mirror, Mirror]]", which featured an alternate reality "[[Mirror Universe (Star Trek)|Mirror Universe]]" concept and an evil version of Spock distinguished by a [[goatee#Goatees in fiction|goatee]].<ref>[http://www.ifmagazine.com/review.asp?article=3224 ifmagazine.com – V Review: FRINGE – SEASON ONE – 'The Road Not Taken' by Emerson Parker]</ref>


Nimoy played the recurring enigmatic character of Dr.{{spaces}}William Bell on the television show ''[[Fringe (TV series)|Fringe]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tvguide.com/News/Fringe-Meet-Dr-1004879.aspx |title=''Fringe'': Meet Dr. William Bell |last=O'Connor |first=Mickey |date=April 8, 2009 |website=TVGuide.com |publisher=CBS Interactive |location=San Francisco, CA |access-date=April 9, 2009}}</ref> Nimoy opted for the role after previously working with Abrams, [[Roberto Orci]] and [[Alex Kurtzman]] on the 2009 ''Star Trek'' film and offered another opportunity to work with this production team again. Nimoy also was interested in the series, which he saw was an intelligent mixture of science and science fiction,<ref>{{Cite web | url = http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2009/10/fringe-leonard-nimoy-on-william-bell.html | title = 'Fringe': Leonard Nimoy on William Bell | date = October 8, 2009 | access-date = March 2, 2015 | website = [[Los Angeles Times]] | first= Andrew | last =Hanson }}</ref> and continued to guest star through the show's fourth season, even after his stated 2012 retirement from acting.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/05/11/leonard-nimoy-talks-about-big-fringe-return | title = LEONARD NIMOY TALKS ABOUT BIG FRINGE RETURN | website = [[IGN]] | date = May 11, 2012 | access-date = March 2, 2015 | first = Matt | last = Fowler }}</ref> Nimoy's first appearance as Bell was in the Season{{nbsp}}1 finale, "[[There's More Than One of Everything]]", which explored the possible existence of a [[multiverse|parallel universe]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.trektoday.com/content/2009/04/nimoy-joins-fringe.html |title=Nimoy Joins Fringe |author=T'Bonz |date=April 9, 2009 |website=TrekToday |publisher=Christian Höhne Sparborth |location=Utrecht, Netherlands |access-date=November 1, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090625194943/http://www.trektoday.com/content/2009/04/nimoy-joins-fringe.html |archive-date=June 25, 2009 }}</ref> 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'' which had just premiered days earlier. In the sketch, the three actors attempt to appease long-time [[Trekkie|Trekkers]] by assuring them the new film would be true to the original ''Star Trek''.<ref>Jacobs, Matthew (February 27, 2015). [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/27/zachary-quntio-leonard-nimoy_n_6771954.html?cps=gravity_2246_6639204149541054701 "Zachary Quinto Pays Tribute To His Spock Predecessor Leonard Nimoy"]. ''The Huffington Post''.</ref>
[[File:Leonard.JPG|right|thumb|The handprints of Leonard Nimoy in front of [[The Great Movie Ride]] at [[Walt Disney World]]'s [[Disney's Hollywood Studios]] theme park]]
On the May 9, 2009 episode of ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'', Nimoy appeared as a surprise guest on the skit "[[Weekend Update]]". During a mock interview, Nimoy called old Trekkies who did not like the [[Star Trek (film)|new movie]] "dickheads". In the 2009 ''Star Trek'' movie, he plays the older Spock from the original ''Star Trek'' timeline; [[Zachary Quinto]] portrays the young Spock.


==== Producer ====
Starring with Will Ferrell in the TV-based movie ''[[Land of the Lost (film)|Land of the Lost]]'' in June 2009, he voiced the part of "The Zarn", an Altrusian.
In 1991, Nimoy starred in ''[[Never Forget (film)|Never Forget]]'', which he co-produced with [[Robert B. Radnitz]]. The movie was about a ''[[pro bono]] publico'' lawsuit by an attorney on behalf of [[Mel Mermelstein]], played by Nimoy as an Auschwitz survivor, against a group of organizations engaged in [[Holocaust denial]]. Nimoy said he experienced a strong "sense of fulfillment" from doing the film.<ref name=nimoy1995>Nimoy (1995)</ref> 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 (wife of Shakespeare)|Anne Hathaway]]. The production was directed by Nimoy's wife, Susan Bay.<ref>{{cite interview |last=Simpson |first=Jeanmarie |subject-link=Jeanmarie Simpson |interviewer=[[Dylan Brody]] |title=Jeanmarie Simpson – ''Artivist'' in the Modern Landscape (Part 2) |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dylan-brody/jeanmarie-simpson_b_994437.html |work=[[The Huffington Post]] |publisher=[[AOL]] |location=New York |date=October 5, 2011 |access-date=November 1, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite interview |last=Nimoy |first=Leonard |interviewer=Margitta |title=Exclusive Interview with Leonard Nimoy |url=http://www.leonardnimoy.de/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1445:exclusive-interview-with-leonard-nimoy-&catid=23:articles-and-quotes&Itemid=11 |work=Thanks to Leonard Nimoy |publisher=Margitta |date=June 2007 |access-date=June 14, 2012 |archive-date=March 1, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150301060557/http://www.leonardnimoy.de/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1445:exclusive-interview-with-leonard-nimoy-&catid=23:articles-and-quotes&Itemid=11 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | last = Kadosh | first = Dikla | date = June 28, 2007 | title = Youngest Torme, Shakespeare, photography, poetry, enamelwork | url = http://www.jewishjournal.com/picks_clicks/article/youngest_torm_shakespeare_photography_poetry_enamelwork_20070629 | newspaper = [[The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles]] | location = Los Angeles | access-date = March 1, 2012}}</ref>


=== Semi-retirement ===
Nimoy is 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.
In April 2010, Nimoy announced that he was retiring from playing Spock, citing both his advanced age and the desire to give [[Zachary Quinto]] full media attention as the character.<ref name=":0">{{cite news |url=http://entertainment.msn.com/news/article.aspx?news=494534 |title=Mr. Spock Set to Hang Up His Pointy Ears |agency=[[World Entertainment News Network|WENN]] |work=MSN Entertainment News |location=Redmond, WA |publisher=[[Microsoft]] |access-date=November 1, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131103084507/http://entertainment.msn.com/news/article.aspx?news=494534 |archive-date=November 3, 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> ''Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep'' was to be his final performance; however, in February 2011, he announced his intent to return to ''[[Fringe (TV series)|Fringe]]'' and reprise his role as William Bell.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://trekmovie.com/2011/02/25/leonard-nimoy-confirms-return-to-fringe/ |title=Leonard Nimoy Confirms Return To Fringe |date=February 25, 2011 |website=TrekMovie.com |publisher=SciFanatic Network |access-date=November 1, 2013}}</ref> Nimoy continued voice acting during retirement; his appearance in the third season of ''Fringe'' includes his voice (his character appears only in animated scenes), and he provided the voice of Sentinel Prime in ''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=30588 |title=Leonard Nimoy Voicing Sentinel Prime |website=Empire |date=April 1, 2011 |access-date=July 8, 2015}}</ref> In May 2011, he made a cameo appearance in the alternate version music video of "[[The Lazy Song]]" by [[Bruno Mars]]. [[Aaron Bay-Schuck]], the [[Atlantic Records]] executive who signed Mars to the label, is Nimoy's stepson.<ref name="LazyLeonard">{{cite web |url=http://trekmovie.com/2011/05/26/watch-leonard-nimoy-gets-lazy-in-bruno-mars-music-video/ |title=Watch: Leonard Nimoy Gets 'Lazy' In Bruno Mars Music Video [Updated] |date=May 26, 2011 |website=TrekMovie.com |publisher=SciFanatic Network |access-date=June 3, 2011}}</ref>


Nimoy provided the voice of Spock as a guest star in a Season{{nbsp}}5 episode of the CBS sitcom ''[[The Big Bang Theory]]'' titled "The Transporter Malfunction", which aired on March 29, 2012.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thefutoncritic.com/listings/20120312cbs03 |title=Listings – Big Bang Theory, The |website=TheFutonCritic.com |access-date=June 14, 2012}}</ref> Also in 2012, Nimoy reprised his role of William Bell in ''[[Fringe (TV series)|Fringe]]'' for the [[Fringe season 4|fourth season]] episodes "[[Letters of Transit]]" and "[[Brave New World (Fringe)|Brave New World]]" parts{{nbsp}}1 and{{nbsp}}2.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://twitter.com/JWFRINGE/status/193518932425064448 |title=Jwfringe: @naddycat #FringeLiveTweet We did |last=Wyman |first=Joel |author-link=J. H. Wyman |date=April 20, 2012 |publisher=Twitter |access-date=May 5, 2012 |quote=We did.}}</ref> Nimoy reprised his role as Master Xehanort in the 2012 video game ''[[Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://na.square-enix.com/us/blog/kingdom-hearts-3d-dream-drop-distance-voice-actors-return|title=Kingdom Hearts 3D [Dream Drop Distance] Voice Actors Return|website=na.square-enix.com|language=en-US|access-date=November 1, 2017}}</ref> On August 30, 2012, Nimoy narrated a satirical segment about [[Mitt Romney]]'s life on [[Comedy Central]]'s ''[[The Daily Show]] with Jon Stewart''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cc.com/video-clips/wq59nv/the-daily-show-with-jon-stewart-rnc-2012---the-road-to-jeb-bush-2016---mitt-romney--a-human-who-built-that|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151031002522/http://www.cc.com/video-clips/wq59nv/the-daily-show-with-jon-stewart-rnc-2012---the-road-to-jeb-bush-2016---mitt-romney--a-human-who-built-that|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 31, 2015|title=RNC 2012 – The Road to Jeb Bush 2016 – Mitt Romney: A Human Who Built That|date=August 31, 2012}}</ref> In 2013, Nimoy reprised his role as [[Spock#Star Trek (2009)|Ambassador Spock]] in a cameo appearance in ''[[Star Trek Into Darkness]]''.<ref>{{cite news|last=Selby|first=Jenn|date=February 27, 2015|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/leonard-nimoy-dead-star-trek-spock-actor-dies-after-suffering-lung-disease-10076199.html|title=Leonard Nimoy dead: Star Trek Spock actor dies after suffering lung disease|newspaper=[[The Independent]]|access-date=March 2, 2015}}</ref>
Nimoy has also provided voiceovers for the ''[[Star Trek Online]]'' massively multiplayer online game, released in February 2010,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://content.usatoday.com/communities/gamehunters/post/2009/12/leonard-nimoy-joins-star-trek-online-crew/1|title=Leonard Nimoy joins 'Star Trek Online' crew|work=USA Today | date=December 22, 2009}}</ref> 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.


== Other career work ==
===Retirement===
=== Photography ===
In April 2010, Leonard Nimoy announced that he was retiring from playing the signature character of Star Trek's Spock, citing both his advanced age and the desire to give [[Zachary Quinto]] the opportunity to enjoy full media attention with the Spock character.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://paralleluniverse.msn.com/features/tv/leonard-nimoy-retires-from-acting/story/?GT1=28140 |title=Parallel Universe: Mr. Spock Set to Hang Up His Pointy Ears |publisher=Paralleluniverse.msn.com |accessdate=August 2, 2010}}</ref> ''Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep'' was to be his final performance. However, in February 2011, he announced his definite plan to return to ''[[Fringe (TV series)|Fringe]]'' and reprise his role as William Bell.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://trekmovie.com/2011/02/25/leonard-nimoy-confirms-return-to-fringe/ |title=Leonard Nimoy Confirms Return To Fringe |publisher=trekmovie.com |accessdate=February 25, 2011}}</ref> His retirement from acting has not included voice acting, as his appearance in the third season of ''Fringe'' includes his voice (his character appears only in animated scenes), and he provided the voice of [[Sentinel Prime]] in ''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon]]''. In May 2011 Nimoy starred 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://trekmovie.com/2011/05/26/watch-leonard-nimoy-gets-lazy-in-bruno-mars-music-video/ |title=Watch: Leonard Nimoy Gets "Lazy" In Bruno Mars Music Video (UPDATED) |publisher=trekmovie.com |date=May 26, 2011 |accessdate=June 3, 2011}}</ref> Nimoy provided the voice of Spock as a guest star in a Season 5 episode of the CBS sitcom, ''[[The Big Bang Theory]]''. The episode is titled "The Transporter Malfunction" and aired on March 29, 2012,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thefutoncritic.com/listings/20120312cbs03 |title=Listings - BIG BANG THEORY, THE on CBS |publisher=TheFutonCritic.com |date=2012-03-29 |accessdate=2012-06-14}}</ref> and is frequently mentioned by several of the main characters (especially [[Sheldon Cooper]], who idolizes Nimoy). He also lent his voice as narrator to the free documentary "Destiny in Space" showcasing video and images of space from nine shuttle missions over four years time. In Spring 2012, Nimoy reprised his role of William Bell in ''[[Fringe (TV series)|Fringe]]'', in the [[Fringe (season 4)|fourth season]] episodes "[[Letters of Transit]]" and "[[Brave New World (Fringe)|Brave New World]]" parts 1 & 2.<ref>[https://twitter.com/#!/JWFRINGE/status/193518932425064448 "@naddycat #FringeLiveTweet We did."]. ''[[Twitter|Twitter.com]]. Retrieved 2012-05-05.</ref> Nimoy reprised his role as Master Xehanort in the recent title ''[[Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance]]''. On August 30, 2012, Mr. Nimoy narrated a satirical segment about Mitt Romney's life on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart."
Nimoy's interest in photography began in childhood; for the rest of his life, he owned a camera he had rebuilt at the age of 13. During the 1970s, he studied photography at the [[University of California, Los Angeles]].<ref name="rawnerve" /><ref>[http://petapixel.com/2015/02/27/leonard-nimoys-passion-for-photography/ Leonard Nimoy's Passion for Photography], PetaPixel, February 27, 2015</ref> His photography studies at UCLA occurred after ''Star Trek'' and ''Mission: Impossible'' while he was seriously considering changing careers. His work has been exhibited at the R. Michelson Galleries in [[Northampton, Massachusetts]]<ref name="rawnerve" /> and the [[Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art]].


===Photography===
=== Directing ===
Nimoy's directorial debut was in 1973, with the "Death on a Barge" segment for an episode of ''[[Night Gallery]]'' during its final season. In the early 1980s, he resumed directing consistently, including television and film.
Nimoy's interest in photography began in childhood; he still owns a camera that he rebuilt at the age of 13. 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]]<ref name="rawnerve"/> and the [[Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art]].


Nimoy began feature film directing in 1984 with ''[[Star Trek III: The Search for Spock]]'', the third in the film series. He directed the second most successful movie (critically and financially) in the franchise, ''[[Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home]]'' (1986), and then ''[[Three Men and a Baby]]'', the highest-grossing film of 1987. These successes made him a star director.<ref name="harmetz19881030">{{cite news |last=Harmetz |first=Aljean |author-link=Aljean Harmetz |date=October 30, 1988 |title=Leonard Nimoy at the Controls |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/10/30/movies/leonard-nimoy-at-the-controls.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=May 24, 2011}}</ref> He directed ''[[The Good Mother (1988 film)|The Good Mother]]'' (1988) and ''[[Funny About Love]]'' (1990). In 1994 he directed his last feature film, ''[[Holy Matrimony (1994 film)|Holy Matrimony]]''. His final directorial credit was "Killshot", the 1995 pilot episode for ''[[Deadly Games (TV series)|Deadly Games]]'', a short-lived science-fiction television series.
===Writing===
Nimoy has written 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.


