Nimoy'sacting 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 theUnited States Army as a Staff Sergeant in theSpecial Services, an entertainment branch of theAmerican military.[5][6] He originated and developed Spock beginning with the 1964Star Trek television pilot "The Cage" and 1965’s "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 amusic career withDot Records, with his first and second albums mostly as Spock.[7][8] After the originalStar Trek series, Nimoy starred inMission: Impossible for two seasons, hosted the documentary seriesIn Search of..., appeared inColumbo, and made several well-received stage appearances.
Nimoy's portrayal of Spock madea significant cultural impact and earned him threeEmmy Award nominations.[9][10] His public profile as Spock was so strong that both his autobiographies,I Am Not Spock (1975) andI Am Spock (1995), were written from the viewpoint of coexistence with the character.[11][12] Leonard Nimoy played the elder Spock, withZachary Quinto portraying a younger Spock, in the 2009Star Trek reboot film, directed byJ. 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]
Leonard Simon Nimoy was born on March 26, 1931, in an Irish[19] section of theWest End[20][21] ofBoston, Massachusetts, to Jewish immigrants fromIziaslav,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 theSoviet 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 theMattapan 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 theaccordion, 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 hisbar 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 ofClifford Odets'sAwake and Sing!,[24] about the struggles of a matriarchal Jewish family similar to his during theGreat 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, oftenvoice 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 atBoston College, and after moving toLos Angeles, he used $600 he saved from selling vacuum cleaners to enroll at thePasadena 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 ofmethod acting concepts derived from the teachings ofKonstantin 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 theSunset Strip.[31]: 481
In 1953, Nimoy enlisted in theUnited States Army Reserve atFort McPherson Georgia, serving for 18 months until 1955, leaving as a Staff Sergeant. He had been in theArmy Special Services, putting on shows which he wrote, narrated, and emceed.[36][37][38] One of his soldiers wasKen Berry, whom he encouraged to go into acting as a civilian and helped contact agents.[39] During that period, he directed and starred inA 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 SenatorJohn F. Kennedy at theBel Air Hotel in 1956, before theDemocratic Convention began on August 13. As the Senator was not carrying any cash, Nimoy had to follow him into theBeverly Hilton to collect his $1.25 from someone Kennedy knew. He got a $1.75 tip.[41]
Nimoy spent more than a decade playing only small parts inB movies and the lead in one, along with a minor TV role.[35] He believed his performance as the title role in the 1952 filmKid 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 hisBoston 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 asPerry Mason andDragnet, andserials such asZombies 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 thrillerThem! and a professor in the 1958 science fiction movieThe Brain Eaters, and had a role inThe Balcony (1963), a film adaptation of theJean Genetplay. WithVic Morrow, he co-producedDeathwatch, a 1965 English-language film version of Genet's playHaute 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 ofSynanon, a drug rehab center, explaining: "Give a little here and it always comes back".[44]
Nimoy appeared four times in ethnic roles onNBC'sWagon 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 and laterStar Trek co-starWilliam Shatner first worked together on an episode of the NBC spy seriesThe Man from U.N.C.L.E., "The Project Strigas Affair" (1964). Their characters were from opposite sides of theIron Curtain, though with his saturnine appearance, Nimoy played the villain and Shatner played a reluctant U.N.C.L.E. recruit.[50] By then he had a good reputation in Hollywood as a character actor, and choseStar Trek over a role onPeyton Place.[42]
Nimoy was best known for his portrayal ofSpock, the half-human, half-Vulcan character he played onStar Trek from the first TV episode in 1966 to the filmStar Trek Into Darkness in 2013.[1][52] 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".[53]
Nimoy and Shatner, who portrayed his commanding officer, became close friends during the series' television run, and were "like brothers", according to Shatner.[54]Star Trek was broadcast from 1966 to 1969. For his role as Spock, Nimoy was nominated three times for anEmmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, and has long remained the onlyStar Trek actor nominated for anEmmy.[55]
Among Spock's recognized and unique symbols Nimoy incorporated into the series is theVulcan salute, which became identified with him in pop culture. Nimoy created the sign from his childhood memories of the waykohanim (Jewish priests) hold their hands when giving thePriestly Blessing. The accompanying spoken blessing is "Live long and prosper".[56][57]
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
His legacy as that character is key to the enjoyment ofStar 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 whatStar Trek was all about. And in finding Leonard Nimoy, they found the perfect person to portray that.
FollowingStar Trek in 1969, Nimoy immediately joined the cast of the spy seriesMission: Impossible, which was seeking a replacement forMartin 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 duringseasons four andfive from 1969 to 1971. Nimoy had been strongly considered as part of the initial cast for the show, but remained onStar Trek.[59]
He co-starred withYul Brynner andRichard Crenna in the Western movieCatlow (1971). He also had roles in two episodes of Rod Serling'sNight Gallery (1972 and 1973) andColumbo (1973). He appeared in television films such asAssault on the Wayne (1970),Baffled! (1972),The Alpha Caper (1973),The Missing Are Deadly (1974),Seizure: The Story Of Kathy Morris (1980), andMarco Polo (1982). He received anEmmy Award nomination for best supporting actor for the television filmA Woman Called Golda (1982), for playing the role of Morris Meyerson, Golda Meir's husband, oppositeIngrid Bergman as Golda in her final role.
In 1975, Nimoy filmed an opening introduction to Ripley'sWorld of the Unexplained museum located atGatlinburg, Tennessee, andFisherman's Wharf at San Francisco, California. In the late 1970s, he hosted and narrated the television seriesIn Search of..., which investigatedparanormal or unexplained events or subjects. In 2000–2001 he hostedCNBC TV seriesThe 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 inPhilip Kaufman's 1978 remake ofInvasion of the Body Snatchers.
Nimoy won acclaim for a series of stage roles. In 1971 he played the starring role of Tevye inFiddler 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 ashtetl in Russia and could relate to the play when they saw him in it.[60] Later that year he starred as Arthur Goldman inThe Man in the Glass Booth at theOld Globe Theater in San Diego.[61][62]
He starred asRandle McMurphy inOne Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest in 1974, one year prior to its release as a feature film, withJack 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 theRoyal Shakespeare Company'sSherlock 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 inStar Trek fan clubs.Star Trek writerNicholas Meyer said that "the link between Spock and Holmes was obvious to everyone."[65] Meyer gives a few examples, including a scene inStar Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, in which Spock quotes directly from aDoyle book and credits Holmes as a forefather to the logic he was espousing. In addition, the connection was implied inStar Trek: The Next Generation, which paid homage to both Holmes and Spock.[65]
By 1977, when Nimoy played Martin Dysart inEquus on Broadway, he had played 13 important roles in 27 cities, including Tevye,Malvolio inTwelfth Night, andRandle McMurphy inOne Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.[35] In 1981, Nimoy starred inVincent, 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 artistVincent van Gogh, in which Nimoy played Van Gogh's brother Theo. Other plays includedOliver!, atThe Melody Top Theater in Milwaukee,6 Rms Riv Vu oppositeSandy Dennis, in Florida,Full Circle with Bibi Anderson on Broadway and in Washington, D.C. He was inCamelot,The King and I,Caligula,The Four Poster, andMy Fair Lady.
After Paramount agreed to settle a lawsuit by Nimoy forStar Trek merchandise royalties, he agreed to joinStar Trek: The Motion Picture, the first in theStar Trek film series. By 1986, Nimoy had earned more than half a million dollars in royalties.[68]
In Bradbury's 1993 animated TV filmThe Halloween Tree, Nimoy was the voice of Mr.Moundshroud, the children's guide. Nimoy lent his voice as narrator to the 1994IMAX documentary film,Destiny in Space, showcasing film-footage of space from nineSpace Shuttle missions over four years time. In 1999, he voiced the narration of the English version of theSega Dreamcast gameSeaman and promotedY2K educational films.[70]
Together withJohn de Lancie, another actor from theStar Trek franchise, Nimoy createdAlien Voices, an audio-production venture that specializes in audio dramatizations. Among the works jointly narrated by the pair areThe 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 officialStar 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 featureAtlantis: The Lost Empire. Nimoy provided a comprehensive series of voice-overs for the 2005 computer gameCivilization IV. In the television seriesThe Next Wave he interviewed people about technology. He hosts the documentary filmThe Once and Future Griffith Observatory. Nimoy and his wife,Susan Bay-Nimoy, were major supporters of theGriffith Observatory's historic 2002–2004 expansion.[71]
In 2009, he voiced "The Zarn" in the television-based movieLand of the Lost. He voiced theStar Trek Online massive multiplayer online game, released in February 2010,[72] andKingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep asXehanort, the series' leading villain.Tetsuya Nomura, the director ofBirth by Sleep, said Nimoy was chosen for the role specifically because of his role as Spock, to play oppositeMark Hamill, famous for his role asLuke Skywalker inStar Wars, as Nomura was a fan of both series and wanted to pit them against each other. Nimoy reprised this role forKingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance in 2012. After his death in 2015, Nimoy was replaced for the role as Xehanort byRutger Hauer, who died and was succeeded by Nimoy'sStar Trek co-starChristopher Lloyd.