At a press conference promoting the 2009 ''Star Trek'' movie, he said he had no further plans or ambition to direct although he enjoyed it.<ref name="Powers">{{cite interview |last1=Nimoy |first1=Leonard |last2=Quinto |first2=Zachary |subject-link2=Zachary Quinto |interviewer=Nicole Powers |title=Leonard Nimoy And Zachary Quinto: The Two Faces Of Spock |url=https://suicidegirls.com/girls/nicole_powers/blog/2680122/leonard-nimoy-and-zachary-quinto-the-two-faces-of-spock/ |work=[[SuicideGirls]] |publisher=Sg Services, Inc. |location=Los Angeles |date=May 1, 2009 |access-date=August 2, 2010}}</ref>
{{cquote|I went through a definite [[Identity crisis (psychology)|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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://united-scifi.com/index.php/leonard-nimoys-lovehate-relationship-with-spock/ |title=caribbean cruises low air fare at |publisher=United-scifi.com |accessdate=August 2, 2010}}</ref>}}


=== Writing ===
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 authored two volumes of autobiography. The first is ''[[I Am Not Spock]]'' (1975) and was controversial, as many fans incorrectly assumed 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 and hate relationship with the character of Spock and the ''Star Trek'' franchise.


{{blockquote|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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://startrekdom.blogspot.com/2007/05/leonard-nimoys-lovehate-relationship.html |title=Leonard Nimoy's Love/Hate Relationship with Mr. Spock |last=B. |first=Jared |date=May 24, 2007 |website=Trekdom – Star Trek Fanzine |type=Blog |access-date=November 1, 2013}}</ref>}}
Nimoy has also written several volumes of poetry, some published along with a number of his photographs. His latest effort is titled ''A Lifetime of Love: Poems on the Passages of Life'' (2002). His poetry can be found in the Contemporary Poets index of The HyperTexts.<ref>http://www.thehypertexts.com The HyperTexts</ref> In the mid-1970s Nimoy wrote and starred in a one-man play called ''[[Vincent]]'' based on the play ''[[Van Gogh]]'' by Phillip Stephens.

In the second volume, ''[[I Am Spock]]'' (1995), Nimoy communicates 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 he never would have, had he not portrayed the character. Nimoy maintained that in some meaningful sense he had merged with Spock while distancing between fact and fiction. In 2014, the audiobook version of ''I Am Spock'', read by Nimoy, was published.<ref>Brilliance Audio, {{ISBN|978-1491575727}}</ref>

He composed several volumes of poetry, some published along with a number of his photographs. A later poetic volume titled ''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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thehypertexts.com |title=The HyperTexts |access-date=November 1, 2013}}</ref> 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 (science fiction)|first contact]] with aliens, which had arisen from a discussion he had with [[Isaac Asimov]]. There was a novelization by [[Steve Perry (author)|Steve Perry]].
In 1995, Nimoy was involved in the production of ''[[Primortals]]'', a comic book series published by [[Tekno Comix]] about [[First contact (science fiction)|first contact]] with aliens, which had arisen from a discussion he had with [[Isaac Asimov]]. There was a novelization by [[Steve Perry (author)|Steve Perry]].


===Music===
=== Music ===
{{See also|Leonard Nimoy discography}}
During and following ''Star Trek'', Nimoy also released [[Leonard Nimoy discography|five albums of vocal recordings on Dot Records]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.maidenwine.com/lps_02.html |title=The LPs (page 2) |work=The Musical Touch of Leonard Nimoy |publisher=Maidenwine.com |date=September 8, 1966 |accessdate=May 29, 2011}}</ref> including ''Trek''-related songs such as "Highly Illogical", and cover versions of popular tunes, such as "[[Proud Mary]]". He has described how his recording career got started:
[[File:Leonard_Nimoy_1967.jpg|thumb|Nimoy playing guitar in 1967]]
In December 1966, when it became apparent that the original ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series|Star Trek]]'' was developing a strong following in spite of low [[Nielsen ratings]], [[Dot Records]] approached the producers of the show. The result was the signing of Nimoy to that label. Dot Records was a subsidiary of [[Paramount Pictures]], and both Paramount and [[Desilu]]—the studio producing ''Star Trek''—were acquired by [[Gulf+Western]]: first Paramount in 1966, and then Desilu in 1967. So after the [[merger]] of the two companies, Nimoy wound up working for Paramount both as an actor (from 1966 to 1971) and singer (from 1967 to 1970), doing two television series (''Star Trek'' and ''[[Mission: Impossible (1966 TV series)|Mission: Impossible]]'') and five albums. Nimoy later recorded a few [[spoken word]] albums and contributed narration to albums such as ''[[Whales Alive]]''.


Nimoy's voice appeared in sampled form on a song by the pop band [[Information Society (band)|Information Society]] in the late Eighties. The song, "[[What's on Your Mind (Pure Energy)]]" (released in 1988), reached No.{{nbsp}}3 on the US Pop charts, and No.{{nbsp}}1 on the Dance charts.
:"[[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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.maidenwine.com/home.html |title=Homepage|work=The Musical Touch of Leonard Nimoy |publisher=Maidenwine.com |date=September 8, 1966 |accessdate=May 29, 2011}}</ref>"


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]].<ref name="LazyLeonard2">{{cite web|date=May 26, 2011|title=Watch: Leonard Nimoy Gets 'Lazy' In Bruno Mars Music Video [Updated]|url=http://trekmovie.com/2011/05/26/watch-leonard-nimoy-gets-lazy-in-bruno-mars-music-video/|access-date=June 3, 2011|website=TrekMovie.com|publisher=SciFanatic Network}}</ref>
The albums were popular and resulted in numerous live appearances and promotional record signings that attracted crowds of fans in the thousands. The early recordings were produced by [[Charles Randolph Grean|Charles Grean]], who may be best known for his version of "Quentin's Theme" from the mid-sixties goth soap opera ''[[Dark Shadows]]''. These recordings are generally regarded as unintentionally [[Camp (style)|camp]], though his tongue-in-cheek performance of "[[The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins]]" received a fair amount of airplay when [[Peter Jackson]]'s [[The Lord of the Rings film trilogy|''The Lord of the Rings'' films]] were released.


== Personal life ==
In addition to his own music career he directed a 1985 music video for [[The Bangles]]' "Going Down to Liverpool". He makes a brief cameo appearance in the video as their driver. This came about because his son [[Adam Nimoy]] (now a frequent television director) was a friend of [[The Bangles|Bangles]] lead singer [[Susanna Hoffs]] from college. He released a version of [[Johnny Cash]]'s song "[[I Walk the Line]]".
[[File:Leonard Nimoy by Gage Skidmore (cropped).jpg|thumb|Nimoy at the 2011 Phoenix Comicon|234x234px]]
Nimoy was long active in the Jewish community, and could speak and read [[Yiddish]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Whitney|first=Christa|url=https://archive.org/details/LeonardNimoy15Oct2013YiddishBookCenter|title=Leonard Nimoy 15Oct2013 Yiddish Book Center|publisher=[[Yiddish Book Center]]|at=6:42–7:33|date=February 6, 2014 |access-date=September 24, 2015|quote=(In Yiddish and English:) And my grandmother never learned English. So my brother and I needed to speak to her in Yiddish. But my brother{{nbsp}}... [was] born in Boston, but his first language was Yiddish because my parents only spoke Yiddish when he was a little child. When I was born{{nbsp}}... they were better with English. So my first language was English, but I needed Yiddish to speak with my grandparents.}}</ref> In 1997, he narrated the documentary ''A Life Apart: Hasidism in America'', about the various sects of [[Hasidic Judaism|Hasidic]] Orthodox Jews. In October 2002, Nimoy published ''The [[Shekhina (book)|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.<ref name="Shekhina">{{cite web|url=http://www.scifidimensions.com/Dec02/leonardnimoy.htm |title=Leonard Nimoy: Shedding Light on ''Shekhina'' |last=Snider |first=John C. |year=2002 |website=SciFiDimensions |publisher=John Snider |location=Atlanta, GA |access-date=November 1, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121017101706/http://www.scifidimensions.com/Dec02/leonardnimoy.htm |archive-date=October 17, 2012 }}</ref> Nimoy said 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.<ref name="Shekhina" />


Nimoy was married twice. In 1954, he married Sandra Zober, an actress;<ref>Nimoy: "My wife's name is Sandy{{nbsp}}..."<br />[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rboGHXZACPs&t=6m40s Leonard Nimoy interview] with KGW host Konnie Worth in Portland, Oregon, June 1967</ref> they had two children: film producer and director [[Julie Nimoy|Julie]], and director [[Adam Nimoy|Adam]].<ref name="NYT-20150227" /> After 32 years of marriage, he reportedly left Sandra on her 56th birthday and divorced her in 1987.<ref name="rawnerve" /> On New Year's Day 1989, Nimoy married his second wife, actress [[Susan Bay]], cousin of director [[Michael Bay]].<ref>{{Cite news|work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|title=Star Trek drove me to drink, says Spock|author=Hugh Davies|date=October 31, 2001|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/1361090/Star-Trek-drove-me-to-drink-says-Spock.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/1361090/Star-Trek-drove-me-to-drink-says-Spock.html |archive-date=January 11, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=September 5, 2014}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
Nimoy's voice appeared in sampled form on a song by the pop band [[Information Society (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 Dance charts. The group's self-titled LP contains several other samples from the original Star Trek television series.


After two years of part-time study, in 1977 Nimoy earned an MA in education from [[Antioch College]].{{r|darrach19770725}} In 2000, he received an honorary doctorate from [[Antioch University]] in Ohio, awarded for activism in Holocaust remembrance, the arts, and the environment.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Dr. Leonard Nimoy |url=http://midwest.antioch.edu/PDF/alumni_news0011.pdf |date=November 2000 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110626141444/http://midwest.antioch.edu/PDF/alumni_news0011.pdf |archive-date=June 26, 2011 |newspaper=Alumni News |access-date=October 16, 2017}}</ref> In 2012, he received an honorary doctorate of humane letters from [[Boston University]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bu.edu/today/2012/leonard-nimoy-urges-cfa-grads-to-live-long-and-prosper |title=Leonard Nimoy Urges CFA Grads to 'Live Long and Prosper' |last=Laskowski |first=Amy |date=May 22, 2012 |website=BU Today |publisher=Marketing & Communications |location=Boston, MA |access-date=June 14, 2012}}</ref>
Nimoy also appears in the alternate music video for the song "Lazy Song" by pop artist [[Bruno Mars]].<ref>{{cite web|author= |url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dULOjT9GYdQ&feature=player_embedded |title=Bruno Mars – The Lazy Song [Official Alternate Version |publisher=YouTube |accessdate=December 10, 2011}}</ref>


In the 2001 documentary film ''[[Mind Meld]]'', in which Leonard Nimoy and [[William Shatner]] discuss their acting careers and personal lives,<ref>{{cite AV media |people=Jaysen, Peter (Director) |year=2001 |title=[[Mind Meld]]: Secrets Behind the Voyage of a Lifetime|publisher=Creative Light Video |isbn=1-931394-15-6 |oclc=49221637}}</ref> Nimoy revealed that he had become an alcoholic while working on ''Star Trek'' and ended up in [[drug rehabilitation]].<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Star Trek 'drove Nimoy to drink' |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/1630463.stm |work=[[BBC News]] |location=London |publisher=BBC |date=October 31, 2001 |access-date=August 2, 2010}}</ref> 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, [[William Shatner#Marriage and Alcoholism|Nerine Kidd]].
==Personal life==
[[File:LeonardNimoyHWOFSept2012.jpg|thumb|right|Nimoy in September 2012]]
Nimoy has long been active in the Jewish community, and he can speak and read [[Yiddish]]. In 1997, he narrated the documentary ''A Life Apart: Hasidism in America'', about the various sects of [[Hasidic Judaism|Hasidic]] Orthodox Jews. In October 2002, Nimoy published ''The [[Shekhinah|Shekhina]] Project'', a photographic study exploring the feminine aspect of God's presence, inspired by [[Kabbalah]].


[[File:Leonard Nimoy, 2011, ST Con-2 A.jpg|thumb|Nimoy giving the [[Vulcan salute]] in 2011|left]]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 his 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 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.<ref>{{cite episode |title=Bring Back...Star Trek |url=http://www.channel4.com/programmes/bring-back/episode-guide |series-link=Bring Back... |access-date=November 1, 2013 |series=Bring Back... |network=[[Channel 4]] |date=May 9, 2009}}</ref> Years after the show, he observed Vulcan speech patterns, social attitudes, patterns of logic, and emotional suppression in his own behavior.{{r|NYT-20150227}}
Nimoy has been married twice. In 1954, he married actress [[Sandra Zober]] (1927–2011), whom he divorced in 1987.<ref name="rawnerve"/> He had two children with her, director [[Adam Nimoy]] and Julie Nimoy, who both appeared in an [[Oldsmobile]] commercial, with the tagline "This is not your father's Oldsmobile". In 1988, he married actress Susan Bay, who is a cousin of director [[Michael Bay]].<ref>[[Michael Bay]]'s ''[[Transformers (film)|Transformers]]'' DVD audio commentary, 2007, [[Paramount Pictures]]/[[DreamWorks]]</ref>


Nimoy was a private pilot and had owned an airplane.<ref>{{YouTube|id=_ChnVCeN2JQ&t=5m40s|title="An interview of Leonard Nimoy-SuperstarSuperfans part2/2"|link=no}}. Interview with [[Bob Wilkins]] from the mid-1970s.</ref> The [[Space Foundation]] bestowed to him the 2010 [[Douglas Morrow|Douglas S. Morrow]] Public Outreach Award for creating a positive role model that inspired countless viewers to learn more about the universe.<ref name=Morrow>{{cite press release |last=Hively |first=Carol |date=January 12, 2010 |title=Space Foundation Recognizes Leonard Nimoy with Douglas S. Morrow Public Outreach Award |url=http://www.spacefoundation.org/news/story.php?id=877 |location=Colorado Springs, Colorado |publisher=[[Space Foundation]] |access-date=November 1, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111004121825/http://www.spacefoundation.org/news/story.php?id=877 |archive-date=October 4, 2011 }}</ref>
In a 2001 DVD,<ref>''Mind Meld: Secrets Behind the Voyage of a Lifetime'', (2001) a documentary released to home video</ref> Nimoy revealed that he became an [[alcoholic]] while working on ''Star Trek'' and ended up in [[Drug rehabilitation|rehab]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/1630463.stm |title=SHOWBIZ &#124; Star Trek 'drove Nimoy to drink' |publisher=BBC News |date=October 31, 2001 |accessdate=August 2, 2010}}</ref> [[William Shatner]], in his 2008 book ''[[Up Till Now: The Autobiography]]'', speaks about how later in their lives Nimoy tried to help Shatner's alcoholic wife.


In 2009, Nimoy was honored by his childhood hometown when the Office of Mayor [[Thomas Menino]] [[Proclamation|proclaimed]] the date of November 14, 2009, as "Leonard Nimoy Day" in the City of Boston.<ref>{{cite news |title=Hardly Illogical: Leonard Nimoy Day, November 14 |first=Shaula |last=Clark |url=http://blog.thephoenix.com/BLOGS/laserorgy/archive/2009/11/14/hardly-illogical-leonard-nimoy-day-november-14.aspx |newspaper=[[The Phoenix (newspaper)|Boston Phoenix]] |type=Blog |date=November 14, 2009 |access-date=March 31, 2012}}</ref>
Nimoy still has the last pair of Spock's ears he wore on the series, as a memento. He 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 Monday morning.<ref>Bring Back Star Trek, Channel 4, The UK, broadcast on 9.00–10.35&nbsp;pm 09/05/2009</ref>


In 2014, [[Walter Koenig]] revealed that Nimoy personally and successfully advocated to the show's producers for equal pay for [[Nichelle Nichols]]'s work on ''Star Trek''.<ref>[http://www.people.com/article/leonard-nimoy-death-nichelle-nichols Nichelle Nichols Remembers Leonard Nimoy: He Made Star Trek into TV History] Adam Carlson, People.com February 28, 2015</ref> This incident was confirmed by Nimoy in a Trekmovie interview, and happened during his years at [[Desilu Productions|Desilu]].<ref>[http://trekmovie.com/2014/07/31/koenig-leonard-nimoy-fought-to-get-nichelle-nichols-pay-equity-for-star-trek-nimoy-confirms/ Koenig: Leonard Nimoy Fought to get Nichelle Nichols Pay Equity for Star Trek + Nimoy Confirms] Anthony Pascale, trekmovie.com, July 31, 2014</ref>
Nimoy also introduced the [[Vulcan nerve pinch]] in an early ''Star Trek'' episode "[[The Enemy Within (Star Trek: The Original Series)|The Enemy Within]]".<ref name="Nimoy-ST.COM">{{cite web|url=http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/community/chat/archive/transcript/1080.html|title=Leonard Nimoy ("Spock" TOS)|date=May 13, 1999|publisher=Star Trek.com|accessdate=June 7, 2009}}</ref> Initially, Spock was supposed to knock out an evil Kirk in the Engineering room by striking him on the back of the head. Nimoy felt that the action was not in keeping with the nature of Spock's character, so he suggested the "pinch" as a non-violent alternative, suggesting that Vulcans have the ability to emit energy from their fingertips, which, if applied to the correct nerve cluster, could render a human unconscious.<ref name="Nimoy-ST.COM"/> Nimoy explained this to the episode's director and, according to Nimoy, the director had no idea what he was talking about. However, Nimoy would express relief in later interviews and appearances that when he explained the concept to William Shatner, he understood it immediately, and Nimoy credits Shatner's reaction to the nerve pinch in the episode as what really sold it. In early scripts for ''Star Trek'', the nerve pinch was referred to as the "F.S.N.P.", which stood for "Famous Spock Neck Pinch."<ref>William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy: The Twenty-Five Year Mission Tour: Video</ref><ref>Leonard Nimoy: Star Trek Memories: Television program</ref>


Nimoy has a star on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]].<ref name=BBC>[https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-31672543 Leonard Nimoy: Obama leads tributes to Star Trek actor] BBC News, February 28, 2015</ref> On June 2, 2015, the [[asteroid]] [[4864 Nimoy]] was named after him.<ref name=planet /><ref>[[Minor Planet Center|MPC]] [http://www.minorplanetcenter.net/iau/ECS/MPCArchive/2015/MPC_20150602.pdf 94384]</ref>
He has remained good friends with co-star William Shatner (also of [[History of the Jews in Ukraine|Ukrainian-Jewish]] descent) and was best man at Shatner's third marriage in 1997. Shatner is only four days older than Nimoy. He also remained good friends with [[DeForest Kelley]] until Kelley's death in 1999.


== Illness and death ==
The [[Space Foundation]] named Nimoy as the recipient of the 2010 Douglas S. Morrow Public Outreach Award<ref>[http://www.spacefoundation.org/news/story.php?id=877 – Space Foundation Douglas S. Morrow Public Outreach Award]</ref> for creating a positive role model that inspired untold numbers of viewers to learn more about the universe.
In January 2014, Nimoy revealed publicly that he had been diagnosed with [[chronic obstructive pulmonary disease]] (COPD), a condition he attributed to a smoking addiction he had quit about 30 years earlier.<ref>{{Cite web | url = http://www.today.com/health/diagnosed-copd-leonard-nimoy-urged-people-quit-smoking-2D80518449 | title = Diagnosed with COPD, Leonard Nimoy urged people to quit smoking | publisher = [[Today (American TV program)|The Today Show]] | date = February 27, 2015 | access-date = February 28, 2015 | first = A. | last = Pawlowski }}</ref> On February 19, 2015, having been in and out of hospitals for several months, Nimoy was taken to [[Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center|UCLA Medical Center]] for chest pains.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/24/entertainment/leonard-nimoy-feat/ | title = Internet to Leonard Nimoy: Live long and prosper | first = Lisa Respers | last = France | date = February 24, 2015 | access-date= February 27, 2015 | publisher = [[CNN]] }}</ref>


On February 25, 2015, Nimoy fell into a coma,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.treknews.net/2016/05/27/leonard-nimoy-final-months-adam-nimoy-copd/|title=Leonard Nimoy's Son Adam Discusses His Father's Final Months [VIDEO]|date=May 27, 2016|website=treknews.net|access-date=July 11, 2017}}</ref> and died of complications from COPD at his home in the [[Bel Air, Los Angeles|Bel Air]] neighborhood of Los Angeles on the morning of February 27, at the age of 83.<ref name="NPR">{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2015/02/27/389520008/he-was-and-will-always-be-our-friend-remembering-leonard-nimoy/|title=He Was, And Will Always Be, Our Friend: Remembering Leonard Nimoy|date=February 27, 2015|website=NPR.org}}</ref> [[Adam Nimoy]] said that as his father came closer to death, "he mellowed out. He made his family a priority and his career became secondary."<ref name=mellowed>{{cite web|last=Nimoy|first=Adam|url=https://twitter.com/StarTrek/status/629758274288484352|title=@StarTrek|website=Twitter (confirmed official)|date=August 7, 2015|access-date=August 7, 2015}}</ref> A few days before his death, Nimoy shared some of his poetry on Twitter: "A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. [[Vulcan salute#"Live long and prosper"|LLAP]]".<ref name=tw-trn-2015-2>{{Cite tweet|user=TheRealNimoy|number=569762773204217857|title=A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. LLAP|last=Nimoy|first=Leonard|date=February 22, 2015|access-date=March 4, 2015}}</ref><ref name=hp-ln-2015-02>{{Cite news|last=Goodman|first=Jessica|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/leonard-nimoy-dead_n_6770032|title='Star Trek' Star Leonard Nimoy Dead At 83|work=[[HuffPost]]|date=February 27, 2015|access-date=March 30, 2015}}</ref> It was his final tweet.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://time.com/3726337/leonard-nimoy-dead-twitter/|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|title=Leonard Nimoy's Final Tweet Will Make You Cry|author=Dockterman, Eliana|language=en-US|url-status=live|date=February 27, 2015|access-date=November 1, 2022|archivedate=February 27, 2015|archiveurl=https://archive.today/20150227182410/http://time.com/3726337/leonard-nimoy-dead-twitter/}}</ref>
In 2009, Nimoy was honored by his childhood hometown when the Office of Mayor [[Thomas Menino]] [[Proclamation|proclaimed]] the date of November 14, 2009 as ''Leonard Nimoy Day'' in the City of Boston.<ref>{{cite news |title=Hardly Illogical: Leonard Nimoy Day, November 14 |first=Shaula |last=Clark |authorlink=http://blog.thephoenix.com/BLOGS/members/Shaula-Clark.aspx |url=http://blog.thephoenix.com/BLOGS/laserorgy/archive/2009/11/14/hardly-illogical-leonard-nimoy-day-november-14.aspx |newspaper=[[The Phoenix (newspaper)|Boston Phoenix]] |date=November 14, 2009 |at= |accessdate=March 31, 2012 |language= |trans_title= |quote= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |deadurl= }}</ref>


He was buried at [[Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery]] in Los Angeles on March 1, 2015.<ref>{{cite news|author=<!-- staff writer(s); no by-line. -->|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-31693751|title=Leonard Nimoy's funeral held in LA|work=[[BBC News]]|date=March 2, 2015|access-date=March 2, 2015}}</ref> The service was attended by nearly 300 family members, friends, and former colleagues, including [[Zachary Quinto]], [[Chris Pine]], and [[J. J. Abrams]]. Though [[William Shatner]] did not attend, he was represented by his daughters.<ref name=funeral>{{cite web|last=Vulpo|first=Mike|title=Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto Among Nearly 300 Guests at Leonard Nimoy's Funeral{{nbsp}}...|website=[[E! News]]|date=March 3, 2015|url=http://www.eonline.com/news/631707/chris-pine-zachary-quinto-among-nearly-300-guests-at-leonard-nimoy-s-funeral-all-the-details|access-date=March 4, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Grinberg |first=Emanuella |date=2015-03-01 |title=Shatner defends absence from Nimoy’s funeral |url=https://www.cnn.com/2015/03/01/entertainment/feat-william-shatner-nimoy-funeral/index.html |access-date=2024-12-18 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref>
==Filmography==

===1950s===
=== Personal tributes ===
[[File:Astronaut Salutes Nimoy From Orbit.jpg|thumb|[[NASA]] Astronaut [[Terry W. Virts]] shot a photo of the [[Vulcan salute]] from the [[International Space Station]], in orbit above Nimoy's home town of Boston on February 28, 2015.]]
Cast members of ''Star Trek'' who had worked alongside Nimoy gave personal tributes after his death. [[William Shatner]] wrote, "I loved him like a brother.{{nbsp}}... We will all miss his humor, his talent, and his capacity to love."<ref>{{Cite web | url = https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/leonard-nimoy-spock-of-star-trek-dead-at-83/ | title = Leonard Nimoy, Spock of ''Star Trek'', dead at 83 | publisher = [[Fox News Channel]] | date = February 27, 2015 | access-date = February 27, 2015 }}</ref> [[George Takei]] called him an "extraordinarily talented man" and a "very decent human being".<ref>Rosen, Christopher (February 27, 2015). [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/27/william-shatner-leonard-nimoy_n_6770654.html "William Shatner, George Takei Pay Tribute to Leonard Nimoy"]. ''[[The Huffington Post]]''.</ref> [[Walter Koenig]] said that after working with him, he discovered Nimoy's "compassion, his intelligence and his humanity".<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Koenig|first=Walter|url=https://time.com/3727326/leonard-nimoy-rip-walter-koenig-chekov/|title=Chekov Remembers Spock: Walter Koenig On Leonard Nimoy|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|TIME]]|date=February 28, 2015|access-date=February 28, 2015}}</ref> [[Nichelle Nichols]] noted that Nimoy's integrity, passion and devotion as an actor "helped transport ''Star Trek'' into television history."<ref>{{cite web|last=Carlson|first=Adam|url=http://www.people.com/article/leonard-nimoy-death-nichelle-nichols|title=Leonard Nimoy Dead: Nichelle Nichols Comments|website=[[People (magazine)|People]]|date=February 28, 2015|access-date=February 28, 2015}}</ref> Quinto, who portrayed Spock as a young man in ''[[Star Trek (2009 film)|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."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://instagram.com/p/znSmtrLi1v/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/instagram/zacharyquinto/929793673295441263 |archive-date=December 23, 2021 |url-access=subscription|access-date=February 27, 2015|date=February 27, 2015|first=Zachary|last=Quinto|author-link=Zachary Quinto|title=zacharyquinto – February 27, 2015|quote=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.}}{{cbignore}} <br />{{cite web |url=https://www.wired.com/2015/02/leonard-nimoy-death/ |title=How the Internet Is Remembering the Legendary Leonard Nimoy |last1=McMillan |first1=Graeme |date=February 27, 2015 |website=Wired.com |publisher=[[Wired (website)|Wired]] |access-date=February 28, 2015}}<br /></ref>

U.S. President [[Barack Obama]], who had met Nimoy in 2007, remembered him as "a lifelong lover of the arts and humanities, a supporter of the sciences, generous with his talent and his time".<ref>{{cite news|last=Korte|first=Gregory|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/theoval/2015/02/27/obama-statement-on-leonard-nimoy-spock/24136695/|title=Obama on death of Leonard Nimoy: 'I loved Spock'|newspaper=[[USA Today]]|date=February 27, 2015|access-date=March 1, 2015}}</ref> 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".<ref>{{cite news|last=Aldrin|first=Buzz|url=http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/27/opinion/buzz-aldrin-leonard-nimoy-spock/|title=Buzz Aldrin: Leonard Nimoy, my fellow space traveler|publisher=[[CNN]]|date=February 28, 2015|access-date=March 1, 2015}}</ref>

[[File:Statement by the President on the Passing of Leonard Nimoy.jpg|thumb|Statement by United States President [[Barack Obama]] on Nimoy's death.]]
''[[The Big Bang Theory]]'', which made frequent references to Spock, and for which Nimoy voiced one episode, paid tribute to him after his death. Creator [[Chuck Lorre]]'s [[production logo|vanity card]] at the end of the Season 8 episode, "The Colonization Application" (airing on March 5), featured a picture of Nimoy with the caption, "The impact you had on our show and on our lives is everlasting."<ref name=vanity>{{cite news|last=Derschowitz|first=Jessica|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-big-bang-theory-pays-tribute-to-leonard-nimoy/|title=''The Big Bang Theory'' pays tribute to Leonard Nimoy|work=[[CBS News]]|date=March 6, 2015|access-date=August 2, 2015}}</ref>

The 136th episode of the web series ''[[Angry Video Game Nerd]]'', which covered ''Seaman'', was dedicated to Nimoy. [https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-IV8hCvsXy0 Seaman (Dreamcast) - Angry Video Game Nerd (AVGN)]

As part of a campaign for the 2016 feature film ''[[Star Trek Beyond]]'', aimed at benefiting several charities, Zachary Quinto and other cast members posted a video tribute to Nimoy,<ref>{{cite web|last=Domanico|first=Anthony|url=http://www.cnet.com/news/star-trek-beyond-cast-delivers-touching-tribute-to-leonard-nimoy/|title=''Star Trek Beyond'' cast delivers touching tribute to Leonard Nimoy|website=[[CNET]]|date=August 25, 2015|access-date=August 25, 2015}}</ref> and the film itself paid tribute to him. Its director, [[Justin Lin]], explained: "It's something you'll see in the film. It obviously affected everybody, because he's been a big part of our lives. There's an attempt to acknowledge that in some way."<ref>[http://www.flickeringmyth.com/2016/04/star-trek-beyond-will-pay-tribute-to-leonard-nimoy/ "''Star Trek Beyond'' will pay tribute to Leonard Nimoy"], ''Flickering Myth'', April 12, 2016</ref>

[[Adam Nimoy]] directed a biographical documentary on his father, ''[[For the Love of Spock]]'', which Quinto narrated and with which Shatner was also involved.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2015/film/news/leonard-nimoy-son-spock-documentary-1201461815/|title=Leonard Nimoy's Son Plans Spock Documentary{{nbsp}}...|date=March 27, 2015|access-date=March 27, 2015|first=Dave| last=McNary|website=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Adam Nimoy's 'For The Love Of Spock' To Premiere At Tribeca Film Festival|date=March 16, 2016|url=http://www.treknews.net/2016/03/16/adam-nimoy-for-the-love-of-spock-tribeca-premiere/|access-date=March 27, 2016}}</ref> For charity, Shatner used [[selfie]]s made by Nimoy's fans to create an online tribute mosaic of the Vulcan salute.<ref name=GISHWHES>{{cite news|last=Hanks|first=Henry|url=http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/09/entertainment/leonard-nimoy-william-shatner-selfie-tribute-feat/|title=Fans and William Shatner pay tribute to Leonard Nimoy with selfie mosaic|work=[[CNN]]|date=August 9, 2015|access-date=August 10, 2015}}</ref>

In June 2015, the [[Jet Propulsion Laboratory]] renamed a {{convert|10|km|miles|abbr=on}}-wide asteroid 4864 Nimoy, originally discovered in 1988, in the Solar System's main [[asteroid belt]].<ref>{{Cite web | url = http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2015/06/06/asteroid_4864_nimoy_named_for_leonard_nimoy.html | title = Leonard Nimoy Immortalized in the Asteroid Belt | first = Phil | last = Platt | date = June 6, 2015 | access-date = June 6, 2015 | website = [[Slate (magazine)|Slate]] }}</ref>

Shatner wrote a book about his friendship with Nimoy titled ''Leonard: My Fifty Year Friendship with a Remarkable Man'', released on February 16, 2016.<ref>{{cite web |title=Leonard: My Fifty-Year Friendship with a Remarkable Man|url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25819509-leonard|access-date=May 22, 2016}}</ref>

In April 2017, a biographical documentary about his illness, ''[[Remembering Leonard Nimoy]]'' was released, produced by his daughter [[Julie Nimoy|Julie]].