Nimoy voiced Sentinel Prime in the 2011 filmTransformers: Dark of the Moon. He was a frequent and popular reader forSelected Shorts, an ongoing series of programs atSymphony 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 throughPublic Radio International,National Public Radio andWNYC radio. Nimoy was honored by Symphony Space with the renaming of the Thalia Theater as the Leonard Nimoy Thalia Theater.
From 1994 to 1997, he narrated theAncient Mysteries series onA&E including "The Sacred Water ofLourdes" and "Secrets of theRomanovs". He appeared in advertising in the United Kingdom for the computer companyTime Computers in the late 1990s. In 1997, he played the prophet Samuel, alongside Nathaniel Parker, inTheBible Collection movieDavid. He appeared in several popular television series, includingFuturama andThe Simpsons, both as himself and as Spock. In 2000, he provided on-camera hosting and introductions for 45 half-hour episodes of the anthology seriesOur 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 showBecker, 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 showFringe.[74] Nimoy opted for the role after previously working with Abrams,Roberto Orci andAlex Kurtzman on the 2009Star 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 Season1 finale, "There's More Than One of Everything", which explored the possible existence of aparallel universe.[77] In the May 9, 2009, episode ofSaturday Night Live, Nimoy appeared as a surprise guest in theWeekend Update segment withZachary Quinto andChris Pine, who play the young Spock and Kirk in theStar Trek which had just premiered days earlier. In the sketch, the three actors attempt to appease long-timeTrekkers by assuring them the new film would be true to the originalStar Trek.[78]
In 1991, Nimoy starred inNever Forget, which he co-produced withRobert B. Radnitz. The movie was about apro bono publico lawsuit by an attorney on behalf ofMel Mermelstein, played by Nimoy as an Auschwitz survivor, against a group of organizations engaged inHolocaust 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 PlaywrightVern Thiessen. The one-woman show starredJeanmarie Simpson as Shakespeare's wife,Anne Hathaway. The production was directed by Nimoy's wife, Susan Bay.[80][81][82]
In April 2010, Nimoy announced that he was retiring from playing Spock, citing both his advanced age and the desire to giveZachary 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 toFringe and reprise his role as William Bell.[83] Nimoy continued voice acting during retirement; his appearance in the third season ofFringe includes his voice (his character appears only in animated scenes), and he provided the voice of Sentinel Prime inTransformers: Dark of the Moon.[84] In May 2011, he made a cameo appearance in the alternate version music video of "The Lazy Song" byBruno Mars.Aaron Bay-Schuck, theAtlantic Records executive who signed Mars to the label, is Nimoy's stepson.[85]
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 theUniversity of California, Los Angeles.[29][91] His photography studies at UCLA occurred afterStar Trek andMission: Impossible while he was seriously considering changing careers. His work has been exhibited at the R. Michelson Galleries inNorthampton, Massachusetts[29] and theMassachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art.
Nimoy's directorial debut was in 1973, with the "Death on a Barge" segment for an episode ofNight Gallery during its final season. In the early 1980s, he resumed directing consistently, including television and film.