In front of the [[Boston Museum of Science]], a memorial to Leonard Nimoy is planned for installation, near where he grew up in the [[West End, Boston|West End of Boston]]. The monumental sculpture will be a larger-than-life representation of a hand displaying his iconic "[[Vulcan salute|live long and prosper]]" gesture. {{Asof|2024|11}}, the project is at least 75% funded.<ref name="Nimoy-MOS">{{cite web |title=Leonard Nimoy Memorial |url=https://donate.mos.org/campaign/leonard-nimoy-memorial/c329955 |website=Museum of Science |publisher=Museum of Science, Boston |access-date=2024-11-12}}</ref>

== Filmography ==
{{See also|Leonard Nimoy filmography}}

=== Music videos ===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
|-
! Year
! Year
! Title
! Title
! Role
! Artist
! class="unsortable"| Notes
! Notes
|-
|-
| 1951
| 1967
| "[[The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins]]"
| ''[[Rhubarb (1951 film)|Rhubarb]]''
| Leonard Nimoy
| Young Ball Player
|
|
|-
|-
| 1952
| 1985
| "[[Going Down to Liverpool]]"
| ''Kid Monk Baroni''
| [[The Bangles]]
| Paul 'Monk' Baroni
| The Chauffeur
|
|-
| 1952
| ''[[Zombies of the Stratosphere]]''
| Narab
|
|-
| 1952
| ''[[Francis Goes to West Point]]''
| Football player
| Uncredited
|-
| 1953
| ''Old Overland Trail''
| Chief Black Hawk
|
|-
| 1954
| ''[[Them!]]''
| Army Staff Sergeant
|
|-
| 1954
| ''[[Dragnet (series)|Dragnet]]''
| Julius Carver
| (TV series, 1 episode: "The Big Boys")
|-
| 1956
| ''[[The West Point Story (TV series)|The West Point Story]]''
| Tom Kennedy
| (TV series, 1 episode: "His Brother's Fist")
|-
| 1957
| ''[[Highway Patrol (TV series)|Highway Patrol]]''
| Harry Wells
| (TV series, 1 episode: "Hot Dust")
|-
| 1958
| ''[[The Brain Eaters]]''
| Professor Cole
|
|-
| 1958
| ''[[Highway Patrol (TV series)|Highway Patrol]]''
| Ray
| (TV series, 1 episode: "Bloody Money")
|-
| 1958-1960
| ''[[Sea Hunt]]''
| Indio
| (TV series, 6 episodes)
|-
| 1959
| ''[[Dragnet]]''
| Karlo Rozwadowski
| (TV series, 1 episode: "The Big Name")
|-
|-
| 2011
| "[[The Lazy Song]]"
| [[Bruno Mars]]
| Alternate music video
|}
|}


===1960s===
=== Video games ===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
|-
! Year
! Year
! Title
! Title
! Voice role
! Role
! class="unsortable"| Notes
! Notes
|-
|-
| 1960
| 1994
| ''[[Star Trek: 25th Anniversary (computer game)|Star Trek: 25th Anniversary]]''
| ''[[Bonanza]]''
| rowspan="2" | Spock
| Freddy
|
| (TV series, 1 episode: "The Ape")
|-
|-
| 1960
| 1995
| ''[[M Squad]]''
| ''[[Star Trek: Judgment Rites]]''
|
| Bob Nash
| (TV series, 1 episode: "Badge for a Coward")
|-
|-
| 1999
| 1960-1961
|''[[The Tall Man (TV series)|The Tall Man]]''
| ''[[Seaman (video game)|Seaman]]''
| The Narrator<ref>{{cite video game | developer=[[Vivarium Inc.|Vivarium]], [[Jellyvision]] | title=Seaman | publisher=[[Sega]] | scene=Ending credits, 4:17:55 in, Narration By | year=2000}}</ref>
| Deputy Sheriff Johnny Swift
|
| 2 episodes: "A Bounty for Billy" and "A Gun Is for Killing"
|-
|-
| 1961
| 2005
| ''[[Civilization IV]]''
| ''[[The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)|The Twilight Zone]]''
| The Narrator
| Hansen
|
| (TV series, 1 episode: "[[A Quality of Mercy]]")
|-
|-
| 1961
| 2010
| ''[[Rawhide (TV series)|Rawhide]]''
| ''[[Star Trek Online]]''
| Anko
| Spock
|
| (TV series, 1 episode: "Incident Before Black Pass")
|-
|-
| 1963
| 2010
| ''[[Perry Mason (TV series)|Perry Mason]]''
| ''[[Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep]]''
| rowspan="5" | [[Xehanort]]<ref name="auto">{{cite press release |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Return to the Magical Realm of Kingdom Hearts on September 7, 2010 |url=http://release.square-enix.com/na/2010/05/17_01.html |location=Los Angeles |publisher=[[Square Enix]]; [[Disney Interactive Studios]] |date=May 17, 2010 |access-date=August 2, 2010}}</ref><ref name="rad-Monkey">{{cite web|author=rad-Monkey|date=May 31, 2012|title=The Voice Talent of Kingdom Hearts 3D|url=http://eu.square-enix.com/en/blog/voice-talent-kingdom-hearts-3d|access-date=November 1, 2013|publisher=Square Enix|type=Blog}}</ref>
| Pete Chennery
|
| (TV series, 1 episode: "The Case of the Shoplifter's Shoe")
|-
|-
| 1963
| 2012
| ''[[Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance]]''
| ''The Balcony''
|
| Roger
|
|-
|-
| 1963
| 2014
| ''[[The Virginian (TV series)|The Virginian]]''
| ''[[Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 Remix]]''
| (Birth By Sleep Final Mix)
| Lt. Beldon M.D.
| (TV series, 1 episode: "Man of Violence")
|-
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2017
| 1964
| ''[[The Outer Limits (1963 TV series)|The Outer Limits]]''
| ''[[Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue]]''
| (Dream Drop Distance HD)
| Konig
| (TV series, 1 episode: "[[Production and Decay of Strange Particles]]")
|-
| 1964
| ''[[The Outer Limits (1963 TV series)|The Outer Limits]]''
| Judson Ellis
| (TV series, 1 episode: "[[I, Robot (1964 The Outer Limits)|I, Robot]]")
|-
| 1964
| ''[[The Man From U.N.C.L.E.]]''
| Vladeck
| (TV series, 1 episode: "The Project Strigas Affair")
|-
| 1966
| ''[[Get Smart]]''
| Stryker
| (TV series, 1 episode: "[[List of Get Smart episodes|The Dead Spy Scrawls]]")
|-
| 1966
| ''[[Gunsmoke]]''
| John Walking Fox
| (TV series, 1 episode: "[[List of Gunsmoke television episodes|Treasure of John Walking Fox]]")
|-
| 1966
| ''[[Daniel Boone]]''
| Oontah
| (TV series, 1 episode: "Seminole Territory")
|-
| 1966
| ''[[Deathwatch (1966 film)|Deathwatch]]''
| Jules Lefranc
|
|-
| 1966-1969
| ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series|Star Trek]]''
| [[Spock|Mr. Spock]]
|(TV series, 79 episodes)<br>Nominated-[[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series]] <small>(1967, 1968, 1969)</small>
|-
| 1969-1971
| ''[[Mission: Impossible (TV series)|Mission: Impossible]]''
| [[Great Paris|Paris]]
|(TV series, 49 episodes)
|-
|-
| ''Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 Remix''
| (Birth By Sleep Final Mix)
|}
|}


== Awards and nominations ==
===1970s===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
|-
! Year
! Year
! Association
! Title
! Category
! Role
! Work
! class="unsortable"| Notes
! Result
|-
|-
| [[19th Primetime Emmy Awards|1968]]
| 1971
| rowspan="3"| [[Primetime Emmy Awards]]
| ''[[Assault on the Wayne]]''
| rowspan="3"| [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series|Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series]]
| Commander Phil Kettenring
| rowspan="3"| ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series]]''
|
| {{nom}}
|-
|-
| [[20th Primetime Emmy Awards|1969]]
| 1971
| {{nom}}
| ''[[Catlow]]''
| Miller
|
|-
|-
| [[21st Primetime Emmy Awards|1970]]
| 1973
| {{nom}}
| ''[[Baffled!]]''
| Tom Kovack
|
|-
|-
| [[6th Saturn Awards|1978]]
| 1973
| rowspan=2|[[Saturn Awards]]
| ''[[List of Columbo episodes#Second season (1972–1973, 8 episodes)|Columbo: A Stitch in Crime]]''
| rowspan=2|[[Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor|Best Supporting Actor]]
| Dr. Barry Mayfield
|
|-
| 1973-1974
| ''[[Star Trek: The Animated Series]]''
| [[Spock|Mr. Spock]]
| (TV series, 22 episodes)
|-
| 1974
| ''Rex Harrison Presents Stories of Love''
| Mick
|
|-
| 1976-1982
| ''[[In Search Of... (TV series)|In Search of...]]''
| Narrator
| (TV series)
|-
| 1978
| ''[[Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978 film)|Invasion of the Body Snatchers]]''
| ''[[Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978 film)|Invasion of the Body Snatchers]]''
| {{Nom}}
| Dr. David Kibner
| Nominated-[[Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor]]
|-
|-
| 1979
| [[7th Saturn Awards|1979]]
| ''[[Star Trek: The Motion Picture]]''
| ''[[Star Trek: The Motion Picture]]''
| {{Nom}}
| [[Spock|Mr. Spock]]
| Nominated-[[Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor]]
|-
|-
| [[34th Primetime Emmy Awards|1982]]
|}
| Primetime Emmy Awards

| [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie|Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or a Special]]
===1980s===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable"| Notes
|-
| 1981
| ''[[Vincent (1981 film)|Vincent]]''
| [[Theo van Gogh (art dealer)|Theo van Gogh]]
|
|-
| 1982
| ''[[A Woman Called Golda]]''
| ''[[A Woman Called Golda]]''
| {{Nom}}
| Morris Meyerson
| Nominated-[[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie]]
|-
|-
| [[12th Saturn Awards|1984]]
| 1982
|Saturn Awards
| ''[[Marco Polo (TV miniseries)|Marco Polo]]''
|[[Saturn Award for Best Director|Best Director]]
| [[Ahmad Fanakati|Achmet]]
| rowspan="2" | ''[[Star Trek III: The Search for Spock]]''
| (TV mini-series)
| {{Nom}}
|-
|-
|1985
| 1982
|[[Hugo Award]]s
| ''[[Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan]]''
|[[Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation|Best Dramatic Presentation]]
| [[Spock|Captain Spock]]
|
| {{Nom}}
|-
|-
| rowspan="2" | [[14th Saturn Awards|1986]]
| 1983
| rowspan="3" |Saturn Awards
| ''[[T.J. Hooker]]''
|Best Director
| Paul McGuire
| rowspan="2" | ''[[Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home]]''
| (TV series, 1 episode: "Vengeance is Mine")
| {{Nom}}
|-
|-
| [[Saturn Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]]
| 1984
| {{Nom}}
| ''[[Star Trek III: The Search for Spock]]''
| [[Spock|Captain Spock]]
| Nominated-[[Saturn Award for Best Director]]
|-
|-
| rowspan="2" |1987
| 1984
| ''[[The Sun Also Rises]]''
| colspan="2" |[[The Life Career Award]]
| {{yes|Awarded}}
| Count Mippipopolous
|
|-
|-
| rowspan="2" |Hugo Awards
| 1986
| rowspan="2" |Best Dramatic Presentation
| ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]''
|''Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home''
| [[Galvatron]]
| (voice)
| {{Nom}}
|-
|-
|1992
| 1986
| ''[[Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home]]''
|''[[Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country]]''
| {{Nom}}
| [[Spock|Captain Spock]]
| Nominated-[[Saturn Award for Best Actor]]<br>Nominated-[[Saturn Award for Best Director]]
|-
|-
| [[29th Annie Awards|2001]]
| 1986
| ''[[Faerie Tale Theatre]]''
| [[Annie Awards]]
| [[Annie Award for Voice Acting in a Feature Production|Voice Acting by a Male Performer in an Animated Feature Production]]
| The Evil Moroccan Magician
| (TV series, 1 episode: "Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp")
|-
| 1989
| ''[[Star Trek V: The Final Frontier]]''
| [[Spock|Captain Spock]]
|
|-
|}

===1990s===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable"| Notes
|-
| 1991
| ''[[Never Forget (1991 film)|Never Forget]]''
| Mel Mermelstein
|
|-
| 1991
| ''[[Haunted Lives: True Ghost Stories]]''
| Narrator
|
|-
| 1991
| ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]''
| [[Spock|Ambassador Spock]]
| (TV series, 2 episodes)
|-
| 1991
| ''[[Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country]]''
| [[Spock|Captain Spock]]
|
|-
| 1993
| ''[[The Halloween Tree (1993 TV film)|The Halloween Tree]]''
| Mr. Moundshroud
| (voice)
|-
| 1994
| ''[[The Pagemaster]]''
| [[Dr. Henry Jekyll]]/[[Mr. Edward Hyde]]
| (voice)
|-
| 1995
| ''[[Bonanza: Under Attack]]''
| Frank James
|
|-
| 1995
| ''[[The Outer Limits (1995 TV series)|The Outer Limits]]''
| Thomas Cutler
| (TV series, 1 episode: "[[I, Robot (1995 The Outer Limits)|I, Robot]]")
|-
| 1995
| ''Titanica''
| Narrator
| (documentary)
|-
| 1997
| "A Life Apart: Hasidism in America"
| Narrator
| (documentary)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pbs.org/alifeapart/ |title=A Life Apart}}</ref>
|-
| 1997
| ''David''
| [[Samuel]]
|
|-
| 1997
| ''[[Duckman|Duckman: Private Dick/Family Man]]''
| Cameos
| (TV series, 1 episode: "[[List of Duckman episodes#Season 4: 1997|Where No Duckman Has Gone Before]]"
|-
| 1998
| ''The Harryhausen Chronicles''
| Narrator
| (documentary)
|-
| 1998
| ''[[Brave New World (film)|Brave New World]]''
| Mustapha Mond
|
|-
|}

===2000s===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
| 2000
| ''[[Seaman (video game)]]''
| Narrator
| (video game) (voice)
|-
| 2000
| ''[[Sinbad: Beyond the Veil of Mists]]''
| Akron/Baraka/King Chandra
| (voice)
|-
| 2001
| ''[[Becker (TV series)|Becker]]''
| Professor Emmett Fowler
| (TV series, 1 episode: "The TorMentor")
|-
| 2002
| ''[[Futurama (TV series)|Futurama]]''
| Himself
| (TV series, 2 episodes: "Space Pilot 3000", "Where No Fan Has Gone Before")
|-
| 2002
| ''[[Atlantis: The Lost Empire]]''
| ''[[Atlantis: The Lost Empire]]''
| {{Nom}}
| King Kashekim Nedakh
| (voice)
|-
|-
| [[Boston Society of Film Critics Awards 2009|2009]]
| 2005
| [[Boston Society of Film Critics]]
| ''[[Civilization IV]]''
| [[Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Cast|Best Cast]]
| Narrator
| rowspan="3" | ''[[Star Trek (2009 film)|Star Trek]]''
| (video game), (voice)
| {{won}}
|-
|-
| [[15th Critics' Choice Awards|2009]]
| 2009
| ''[[Star Trek (film)|Star Trek]]''
| [[Critics' Choice Movie Awards]]
| [[Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Acting Ensemble|Best Cast]]
| [[Spock|Spock Prime]]
|
| {{nom}}
|-
|-
| 2009
| 2009
| [[Scream Awards]]
| ''[[Land of the Lost (film)|Land of the Lost]]''
| [[2009 Scream Awards#Best Ensemble|Best Ensemble]]
| [[Land of the Lost (1974 TV series) characters and species#The Zarn|The Zarn]]
| (voice)
| {{nom}}
|-
|-
| [[36th Saturn Awards|2009]]
| 2009-2012
| Saturn Awards
| [[Saturn Award for Best Guest Starring Role on Television|Best Guest Starring Role on Television]]
| ''[[Fringe (TV series)|Fringe]]''
| ''[[Fringe (TV series)|Fringe]]''
| {{won}}
| [[William Bell (Fringe)|Dr. William Bell]]
| (TV series, 11 episodes)<br>[[Saturn Award for Best Guest Starring Role on Television]]
|-
|-
| 2014
| [[National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences]] Boston/New England Chapter<ref>{{cite web |title=Chapter Honors List|url=http://newenglandemmy.org/awards/chapter-honors-list/|access-date=October 3, 2016}}</ref>
| [[New England Emmy Awards]]
Governors' Award
| ''Enduring Contributions to the Television Industry''
| {{won}}
|}
|}


===2010s===
== Bibliography ==
* Poetry
{| class="wikitable sortable"
** ''You & I'' (1973) • {{ISBN|9780912310268}}
|-
** ''Will I Think of You?'' (1974) • {{ISBN|9780912310701}}
! Year
** ''We Are All Children Searching for Love: A Collection of Poems and Photographs'' (1977) • {{ISBN|9780883960240}}
! Title
** ''Come be with Me'' (1978) • {{ISBN|9780883960332}}
! Role
** ''These Words Are for You'' (1981) • {{ISBN|9780883961483}}
! class="unsortable"| Notes
** ''Warmed by Love'' (1983) • {{ISBN|9780883962008}}
|-
** ''A Lifetime of Love: Poems on the Passages of Life'' (2002) • {{ISBN|9780883965962}}
| 2010
* Biography
| ''[[Star Trek Online]]''
** ''[[I Am Not Spock]]'' (1975) • {{ISBN|9781568496917}}
| Mr. Spock (Narrator)
** ''[[I Am Spock]]'' (1995) • {{ISBN|9780786861828}}
| (video game), (voice)
* Screenplays
|-
** ''Vincent'' (1981) (teleplay based on the play "Van Gogh" (1979) by Phillip Stephens) • {{OCLC|64819808}}
| 2010
** ''[[Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home]]'' (1986) (story by)
| ''[[Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep]]''
** ''[[Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country]]'' (1991) (story by)
| [[Xehanort|Master Xehanort]]<ref>Dengeki PlayStation Vol.474: Japanese video game magazine</ref>
* Photography
| (video game), (voice)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://release.square-enix.com/na/2010/05/17_01.html |title=RETURN TO THE MAGICAL REALM OF KINGDOM HEARTS ON SEPTEMBER 7, 2010 &#124; SQUARE ENIX |publisher=Release.square-enix.com |date=May 17, 2010 |accessdate=August 2, 2010}}</ref>
** ''[[Shekhina (book)|Shekhina]]'' (2005) • {{ISBN|9781884167164}}
|-
** ''The Full Body Project'' (2008) • {{ISBN|9780979472725}}
| 2011
** ''Secret Selves'' (2010) {{ISBN|9780976427698}}
| ''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon]]''
| [[Sentinel Prime]]
| (voice)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=75809|title=Leonard Nimoy is the Voice of Sentinel Prime|publisher=ComingSoon}}</ref><br>Nominated-[[Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Screen Couple/Ensemble|Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Screen Ensemble]] <small>(shared with the entire cast)</small>
|-
| 2012
| ''[[The Big Bang Theory]]
| [[Action Figure]] [[Spock]]
| (voice)<ref name="bang">{{cite web|url=http://www.tvline.com/2012/02/big-bang-theory-leonard-nimoy/|title=''Big Bang Theory'' Exclusive: Leonard Nimoy Finally Agrees to Cameo – But There's a Twist!|work=TVLine.com|accessdate=February 29, 2012}}</ref>
|-
| 2012
| ''[[Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance]]''
| [[Master Xehanort]]
| (video game), (voice)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://eu.square-enix.com/en/blog/voice-talent-kingdom-hearts-3d |title= The Voice Talent of KINGDOM HEARTS 3D|publisher= Sqaure Enix|accessdate=May 31, 2012}}</ref>
|-
| 2012
| ''[[Zambezia (film)|Zambezia]]''
| Sekhuru
| (voice)
|-
|}


===Director===
== Discography ==
{{Portal|Film|Television|Music|Science fiction|Speculative fiction}}
* ''Vincent'': Based on the play "Van Gogh" by Phillip Stephens (1978–1981)
* ''[[Star Trek III: The Search for Spock]]'' (1984)
* ''[[Leonard Nimoy Presents Mr. Spock's Music from Outer Space]]'' (1967)
* ''[[Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home]]'' (1986)
* ''[[Two Sides of Leonard Nimoy]]'' (1968)
* ''[[Three Men and a Baby]]'' (1987)
* ''[[The Way I Feel (Leonard Nimoy album)|The Way I Feel]]'' (1968)
* ''[[The Good Mother (1988 film)|The Good Mother]]'' (1988)
* ''[[The Touch of Leonard Nimoy]]'' (1969)
* ''[[Funny About Love]]'' (1990)
* ''[[The New World of Leonard Nimoy]]'' (1970)
* ''[[Holy Matrimony (1994 film)|Holy Matrimony]]'' (1994)
* episodes of ''[[Night Gallery]]'', ''[[T.J. Hooker]]'', ''[[The Powers of Matthew Star]]'' and ''[[Deadly Games]]''


==Videography==
== Notes==
{{Notelist}}


===Music videos===
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
*"Bilbo Baggins" by Leonard Nimoy
*"[[Going Down to Liverpool]]" by [[The Bangles]] (1985)
*"[[The Lazy Song]]" by [[Bruno Mars]] (2011)


== External links ==
==Writer==
<!--===============================================================================-->
<!--| WIKIPEDIA IS NOT A COLLECTION OF LINKS. Only a limited number of new links |-->
<!--| should be added to this article. Consider adding links to the appropriate |-->
<!--| category at the Open Directory Project (www.dmoz.org) and link back to that |-->
<!--| category using the {{dmoz}} template. |-->
<!--| See [[Wikipedia:External links]] and [[Wikipedia:Spam]] for further details |-->
<!--===============================================================================-->
{{Sister project links|v=no|b=no|wikt=no|n=no|s=Author:Leonard Simon Nimoy}}
{{Wikisource|Statement by the President on the Passing of Leonard Nimoy}}
{{Wikisource|NASA Administrator Remembers Leonard Nimoy}}
{{Wikisource|Tribute to Leonard Nimoy by Adam Schiff}}


* [http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Leonard_Nimoy Leonard Nimoy] at [[Memory Alpha]] (a ''[[Star Trek]]'' [[wiki]])
===Bibliography===
* ''[[I Am Not Spock]]'' (1975)
* ''Vincent: Based on the play "Van Gogh" by Phillip Stephens'' (1978)
* ''[[Star Trek: The Motion Picture]]'' (1979) (Contributions uncredited){{Citation needed|date=May 2010}}
* ''[[Star Trek III: The Search for Spock]]'' (1984) (Contributions uncredited){{Citation needed|date=May 2010}}
* ''[[Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home]]'' (1986)
* ''[[Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country]]'' (1991)
* ''[[I Am Spock]]'' (1995)
* ''[[Shekhina (book)|Shekhina]]'' photography (2005) (ISBN 978-1-884167-16-4)
* ''The Full Body Project'' (2008)

===Poetry===
* ''You & I'' (1973) (ISBN 978-0-912310-26-8)
* ''Will I Think of You?'' (1974) (ISBN 0912310701)
* ''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==
:''See also: [[Leonard Nimoy discography]] (includes compilations and re-issues)''
* ''[[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 (Leonard Nimoy album)|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==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
{{Commons category}}
* [http://www.leonardnimoyphotography.com/index.htm Leonard Nimoy's personal website]
* {{IMDb name|559}}
* {{IMDb name|559}}
* {{Amg name|104553}}
* {{tcmdb name|id=141401%7C97752|name=Leonard Nimoy}}
* {{EmmyTVLegends name|leonard-nimoy}}
{{memoryalpha}}
* {{Discogs artist|Leonard Nimoy}}
* [http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/series/TOS/cast/69076.html Leonard Nimoy's entry at Startrek.com]
* [http://alienvoices.net/leonard-nimoy/ Leonard Nimoy at Alien Voices]
* [http://www.hossli.com/articles/2008/03/27/i-would-rather-god-to-be-a-woman-than-a-man/ Interview with Leonard Nimoy at hossli.com]
* [http://www.thehypertexts.com/Leonard%20Nimoy%20Poet%20Poetry%20Photographer%20Photography%20Picture%20Literary%20Bio.htm Leonard Nimoy Poetry and Photography] on The HyperTexts
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Pk_5ODFcX8 Interview with Leonard Nimoy by the Archive of American Television (2000)]
* [http://johnandjana.net/archive7/?p=5958 2010 Interview with Nimoy about his "Secret Selves" show at Mass MoCA]


===Media===
* [http://www.scvtv.com/html/sg111906-nm.html Newsmaker of the Week: Leonard Nimoy] (30-min. interview, free)
* [http://www.emmytvlegends.org/interviews/people/leonard-nimoy Archive of American Television Interview with Leonard Nimoy Nov 2, 2000]
* [http://www.wgbh.org/articles/Leonard-Nimoys-Secret-Selves-1041 Interview with Leonard Nimoy about photography, on ''The Callie Crossley Show'']
{{Leonard Nimoy}}
{{Leonard Nimoy}}
{{The Life Career Award}}
{{Saturn Award for Best Guest Starring Role on Television}}
{{Saturn Award for Best Guest Starring Role on Television}}
{{Portal bar|Film|Television|Music|Science fiction|Speculative fiction}}
{{Star Trek film crew}}
{{Authority control|VIAF=32127607|LCCN=n/50/003822|GND=119357607}}


{{Authority control}}
{[Portal box|Biography|Massachusetts|California|Film|Television|Music}}


{{Persondata
| name = Nimoy, Leonard
| alternative names =
| short description =American actor
| date of birth = March 26, 1931
| place of birth = Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
| date of death =
| place of death =
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nimoy, Leonard}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nimoy, Leonard}}
[[Category:Leonard Nimoy| ]]
[[Category:1931 births]]
[[Category:1931 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:2015 deaths]]
[[Category:American film actors]]
[[Category:20th-century American Jews]]
[[Category:American film directors]]
[[Category:20th-century American male actors]]
[[Category:American military personnel of the Korean War]]
[[Category:20th-century American male writers]]
[[Category:American poets]]
[[Category:20th-century American poets]]
[[Category:20th-century American singers]]
[[Category:21st-century American Jews]]
[[Category:21st-century American male actors]]
[[Category:American Ashkenazi Jews]]
[[Category:American male film actors]]
[[Category:American male poets]]
[[Category:American male singers]]
[[Category:American male television actors]]
[[Category:American male video game actors]]
[[Category:American male voice actors]]
[[Category:American people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:American people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:American television actors]]
[[Category:American television directors]]
[[Category:American television directors]]
[[Category:American voice actors]]
[[Category:American video game actors]]
[[Category:Antioch College alumni]]
[[Category:Antioch College alumni]]
[[Category:English-language film directors]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]
[[Category:Jewish actors]]
[[Category:Audiobook narrators]]
[[Category:Burials at Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery]]
[[Category:Deaths from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease]]
[[Category:Dot Records artists]]
[[Category:Dot Records artists]]
[[Category:Actors from Boston, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:English High School of Boston alumni]]
[[Category:United States Army soldiers]]
[[Category:English-language film directors]]
[[Category:20th-century actors]]
[[Category:Film directors from Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Jewish American male actors]]
[[Category:Jewish American military personnel]]
[[Category:Jewish American poets]]
[[Category:Jewish singers]]
[[Category:Male actors from Boston]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Massachusetts]]
[[Category:People from West End, Boston]]
[[Category:Poets from Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Respiratory disease deaths in California]]
[[Category:American science fiction film directors]]
[[Category:Science Fiction Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:Singers from Massachusetts]]
[[Category:United States Army non-commissioned officers]]
[[Category:United States Army personnel of the Korean War]]
[[Category:United States Army reservists]]
[[Category:Writers from Boston]]
[[Category:Yiddish-speaking people]]
[[Category:Jewish film people]]

Latest revision as of 14:35, 18 December 2024

Leonard Nimoy
Nimoy in 1973
Born
Leonard Simon Nimoy

(1931-03-26)March 26, 1931
DiedFebruary 27, 2015(2015-02-27) (aged 83)
Resting placeHillside Memorial Park Cemetery, Culver City, California, U.S.
Occupations
  • Actor
  • author
  • director
  • photographer
  • singer
Years active1950–2015[1][2]
Television
Spouses
  • Sandra Zober
    (m. 1954; div. 1987)
  • (m. 1989)
Children
Relatives
Military career
Service / branchUnited States Army
Years of service1953–1955
RankStaff Sergeant
UnitSpecial Services

Leonard Simon Nimoy (/ˈnmɔɪ/ NEE-moy; March 26, 1931 – February 27, 2015) was an American actor and director, famed for playing Spock in the Star Trek franchise for almost 50 years.[1] This includes originating Spock in the original Star Trek series in 1966, then Star Trek: The Animated Series, the first six Star Trek films, Star Trek: The Next Generation, the 2009 Star Trek film, and Star Trek Into Darkness. Nimoy also directed films, including Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984), Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986), and Three Men and a Baby (1987), and his career included roles in music videos and video games.[3][4] In addition to acting and filmmaking, Nimoy was a photographer, author, singer, and songwriter.

Nimoy's acting career began during his early twenties, teaching acting classes in Hollywood and making minor film and television appearances throughout the 1950s. From 1953 to 1955, he served in the United States Army as a Staff Sergeant in the Special Services, an entertainment branch of the American military.[5][6] He originated and developed Spock beginning with the February 1964 Star Trek television pilots "The Cage" and "Where No Man Has Gone Before", through series' end in early 1969, followed by eight feature films and guest appearances in spin-offs. From 1967 to 1970, Nimoy had a music career with Dot Records, with his first and second albums mostly as Spock.[7][8] After the original Star Trek series, Nimoy starred in Mission: Impossible for two seasons, hosted the documentary series In Search of..., appeared in Columbo, and made several well-received stage appearances.

Nimoy's portrayal of Spock made a significant cultural impact and earned him three Emmy Award nominations.[9][10] His public profile as Spock was so strong that both his autobiographies, I Am Not Spock (1975) and I Am Spock (1995), were written from the viewpoint of coexistence with the character.[11][12] Leonard Nimoy played the elder Spock, with Zachary Quinto portraying a younger Spock, in the 2009 Star Trek reboot film, directed by J. J. Abrams. In 2010, Nimoy announced that he was retiring from playing Spock, citing both his advanced age and the desire to give Quinto full media attention as the character.[13] His final role as Spock was in the 2013 sequel, Star Trek Into Darkness.[1]

Nimoy died in February 2015 after a long case of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). His death was international news and was met with expressions of shock and grief by fans, Star Trek co-stars, scientists, celebrities, and the media.[14][15][16] An asteroid was named 4864 Nimoy in his honor.[17] For the Love of Spock (2016) was produced by his son Adam about his life and career, and Remembering Leonard Nimoy (2017) was produced by his daughter Julie about his illness.[18]

Early life

[edit]

Leonard Simon Nimoy was born on March 26, 1931, in an Irish[19] section of the West End[20][21] of Boston, Massachusetts, to Jewish immigrants from Iziaslav, Ukraine.[22][23][24] His parents left Iziaslav separately, his father first walking over the border into Poland while his mother and grandmother were smuggled out of the Soviet Union in a horse-drawn wagon by hiding under bales of hay.[25]: 7  They reunited after arriving in the United States.[26] His mother, Dora (née Spinner; 1904–1987), was a homemaker, and his father, Max Nimoy (1901–1987), owned a barbershop in the Mattapan section of Boston.[27][28] He had an elder brother, Melvin (1926–2022).[1]

As a child, Nimoy took miscellaneous jobs to supplement his family's income, including selling newspapers and greeting cards, shining shoes, or setting up chairs in theaters, and when he got older, selling vacuum cleaners.[25]: 12  He began acting at the age of eight in a children's and neighborhood theater.[26] His parents wanted him to attend college and pursue a stable career, or even learn to play the accordion, so he could always make a living, but his grandfather encouraged him to do what he then wanted to do most, which was acting.[29] Nimoy realized he had an aptitude for singing, which he developed in his synagogue's choir.[25]: 17  His singing during his bar mitzvah at age 13 was so good he was asked to repeat his performance the following week at another synagogue. William Shatner said, "He is still the only man I know whose voice was two bar mitzvahs good!"[25]: 18 

His first major role was at 17, as Ralphie in an amateur production of Clifford Odets's Awake and Sing!,[24] about the struggles of a matriarchal Jewish family similar to his during the Great Depression. He said, "Playing this teenage kid in this Jewish family that was so much like mine was amazing ... The same dynamics, the same tensions in the household."[30] The role "lit a passion" that led to his acting career, saying "I never wanted to do anything else."[31] Shatner has said that Nimoy also worked on local radio shows for children, often voice acting Bible stories:

Obviously, there was something symbolic about that. Many years later as Captain Kirk, I would be busy rescuing civilizations in distress on distant planets while Leonard's Mr. Spock would be examining the morality of man- and alienkind.[25]: 17 

Nimoy took drama classes at Boston College, and after moving to Los Angeles, he used $600 he saved from selling vacuum cleaners to enroll at the Pasadena Playhouse, supporting himself by being a theatre usher, taxicab driver and stocking vending machines.[32][33][34][35] However, he was soon disillusioned and quit after six months, feeling that the acting skills he had already acquired from earlier roles were more advanced: "I thought, I have to study here three years in order to do this level of work, and I'm already doing better work".[25]: 25 

He became a devotee of method acting concepts derived from the teachings of Konstantin Stanislavsky, realizing the stage allowed him to explore his original inspirations for acting: the "psychological, emotional, and physical territories of life that can't be done anywhere else".[31]: 481  Like his method actor role model, Marlon Brando, Nimoy wore jeans and T-shirts. Between studies, he took a job at an ice cream parlor on the Sunset Strip.[31]: 481 

In 1953, Nimoy enlisted in the United States Army Reserve at Fort McPherson Georgia, serving for 18 months until 1955, leaving as a Staff Sergeant. He had been in the Army Special Services, putting on shows which he wrote, narrated, and emceed.[36][37][38] One of his soldiers was Ken Berry, whom he encouraged to go into acting as a civilian and helped contact agents.[39] During that period, he directed and starred in A Streetcar Named Desire, with the Atlanta Theater Guild.[31]: 481 [a] Soon after he was discharged, his wife Sandi was pregnant with their second child, and they rented an apartment while he became a cab driver in Los Angeles.[25]: 41  He once picked up Senator John F. Kennedy at the Bel Air Hotel in 1956, before the Democratic Convention began on August 13. As the Senator was not carrying any cash, Nimoy had to follow him into the Beverly Hilton to collect his $1.25 from someone Kennedy knew. He got a $1.75 tip.[41]

Acting career

[edit]

Before and during Star Trek

[edit]
In Kid Monk Baroni (1952)
With Richard Rober (top) and Kathleen Freeman (bottom)

Nimoy spent more than a decade playing only small parts in B movies and the lead in one, along with a minor TV role.[35] He believed his performance as the title role in the 1952 film Kid Monk Baroni would make him a star, but the film failed after a brief cinema showing. During his military career, the film gained a larger audience on television, and after his discharge he got steadier work portraying a "heavy", where his character used street weapons like switchblades and guns or had to threaten or attack people.[32] He overcame his Boston accent, but realized his lean appearance made stardom unlikely.[35]

He decided to be a supporting actor rather than take lead roles, an attitude he acquired from his childhood: "I'm a second child who was educated to the idea my older brother was to be given respect and not perturbed. I was not to upstage him [...] So my acting career was designed to be a supporting player, a character actor."[25]: 25  He played more than 50 small parts in B movies, television series such as Perry Mason and Dragnet, and serials such as Zombies of the Stratosphere (1952), in which he played a Martian named Narab. To support a wife and two children, he often took other work, such as delivering newspapers, working in a pet shop, and driving cabs.[42][35][43]

Nimoy 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 Deathwatch, a 1965 English-language film version of Genet's play Haute Surveillance, adapted and directed by Morrow and starring Nimoy. The story deals 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".[44]

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,[45] and as Luke Reid in the "Night of Decision" episode of the ABC/Warner Bros. western series Colt .45.[46]

Nimoy appeared four times in ethnic roles on NBC's Wagon Train, the number one rated program of the 1961–1962 season. 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).[47][48]

Nimoy appeared in numerous episodes of Gunsmoke, as well as in Steve Canyon (1959), Bonanza (1960), The Rebel (1960), Two Faces West (1961), Laramie (1961), Rawhide (1961), The Untouchables (1962), The Eleventh Hour (1962), Perry Mason (1963), 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), and Get Smart (1966). He appeared in the 1995 Outer Limits series. He appeared on Gunsmoke in 1961 as Grice, in 1962 as Arnie, and in 1966 as John Walking Fox.[49]

Publicity photo of Nimoy as Spock, alongside William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk

Nimoy and Star Trek co-star William Shatner first worked together on an episode of the NBC spy series 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 appearance, Nimoy played the villain and Shatner played a reluctant U.N.C.L.E. recruit.[50]

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.[51]

Star Trek

[edit]

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.

Matt Atchity, editor-in-chief of Rotten Tomatoes[52]

Nimoy was best known for his portrayal of Spock, the half-human, half-Vulcan character he played on Star Trek from the first TV episode in 1966 to the film Star Trek Into Darkness in 2013.[1][53] According to biographer Dennis Fischer, Spock was Nimoy's "most important role".[31]: 482  Spock became an icon and one of the most popular alien characters ever featured on television. Viewers admired his composure and intellect and his ability to take on any task successfully. As a result, Nimoy's character "took the public by storm", nearly eclipsing the star of the series, William Shatner's Captain Kirk, adds Fischer.[31]: 482  Nimoy was later credited for bringing "dignity and intelligence to one of the most revered characters in science fiction".[54]

Nimoy and Shatner, who portrayed his commanding officer, became close friends during the series' television run, and were "like brothers", according to Shatner.[55] Star Trek was broadcast from 1966 to 1969. For his role as Spock, Nimoy was nominated three times for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, and has long remained the only Star Trek actor nominated for an Emmy.[56]

Among Spock's recognized and unique symbols Nimoy incorporated into the series is the Vulcan salute, which became identified with him in pop culture. Nimoy created the sign from his childhood memories of the way kohanim (Jewish priests) hold their hands when giving the Priestly Blessing. The accompanying spoken blessing is "Live long and prosper".[57][58]

Nimoy conceived 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 director that Spock had, per the story, attended the Vulcan Institute of Technology and had studied human anatomy. Spock possessed 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 and made it work on screen.[31]: 482 

Nimoy reprised Spock in Star Trek: The Animated Series and two episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation. When the new series Star Trek: Phase II was planned in the late 1970s, Nimoy was to be in only two of eleven episodes, but when the series was elevated to a feature film, he agreed to reprise his role. The first six Star Trek movies feature the original cast including Nimoy, who also directed two of the films, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. He played the elder Spock in the 2009 Star Trek reboot film and briefly in the 2013 sequel, Star Trek Into Darkness, both directed by J. J. Abrams.

After Star Trek

[edit]
Nimoy in a Mission: Impossible photoshoot in 1970

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 from 1969 to 1971. Nimoy had been strongly considered as part of the initial cast for the show, but remained on Star Trek.[59]

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). He appeared in 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, 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. In 2000–2001 he hosted CNBC TV series The Next Wave With Leonard Nimoy, which explored how e-businesses were integrating with technology and the Internet. He also had a character part as a psychiatrist in Philip Kaufman's 1978 remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

Nimoy with Mission: Impossible cast in 1970

Stage

[edit]
Nimoy at a 1980 sci-fi convention

Nimoy 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. Having performed in the Yiddish theater as a young man, he said the part was like a "homecoming" for him because his parents, like Tevye, also came from a shtetl in Russia and could relate to the play when they saw him in it.[60] Later that year he starred as Arthur Goldman in The Man in the Glass Booth at the Old Globe Theater in San Diego.[61][62]

He starred as Randle McMurphy in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest in 1974, one 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."[63]

In 1975, Nimoy toured with and played the title role[64] in the Royal Shakespeare Company's Sherlock Holmes.[31]: 483  A number of authors have perceived 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 said that "the link between Spock and Holmes was obvious to everyone."[65] Meyer gives a few examples, including a scene in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, in which Spock quotes directly from a 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.[65]

By 1977, when Nimoy played Martin Dysart in Equus on Broadway, he had played 13 important roles in 27 cities, including Tevye, Malvolio in Twelfth Night, and Randle McMurphy in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.[35] In 1981, Nimoy starred in Vincent, a one-man show which he wrote and published as a book in 1984.[66] The audio recording of the play is available on DVD under the title, Van Gogh Revisited.[67] 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 Milwaukee, 6 Rms Riv Vu opposite Sandy Dennis, in Florida, Full Circle with Bibi Anderson on Broadway and in Washington, D.C. He was in Camelot, The King and I, Caligula, The Four Poster, and My Fair Lady.

Star Trek films

[edit]

After Paramount agreed to settle a lawsuit by Nimoy for Star Trek merchandise royalties, he agreed to join Star Trek: The Motion Picture, the first in the Star Trek film series. By 1986, Nimoy had earned more than half a million dollars in royalties.[68]

Other roles

[edit]

Voice actor

[edit]

In 1975, Nimoy's renditions of Ray Bradbury's "There Will Come Soft Rains" and "Usher II", both from The Martian Chronicles (1950), were released on Caedmon Records.[69] During 1980, Nimoy hosted the Friday "Adventure Night" segment of the radio drama series Mutual Radio Theater, heard via the Mutual Broadcasting System. In 1986, Nimoy lent his voice to the 1986 cartoon movie The Transformers: The Movie for the character Galvatron.

In Bradbury's 1993 animated TV film The Halloween Tree, Nimoy was the voice of Mr. Moundshroud, the children's guide. 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.[70]

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, The First Men in the Moon, and 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 Atlantean King Kashekim Nedakh in the Disney animated feature Atlantis: The Lost Empire. Nimoy provided a comprehensive series of voice-overs for the 2005 computer game Civilization IV. In the television series The Next Wave he interviewed people about technology. He hosts the documentary film The Once and Future Griffith Observatory. Nimoy and his wife, Susan Bay-Nimoy, were major supporters of the Griffith Observatory's historic 2002–2004 expansion.[71]

In 2009, he voiced "The Zarn" in the television-based movie Land of the Lost. He voiced the Star Trek Online massive multiplayer online game, released in February 2010,[72] and Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep as Xehanort, the series' leading villain. Tetsuya Nomura, the director of Birth by Sleep, said Nimoy was chosen for the role specifically because of his role as Spock, to play opposite Mark Hamill, famous for his role as Luke Skywalker in Star Wars, as Nomura was a fan of both series and wanted to pit them against each other. Nimoy reprised this role for Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance in 2012. After his death in 2015, Nimoy was replaced for the role as Xehanort by Rutger Hauer, who died and was succeeded by Nimoy's Star Trek co-star Christopher Lloyd.

Nimoy voiced Sentinel Prime in the 2011 film Transformers: Dark of the Moon. He was 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

[edit]

From 1982 to 1987, Nimoy hosted the children's educational show Standby...Lights! Camera! Action! on Nickelodeon.[73] He was an occasional voice actor in animated feature films, including the character of Galvatron in The Transformers: The Movie in 1986. He narrated the 1991 CBS paranormal series Haunted Lives: True Ghost Stories. In 1994, he voiced 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 1932 novel.

Handprints of Leonard Nimoy in front of Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway at Walt Disney World's Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park

From 1994 to 1997, he narrated the Ancient Mysteries series on A&E including "The Sacred Water of Lourdes" and "Secrets of the Romanovs". He appeared in advertising in the United Kingdom for the computer company Time Computers in the late 1990s. In 1997, he played the prophet Samuel, alongside Nathaniel Parker, in The Bible Collection movie David. He appeared in several popular television series, including Futurama and The Simpsons, both as himself and as Spock. In 2000, he provided on-camera hosting and introductions for 45 half-hour episodes of the anthology series 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 2001, Nimoy appeared on the television show Becker, where he played Dr. Emmett Fowler, a professor who cannot recall his former student.

Nimoy played the recurring enigmatic character of Dr. William Bell on the television show Fringe.[74] Nimoy opted for the role after previously working with Abrams, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman on the 2009 Star Trek film and offered another opportunity to work with this production team again. Nimoy also was interested in the series, which he saw was an intelligent mixture of science and science fiction,[75] and continued to guest star through the show's fourth season, even after his stated 2012 retirement from acting.[76] Nimoy's first appearance as Bell was in the Season 1 finale, "There's More Than One of Everything", which explored the possible existence of a parallel universe.[77] 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 which had just premiered days earlier. In the sketch, the three actors attempt to appease long-time Trekkers by assuring them the new film would be true to the original Star Trek.[78]

Producer

[edit]

In 1991, Nimoy starred in Never Forget, which he co-produced with Robert B. Radnitz. The movie was about a pro bono publico lawsuit by an attorney on behalf of Mel Mermelstein, played by Nimoy as an Auschwitz survivor, against a group of organizations engaged in Holocaust denial. Nimoy said he experienced a strong "sense of fulfillment" from doing the film.[79] 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.[80][81][82]

Semi-retirement

[edit]

In April 2010, Nimoy announced that he was retiring from playing Spock, citing both his advanced age and the desire to give Zachary Quinto full media attention as the character.[13] 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.[83] Nimoy continued voice acting during retirement; his appearance in the third season of Fringe includes his voice (his character appears only in animated scenes), and he provided the voice of Sentinel Prime in Transformers: Dark of the Moon.[84] In May 2011, he made a cameo appearance in the alternate version music video of "The Lazy Song" by Bruno Mars. Aaron Bay-Schuck, the Atlantic Records executive who signed Mars to the label, is Nimoy's stepson.[85]

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.[86] 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 and 2.[87] Nimoy reprised his role as Master Xehanort in the 2012 video game Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance.[88] On August 30, 2012, Nimoy narrated a satirical segment about Mitt Romney's life on Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.[89] In 2013, Nimoy reprised his role as Ambassador Spock in a cameo appearance in Star Trek Into Darkness.[90]

Other career work

[edit]

Photography

[edit]

Nimoy's interest in photography began in childhood; for the rest of his life, he owned a camera he had rebuilt at the age of 13. During the 1970s, he studied photography at the University of California, Los Angeles.[29][91] His photography studies at UCLA occurred after Star Trek and Mission: Impossible while he was seriously considering changing careers. His work has been exhibited at the R. Michelson Galleries in Northampton, Massachusetts[29] and the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art.

Directing

[edit]

Nimoy's directorial debut was in 1973, with the "Death on a Barge" segment for an episode of Night Gallery during its final season. In the early 1980s, he resumed directing consistently, including television and film.

Nimoy began feature film directing in 1984 with Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, the third in the film series. He directed the second most successful movie (critically and financially) in the franchise, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986), and then Three Men and a Baby, the highest-grossing film of 1987. These successes made him a star director.[92] He directed The Good Mother (1988) and Funny About Love (1990). In 1994 he directed his last feature film, Holy Matrimony. His final directorial credit was "Killshot", the 1995 pilot episode for Deadly Games, a short-lived science-fiction television series.

At a press conference promoting the 2009 Star Trek movie, he said he had no further plans or ambition to direct although he enjoyed it.[93]

Writing

[edit]

Nimoy authored two volumes of autobiography. The first is I Am Not Spock (1975) and was controversial, as many fans incorrectly assumed 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 and hate relationship with the character of Spock and the Star 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.[94]

In the second volume, I Am Spock (1995), Nimoy communicates 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 he never would have, had he not portrayed the character. Nimoy maintained that in some meaningful sense he had merged with Spock while distancing between fact and fiction. In 2014, the audiobook version of I Am Spock, read by Nimoy, was published.[95]

He composed several volumes of poetry, some published along with a number of his photographs. A later poetic volume titled 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.[96] 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

[edit]
Nimoy playing guitar in 1967

In December 1966, when it became apparent that the original Star Trek was developing a strong following in spite of low Nielsen ratings, Dot Records approached the producers of the show. The result was the signing of Nimoy to that label. Dot Records was a subsidiary of Paramount Pictures, and both Paramount and Desilu—the studio producing Star Trek—were acquired by Gulf+Western: first Paramount in 1966, and then Desilu in 1967. So after the merger of the two companies, Nimoy wound up working for Paramount both as an actor (from 1966 to 1971) and singer (from 1967 to 1970), doing two television series (Star Trek and Mission: Impossible) and five albums. Nimoy later recorded a few spoken word albums and contributed narration to albums such as Whales Alive.

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.[97]

Personal life

[edit]
Nimoy at the 2011 Phoenix Comicon

Nimoy was long active in the Jewish community, and could speak and read Yiddish.[98] 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.[99] Nimoy said 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.[99]

Nimoy was married twice. In 1954, he married Sandra Zober, an actress;[100] they had two children: film producer and director Julie, and director Adam.[1] After 32 years of marriage, he reportedly left Sandra on her 56th birthday and divorced her in 1987.[29] On New Year's Day 1989, Nimoy married his second wife, actress Susan Bay, cousin of director Michael Bay.[101]

After two years of part-time study, in 1977 Nimoy earned an MA in education from Antioch College.[35] In 2000, he received an honorary doctorate from Antioch University in Ohio, awarded for activism in Holocaust remembrance, the arts, and the environment.[102] In 2012, he received an honorary doctorate of humane letters from Boston University.[103]

In the 2001 documentary film Mind Meld, in which Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner discuss their acting careers and personal lives,[104] Nimoy revealed that he had become an alcoholic while working on Star Trek and ended up in drug rehabilitation.[105] 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 giving the Vulcan salute in 2011

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 his 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 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.[106] Years after the show, he observed Vulcan speech patterns, social attitudes, patterns of logic, and emotional suppression in his own behavior.[1]

Nimoy was a private pilot and had owned an airplane.[107] The Space Foundation bestowed to him the 2010 Douglas S. Morrow Public Outreach Award for creating a positive role model that inspired countless viewers to learn more about the universe.[54]

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.[108]

In 2014, Walter Koenig revealed that Nimoy personally and successfully advocated to the show's producers for equal pay for Nichelle Nichols's work on Star Trek.[109] This incident was confirmed by Nimoy in a Trekmovie interview, and happened during his years at Desilu.[110]

Nimoy has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.[53] On June 2, 2015, the asteroid 4864 Nimoy was named after him.[17][111]

Illness and death

[edit]

In January 2014, Nimoy revealed publicly that he had been diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a condition he attributed to a smoking addiction he had quit about 30 years earlier.[112] On February 19, 2015, having been in and out of hospitals for several months, Nimoy was taken to UCLA Medical Center for chest pains.[113]

On February 25, 2015, Nimoy fell into a coma,[114] and died of complications from COPD at his home in the Bel Air neighborhood of Los Angeles on the morning of February 27, at the age of 83.[115] Adam Nimoy said that as his father came closer to death, "he mellowed out. He made his family a priority and his career became secondary."[116] A few days before his death, Nimoy shared some of his poetry on Twitter: "A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. LLAP".[117][118] It was his final tweet.[119]

He was buried at Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles on March 1, 2015.[120] The service was attended by nearly 300 family members, friends, and former colleagues, including Zachary Quinto, Chris Pine, and J. J. Abrams. Though William Shatner did not attend, he was represented by his daughters.[121][122]

Personal tributes

[edit]
NASA Astronaut Terry W. Virts shot a photo of the Vulcan salute from the International Space Station, in orbit above Nimoy's home town of Boston on February 28, 2015.

Cast members of Star Trek who had worked alongside Nimoy gave personal tributes after his death. William Shatner wrote, "I loved him like a brother. ... We will all miss his humor, his talent, and his capacity to love."[123] George Takei called him an "extraordinarily talented man" and a "very decent human being".[124] Walter Koenig said that after working with him, he discovered Nimoy's "compassion, his intelligence and his humanity".[125] Nichelle Nichols noted that Nimoy's integrity, passion and devotion as an actor "helped transport Star Trek into television history."[126] 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."[127]

U.S. President Barack Obama, who had met Nimoy in 2007, remembered him as "a lifelong lover of the arts and humanities, a supporter of the sciences, generous with his talent and his time".[128] 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".[129]

Statement by United States President Barack Obama on Nimoy's death.

The Big Bang Theory, which made frequent references to Spock, and for which Nimoy voiced one episode, paid tribute to him after his death. Creator Chuck Lorre's vanity card at the end of the Season 8 episode, "The Colonization Application" (airing on March 5), featured a picture of Nimoy with the caption, "The impact you had on our show and on our lives is everlasting."[130]

The 136th episode of the web series Angry Video Game Nerd, which covered Seaman, was dedicated to Nimoy. Seaman (Dreamcast) - Angry Video Game Nerd (AVGN)

As part of a campaign for the 2016 feature film Star Trek Beyond, aimed at benefiting several charities, Zachary Quinto and other cast members posted a video tribute to Nimoy,[131] and the film itself paid tribute to him. Its director, Justin Lin, explained: "It's something you'll see in the film. It obviously affected everybody, because he's been a big part of our lives. There's an attempt to acknowledge that in some way."[132]

Adam Nimoy directed a biographical documentary on his father, For the Love of Spock, which Quinto narrated and with which Shatner was also involved.[133][134] For charity, Shatner used selfies made by Nimoy's fans to create an online tribute mosaic of the Vulcan salute.[135]

In June 2015, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory renamed a 10 km (6.2 miles)-wide asteroid 4864 Nimoy, originally discovered in 1988, in the Solar System's main asteroid belt.[136]

Shatner wrote a book about his friendship with Nimoy titled Leonard: My Fifty Year Friendship with a Remarkable Man, released on February 16, 2016.[137]

In April 2017, a biographical documentary about his illness, Remembering Leonard Nimoy was released, produced by his daughter Julie.

In front of the Boston Museum of Science, a memorial to Leonard Nimoy is planned for installation, near where he grew up in the West End of Boston. The monumental sculpture will be a larger-than-life representation of a hand displaying his iconic "live long and prosper" gesture. As of November 2024, the project is at least 75% funded.[138]

Filmography

[edit]

Music videos

[edit]
Year Title Artist Notes
1967 "The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins" Leonard Nimoy
1985 "Going Down to Liverpool" The Bangles The Chauffeur
2011 "The Lazy Song" Bruno Mars Alternate music video

Video games

[edit]
Year Title Voice role Notes
1994 Star Trek: 25th Anniversary Spock
1995 Star Trek: Judgment Rites
1999 Seaman The Narrator[139]
2005 Civilization IV The Narrator
2010 Star Trek Online Spock
2010 Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Xehanort[140][141]
2012 Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance
2014 Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 Remix (Birth By Sleep Final Mix)
2017 Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue (Dream Drop Distance HD)
Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 Remix (Birth By Sleep Final Mix)

Awards and nominations

[edit]
Year Association Category Work Result
1968 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Star Trek: The Original Series Nominated
1969 Nominated
1970 Nominated
1978 Saturn Awards Best Supporting Actor Invasion of the Body Snatchers Nominated
1979 Star Trek: The Motion Picture Nominated
1982 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or a Special A Woman Called Golda Nominated
1984 Saturn Awards Best Director Star Trek III: The Search for Spock Nominated
1985 Hugo Awards Best Dramatic Presentation Nominated
1986 Saturn Awards Best Director Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home Nominated
Best Actor Nominated
1987 The Life Career Award Awarded
Hugo Awards Best Dramatic Presentation Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home Nominated
1992 Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country Nominated
2001 Annie Awards Voice Acting by a Male Performer in an Animated Feature Production Atlantis: The Lost Empire Nominated
2009 Boston Society of Film Critics Best Cast Star Trek Won
2009 Critics' Choice Movie Awards Best Cast Nominated
2009 Scream Awards Best Ensemble Nominated
2009 Saturn Awards Best Guest Starring Role on Television Fringe Won
2014 National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Boston/New England Chapter[142] New England Emmy Awards

Governors' Award

Enduring Contributions to the Television Industry Won

Bibliography

[edit]
  • Poetry
    • You & I (1973) • ISBN 9780912310268
    • Will I Think of You? (1974) • ISBN 9780912310701
    • We Are All Children Searching for Love: A Collection of Poems and Photographs (1977) • ISBN 9780883960240
    • Come be with Me (1978) • ISBN 9780883960332
    • These Words Are for You (1981) • ISBN 9780883961483
    • Warmed by Love (1983) • ISBN 9780883962008
    • A Lifetime of Love: Poems on the Passages of Life (2002) • ISBN 9780883965962
  • Biography
  • Screenplays
  • Photography

Discography

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ In 2002, the Military Personnel Records Center reported that Nimoy's entire Army personnel file had been destroyed in the National Personnel Records Center fire of 1973. A reconstructed file, containing a pay sheet and some personal details, was then created and placed in the agency's security vault for high-profile military service records.[40]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f g Heffernan, Virginia (February 27, 2015). "Leonard Nimoy, Spock of 'Star Trek,' Dies at 82". The New York Times. Retrieved February 27, 2015.
  2. ^ "Nimoy glad to be back with 'Fringe'". United Press International. New York: News World Communications. May 12, 2012. Retrieved November 1, 2013.
  3. ^ Snaith, Kim (March 2, 2015). "Spock did Video Games too: A homage to Leonard Nimoy". GameSpew. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
  4. ^ Mejia, Paula (February 28, 2015). "Ten Memorable Leonard Nimoy Onscreen Appearances". Newsweek. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
  5. ^ Military.com (February 12, 2019). "Famous Veteran: Leonard Nimoy". Military.com. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  6. ^ Curthoys, Kathleen (February 27, 2015). "Leonard Nimoy, a former soldier, dies at 83". Army Times. Retrieved October 15, 2021.[permanent dead link]
  7. ^ "Leonard Nimoy Was So Much More Than Mr. Spock". Time. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
  8. ^ "Highly Illogical? The singing career of Leonard Nimoy". Me-TV Network. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
  9. ^ "Leonard Nimoy: Biography". TVGuide.com. San Francisco, California: CBS Interactive. Retrieved February 3, 2009.
  10. ^ Jensen, K. Thor (November 20, 2008). "Spock". UGO Networks. San Francisco, CA: IGN Entertainment, Inc. Archived from the original on September 13, 2008. Retrieved February 3, 2009.
  11. ^ Nimoy (1975), pp. 1–6
  12. ^ Nimoy (1995), pp. 2–17
  13. ^ a b "Mr. Spock Set to Hang Up His Pointy Ears". MSN Entertainment News. Redmond, WA: Microsoft. WENN. Archived from the original on November 3, 2013. Retrieved November 1, 2013.
  14. ^ "Celebrities and scientists remember Leonard Nimoy". TODAY.com. February 27, 2015. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  15. ^ Variety Staff (February 27, 2015). "'Star Trek' Co-Stars William Shatner, George Takei Remember Leonard Nimoy". Variety. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  16. ^ "Obama Mourns Star Trek's Leonard Nimoy: 'I Loved Spock'". NBC News. February 27, 2015. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  17. ^ a b "Leonard Nimoy, Honored: Asteroid 4864 Nimoy Named After Actor Who Played 'Star Trek's' Spock", Inquisitr, June 6, 2015
  18. ^ "New documentary by Leonard Nimoy's son honors both his dad and Spock", USA Today, September 8, 2016
  19. ^ Bernstein, Adam (February 27, 2015). "Leonard Nimoy, a pop culture force as Spock of 'Star Trek,' dies at 83". Washington Post. Archived from the original on October 1, 2023. Retrieved October 11, 2022.
  20. ^
  21. ^ Sammarco, Anthony Mitchell (1998). Boston's West End. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing. p. 85. ISBN 978-0-7524-1257-3. LCCN 98087140. OCLC 40670283.
  22. ^ "Biography". The Official Leonard Nimoy Fan Club. Coventry, England: Maggy Edwards. Archived from the original on May 14, 2011. Retrieved June 22, 2010.
  23. ^ "Leonard Simon Nimoy". Genealogy of Lucks, Kai and Related Families. Columbia, MD: Michael Lucks. Archived from the original on October 1, 2023. Retrieved November 1, 2013.
  24. ^ a b Ellin, Abby (May 13, 2007). "Girth and Nudity, a Pictorial Mission". The New York Times. Retrieved November 1, 2013.
  25. ^ a b c d e f g h Shatner, William. Leonard: My Fifty-Year Friendship with a Remarkable Man, St. Martin's Press N.Y. (2016), ISBN 978-1250083319
  26. ^ a b "Leonard Nimoy's Mameloshn: A Yiddish Story". Yiddish Book Center. February 6, 2014. Archived from the original on December 11, 2021. Retrieved February 26, 2015.
  27. ^ Boston City Directory. Sampson & Murdock company. 1963. p. 1308.
  28. ^ Gerber, Barbara (July 1962). "First haircut by Leonard Nimoy's (Dr. Spock's) father, 1962". openarchives.umb.edu. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
  29. ^ a b c d Shatner, William (host) (January 6, 2009). "Leonard Nimoy". Shatner's Raw Nerve. Season 1. Episode 7. The Biography Channel.
  30. ^ Pogrebin, Abigail. Stars of David, Broadway Books (2005) p. 197
  31. ^ a b c d e f g h Fischer, Dennis (2000). Science Fiction Film Directors, 1895–1998. McFarland. pp. 480–492. ISBN 978-0-7864-6091-5.
  32. ^ a b Diehl, Digby (August 25, 1968). "Girls All Want To Touch The Ears". The New York Times. p. 173. Retrieved February 27, 2015.
  33. ^ Goodyear, Dana (December 25, 2023). "Mr. Spock's Widow Puts on a Show". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved December 31, 2023.
  34. ^ "Story Book: Legends from the Heights". Boston College Magazine. Spring 2005. ISSN 0885-2049. Archived from the original on September 21, 2011. Retrieved August 2, 2010. Adapted from Legends of Boston College (2004); Boston, MA: New Legends Press. ISBN 978-0-975-55070-0. OCLC 57510969.
  35. ^ a b c d e f Darrach, Brad (July 25, 1977). "Leonard Nimoy Beams Himself Aboard 'Equus' and Out from Under Mr. Spock's Pointy Ears". People. Retrieved March 2, 2015.
  36. ^ "Famous Veteran: Leonard Nimoy". Military.com. Retrieved February 27, 2015.
  37. ^ "Nimoy, Leonard, S/SGT | TWS". army.togetherweserved.com. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
  38. ^ Curthoys, Kathleen (February 27, 2015). "Leonard Nimoy, a former soldier, dies at 83". Army Times. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
  39. ^ Gates, Anita (December 2, 2018). "Ken Berry, Star of 'F Troop' and 'Mama's Family,' Dies at 85". The New York Times. New York City. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
  40. ^ "Freedom of Information Act Request, Leonard Nimoy", NPRC-NARA, published March 13, 2002
  41. ^ "Spock once picked Up JFK in his cab". metv. May 11, 2023. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
  42. ^ 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.
  43. ^ Chawkins, Steve (February 27, 2015). "Leonard Nimoy dies at 83; 'Star Trek's' transcendent alien Mr. Spock". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 1, 2015.
  44. ^ Branham, Stacy L. Nevada State Prison, Arcadia Publishing (2012) p. 50
  45. ^ Guttenberg, Steve; Higgins, Bill (March 5, 2015). "Leonard Nimoy Remembered by Three Men and a Baby Star Steve Guttenberg". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 8, 2015.
  46. ^ "Night of Decision". Colt .45. Season 2. Episode 13. June 28, 1959. ABC. Retrieved November 1, 2013.
  47. ^ Vogel, Virgil W. (March 21, 1962), The Baylor Crowfoot Story, John McIntire, Robert Horton, Robert Culp, retrieved January 31, 2018
  48. ^ Harris M. Lentz (1996). Western and Frontier Film and Television Credits 1903–1995: Section I. Actors and actresses. Section II. Directors, producers, and writers. McFarland. p. 592. ISBN 978-0-7864-0217-5.
  49. ^ "Leonard Nimoy on Gunsmoke". gunsmoketv.org. Archived from the original on May 31, 2015. Retrieved May 14, 2015.
  50. ^ Sackett, Susan (September 1993). Prime-time hits: television's most popular network programs, 1950 to the present. Billboard Books. p. 82. ISBN 978-0-8230-8392-3. One classic episode (now available on video- cassette) was "The Project Strigas Affair," with guest stars William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy together for the first time in their pre-"Star Trek" days.
  51. ^ "Stage". Beyond Spock – A Leonard Nimoy Fan Page. Hamburg, Germany: Christine Mau. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
  52. ^ "Leonard Nimoy, Spock of 'Star Trek', dead at 83", Fox News, Feb. 27, 2015
  53. ^ a b Leonard Nimoy: Obama leads tributes to Star Trek actor BBC News, February 28, 2015
  54. ^ a b Hively, Carol (January 12, 2010). "Space Foundation Recognizes Leonard Nimoy with Douglas S. Morrow Public Outreach Award" (Press release). Colorado Springs, Colorado: Space Foundation. Archived from the original on October 4, 2011. Retrieved November 1, 2013.
  55. ^ "Science Fiction". Pioneers of Television. Season 2. Episode 1. January 18, 2011. PBS. Retrieved November 1, 2013. "People: Leonard Nimoy".
  56. ^ "Leonard Nimoy Dies at Age 83: 7 Things You Didn't Know About Star Trek's Spock". E! Online. February 28, 2015. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  57. ^ Pogrebin, Abigail (2007) [Originally published 2005]. 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.
  58. ^ "Leonard Nimoy: The Origin of Spock's Greeting – Greater Talent Network" on YouTube
  59. ^ Miller, Ken (August 8, 2012). "The man who would be Spock". Las Vegas Weekly. Henderson, NV: Greenspun Media Group. Retrieved June 14, 2014.
  60. ^ Isenberg, Barbara. Tradition!, St. Martin's Press (2014) p. 137
  61. ^ Gershom, Yonassan. Jewish Themes in Star Trek, (2009) Lulu p. 119
  62. ^ San Diego Magazine, Vol. 24, San Diego Publishing (1971)
  63. ^ Shervey, Beth Conway. The Little Theatre on the Square, Southern Illinois Univ. Press (2000) p. 41
  64. ^ "In Search of Nielsen Ratings and Other Ancient Mysteries". Playboy. Vol. 23, no. 9. September 1976. p. 208.
  65. ^ a b Sturgis, Amy H. Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine, #10, Volume 10, Wildside Press (2013) p. 41
  66. ^ Nimoy, Leonard. Vincent, Dramatic Publishing (1984)
  67. ^ Dill, Karen E. The Oxford Handbook of Media Psychology, Oxford Univ. Press (2013) p. 22
  68. ^ Harmetz, Aljean (November 2, 1986). "New 'Star Trek' Plan Reflects Symbiosis of TV and Movies". The New York Times. p. 31. Retrieved February 11, 2015.
  69. ^ "Ray Bradbury Read By Leonard Nimoy — The Martian Chronicles: There Will Come Soft Rains — Usher II at Discogs". Discogs.com. 1975. Retrieved October 5, 2013.
  70. ^ "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.
  71. ^ "Leonard and Susan Nimoy Donate $1 Million to Griffith Observatory Renovation" (Press release). Los Angeles: Griffith Observatory. March 19, 2001. Retrieved November 1, 2013.
  72. ^ Snider, Mike (December 22, 2009). "Leonard Nimoy joins 'Star Trek Online' crew". USA Today. Tysons Corner, VA: Gannett Company. Retrieved November 1, 2013.
  73. ^ Harmetz, Aljean (February 14, 1984). "Action group aroused by Nickelodeon ad plan". The New York Times.
  74. ^ O'Connor, Mickey (April 8, 2009). "Fringe: Meet Dr. William Bell". TVGuide.com. San Francisco, CA: CBS Interactive. Retrieved April 9, 2009.
  75. ^ Hanson, Andrew (October 8, 2009). "'Fringe': Leonard Nimoy on William Bell". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 2, 2015.
  76. ^ Fowler, Matt (May 11, 2012). "LEONARD NIMOY TALKS ABOUT BIG FRINGE RETURN". IGN. Retrieved March 2, 2015.
  77. ^ T'Bonz (April 9, 2009). "Nimoy Joins Fringe". TrekToday. Utrecht, Netherlands: Christian Höhne Sparborth. Archived from the original on June 25, 2009. Retrieved November 1, 2013.
  78. ^ Jacobs, Matthew (February 27, 2015). "Zachary Quinto Pays Tribute To His Spock Predecessor Leonard Nimoy". The Huffington Post.
  79. ^ Nimoy (1995)
  80. ^ 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.
  81. ^ Nimoy, Leonard (June 2007). "Exclusive Interview with Leonard Nimoy". Thanks to Leonard Nimoy (Interview). Interviewed by Margitta. Margitta. Archived from the original on March 1, 2015. Retrieved June 14, 2012.
  82. ^ Kadosh, Dikla (June 28, 2007). "Youngest Torme, Shakespeare, photography, poetry, enamelwork". The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles. Los Angeles. Retrieved March 1, 2012.
  83. ^ "Leonard Nimoy Confirms Return To Fringe". TrekMovie.com. SciFanatic Network. February 25, 2011. Retrieved November 1, 2013.
  84. ^ "Leonard Nimoy Voicing Sentinel Prime". Empire. April 1, 2011. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
  85. ^ "Watch: Leonard Nimoy Gets 'Lazy' In Bruno Mars Music Video [Updated]". TrekMovie.com. SciFanatic Network. May 26, 2011. Retrieved June 3, 2011.
  86. ^ "Listings – Big Bang Theory, The". TheFutonCritic.com. Retrieved June 14, 2012.
  87. ^ Wyman, Joel (April 20, 2012). "Jwfringe: @naddycat #FringeLiveTweet We did". Twitter. Retrieved May 5, 2012. We did.
  88. ^ "Kingdom Hearts 3D [Dream Drop Distance] Voice Actors Return". na.square-enix.com. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
  89. ^ "RNC 2012 – The Road to Jeb Bush 2016 – Mitt Romney: A Human Who Built That". August 31, 2012. Archived from the original on October 31, 2015.
  90. ^ Selby, Jenn (February 27, 2015). "Leonard Nimoy dead: Star Trek Spock actor dies after suffering lung disease". The Independent. Retrieved March 2, 2015.
  91. ^ Leonard Nimoy's Passion for Photography, PetaPixel, February 27, 2015
  92. ^ Harmetz, Aljean (October 30, 1988). "Leonard Nimoy at the Controls". The New York Times. Retrieved May 24, 2011.
  93. ^ 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.
  94. ^ B., Jared (May 24, 2007). "Leonard Nimoy's Love/Hate Relationship with Mr. Spock". Trekdom – Star Trek Fanzine (Blog). Retrieved November 1, 2013.
  95. ^ Brilliance Audio, ISBN 978-1491575727
  96. ^ "The HyperTexts". Retrieved November 1, 2013.
  97. ^ "Watch: Leonard Nimoy Gets 'Lazy' In Bruno Mars Music Video [Updated]". TrekMovie.com. SciFanatic Network. May 26, 2011. Retrieved June 3, 2011.
  98. ^ Whitney, Christa (February 6, 2014). "Leonard Nimoy 15Oct2013 Yiddish Book Center". Yiddish Book Center. 6:42–7:33. Retrieved September 24, 2015. (In Yiddish and English:) And my grandmother never learned English. So my brother and I needed to speak to her in Yiddish. But my brother ... [was] born in Boston, but his first language was Yiddish because my parents only spoke Yiddish when he was a little child. When I was born ... they were better with English. So my first language was English, but I needed Yiddish to speak with my grandparents.
  99. ^ a b Snider, John C. (2002). "Leonard Nimoy: Shedding Light on Shekhina". SciFiDimensions. Atlanta, GA: John Snider. Archived from the original on October 17, 2012. Retrieved November 1, 2013.
  100. ^ Nimoy: "My wife's name is Sandy ..."
    Leonard Nimoy interview with KGW host Konnie Worth in Portland, Oregon, June 1967
  101. ^ Hugh Davies (October 31, 2001). "Star Trek drove me to drink, says Spock". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on January 11, 2022. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
  102. ^ "Dr. Leonard Nimoy" (PDF). Alumni News. November 2000. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 26, 2011. Retrieved October 16, 2017.
  103. ^ 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.
  104. ^ Jaysen, Peter (Director) (2001). Mind Meld: Secrets Behind the Voyage of a Lifetime. Creative Light Video. ISBN 1-931394-15-6. OCLC 49221637.
  105. ^ "Star Trek 'drove Nimoy to drink'". BBC News. London: BBC. October 31, 2001. Retrieved August 2, 2010.
  106. ^ "Bring Back...Star Trek". Bring Back.... May 9, 2009. Channel 4. Retrieved November 1, 2013.
  107. ^ "An interview of Leonard Nimoy-SuperstarSuperfans part2/2" on YouTube. Interview with Bob Wilkins from the mid-1970s.
  108. ^ Clark, Shaula (November 14, 2009). "Hardly Illogical: Leonard Nimoy Day, November 14". Boston Phoenix (Blog). Retrieved March 31, 2012.
  109. ^ Nichelle Nichols Remembers Leonard Nimoy: He Made Star Trek into TV History Adam Carlson, People.com February 28, 2015
  110. ^ Koenig: Leonard Nimoy Fought to get Nichelle Nichols Pay Equity for Star Trek + Nimoy Confirms Anthony Pascale, trekmovie.com, July 31, 2014
  111. ^ MPC 94384
  112. ^ Pawlowski, A. (February 27, 2015). "Diagnosed with COPD, Leonard Nimoy urged people to quit smoking". The Today Show. Retrieved February 28, 2015.
  113. ^ France, Lisa Respers (February 24, 2015). "Internet to Leonard Nimoy: Live long and prosper". CNN. Retrieved February 27, 2015.
  114. ^ "Leonard Nimoy's Son Adam Discusses His Father's Final Months [VIDEO]". treknews.net. May 27, 2016. Retrieved July 11, 2017.
  115. ^ "He Was, And Will Always Be, Our Friend: Remembering Leonard Nimoy". NPR.org. February 27, 2015.
  116. ^ Nimoy, Adam (August 7, 2015). "@StarTrek". Twitter (confirmed official). Retrieved August 7, 2015.
  117. ^ Nimoy, Leonard [@TheRealNimoy] (February 22, 2015). "A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. LLAP" (Tweet). Retrieved March 4, 2015 – via Twitter.
  118. ^ Goodman, Jessica (February 27, 2015). "'Star Trek' Star Leonard Nimoy Dead At 83". HuffPost. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
  119. ^ Dockterman, Eliana (February 27, 2015). "Leonard Nimoy's Final Tweet Will Make You Cry". Time. Archived from the original on February 27, 2015. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
  120. ^ "Leonard Nimoy's funeral held in LA". BBC News. March 2, 2015. Retrieved March 2, 2015.
  121. ^ Vulpo, Mike (March 3, 2015). "Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto Among Nearly 300 Guests at Leonard Nimoy's Funeral ..." E! News. Retrieved March 4, 2015.
  122. ^ Grinberg, Emanuella (March 1, 2015). "Shatner defends absence from Nimoy's funeral". CNN. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
  123. ^ "Leonard Nimoy, Spock of Star Trek, dead at 83". Fox News Channel. February 27, 2015. Retrieved February 27, 2015.
  124. ^ Rosen, Christopher (February 27, 2015). "William Shatner, George Takei Pay Tribute to Leonard Nimoy". The Huffington Post.
  125. ^ Koenig, Walter (February 28, 2015). "Chekov Remembers Spock: Walter Koenig On Leonard Nimoy". TIME. Retrieved February 28, 2015.
  126. ^ Carlson, Adam (February 28, 2015). "Leonard Nimoy Dead: Nichelle Nichols Comments". People. Retrieved February 28, 2015.
  127. ^ Quinto, Zachary (February 27, 2015). "zacharyquinto – February 27, 2015". Archived from the original on December 23, 2021. 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.
  128. ^ Korte, Gregory (February 27, 2015). "Obama on death of Leonard Nimoy: 'I loved Spock'". USA Today. Retrieved March 1, 2015.
  129. ^ Aldrin, Buzz (February 28, 2015). "Buzz Aldrin: Leonard Nimoy, my fellow space traveler". CNN. Retrieved March 1, 2015.
  130. ^ Derschowitz, Jessica (March 6, 2015). "The Big Bang Theory pays tribute to Leonard Nimoy". CBS News. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
  131. ^ Domanico, Anthony (August 25, 2015). "Star Trek Beyond cast delivers touching tribute to Leonard Nimoy". CNET. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
  132. ^ "Star Trek Beyond will pay tribute to Leonard Nimoy", Flickering Myth, April 12, 2016
  133. ^ McNary, Dave (March 27, 2015). "Leonard Nimoy's Son Plans Spock Documentary ..." Variety. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
  134. ^ "Adam Nimoy's 'For The Love Of Spock' To Premiere At Tribeca Film Festival". March 16, 2016. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
  135. ^ Hanks, Henry (August 9, 2015). "Fans and William Shatner pay tribute to Leonard Nimoy with selfie mosaic". CNN. Retrieved August 10, 2015.
  136. ^ Platt, Phil (June 6, 2015). "Leonard Nimoy Immortalized in the Asteroid Belt". Slate. Retrieved June 6, 2015.
  137. ^ "Leonard: My Fifty-Year Friendship with a Remarkable Man". Retrieved May 22, 2016.
  138. ^ "Leonard Nimoy Memorial". Museum of Science. Museum of Science, Boston. Retrieved November 12, 2024.
  139. ^ Vivarium, Jellyvision. Seaman. Sega. Scene: Ending credits, 4:17:55 in, Narration By.
  140. ^ "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.
  141. ^ rad-Monkey (May 31, 2012). "The Voice Talent of Kingdom Hearts 3D" (Blog). Square Enix. Retrieved November 1, 2013.
  142. ^ "Chapter Honors List". Retrieved October 3, 2016.
[edit]