Nimoy began feature film directing in 1984 withStar 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 thenThree Men and a Baby, the highest-grossing film of 1987. These successes made him a star director.[92] He directedThe Good Mother (1988) andFunny About Love (1990). In 1994 he directed his last feature film,Holy Matrimony. His final directorial credit was "Killshot", the 1995 pilot episode forDeadly Games, a short-lived science-fiction television series.
At a press conference promoting the 2009Star Trek movie, he said he had no further plans or ambition to direct although he enjoyed it.[93]
Nimoy authored two volumes of autobiography. The first isI 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 theStar 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 andStar 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 ofI 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 titledA 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 playVincent (1981), based on the playVan Gogh (1979) by Phillip Stephens.
In 1995, Nimoy was involved in the production ofPrimortals, a comic book series published byTekno Comix aboutfirst contact with aliens, which had arisen from a discussion he had withIsaac Asimov. There was a novelization bySteve Perry.
In December 1966, when it became apparent that the originalStar Trek was developing a strong following in spite of lowNielsen ratings,Dot Records approached the producers of the show. The result was the signing of Nimoy to that label. Dot Records was a subsidiary ofParamount Pictures, and both Paramount andDesilu—the studio producingStar Trek—were acquired byGulf+Western: first Paramount in 1966, and then Desilu in 1967. So after themerger 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 andMission: Impossible) and five albums. Nimoy later recorded a fewspoken word albums and contributed narration to albums such asWhales Alive.
Nimoy's voice appeared in sampled form on a song by the pop bandInformation 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 artistBruno Mars.[97]
Nimoy was long active in the Jewish community, and could speak and readYiddish.[98] In 1997, he narrated the documentaryA Life Apart: Hasidism in America, about the various sects ofHasidic Orthodox Jews. In October 2002, Nimoy publishedTheShekhina Project, a photographic study exploring the feminine aspect of God's presence, inspired byKabbalah. 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 (1927-2011), an actress;[100] they had two children: film producer and directorJulie, and directorAdam.[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, actressSusan Bay, cousin of directorMichael Bay.[101]
After two years of part-time study, in 1977 Nimoy earned an MA in education fromAntioch College.[35] In 2000, he received an honorary doctorate fromAntioch 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 fromBoston University.[103]
In the 2001 documentary filmMind 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 onStar Trek and ended up indrug rehabilitation.[105] William Shatner, in his 2008 bookUp Till Now: The Autobiography, spoke about how later in their lives, Nimoy tried to help Shatner's alcoholic wife,Nerine Kidd.
Nimoy has said that the character of Spock, which he played twelve to fourteen hours a day, five days a week, influenced his personality in 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 diminished enough to allow him to 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] TheSpace Foundation bestowed to him the 2010Douglas S. Morrow Public Outreach Award for creating a positive role model that inspired countless viewers to learn more about the universe.[53]
In 2009, Nimoy was honored by his childhood hometown when the Office of MayorThomas Meninoproclaimed 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 forNichelle Nichols's work onStar Trek.[109] This incident was confirmed by Nimoy in a Trekmovie interview, and happened during his years atDesilu.[110]
In January 2014, Nimoy revealed publicly that he had been diagnosed withchronic 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 toUCLA 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 theBel 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]
Cast members ofStar 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 transportStar Trek into television history."[126] Quinto, who portrayed Spock as a young man inStar Trek andStar 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. PresidentBarack 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] FormerNASAastronautBuzz 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 PresidentBarack 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. CreatorChuck Lorre'svanity 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]
As part of a campaign for the 2016 feature filmStar 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 usedselfies made by Nimoy's fans to create an online tribute mosaic of the Vulcan salute.[135]
Shatner wrote a book about his friendship with Nimoy titledLeonard: 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 daughterJulie.
In front of theBoston Museum of Science, a memorial to Nimoy is planned for installation, near where he grew up in theWest 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[update], the project is at least 75% funded.[138]
^In 2002, theMilitary Personnel Records Center reported that Nimoy's entire Army personnel file had been destroyed in theNational 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]
^Jensen, K. Thor (November 20, 2008)."Spock".UGO Networks. San Francisco, CA:IGN Entertainment, Inc. Archived fromthe original on September 13, 2008. RetrievedFebruary 3, 2009.
^"Biography".The Official Leonard Nimoy Fan Club. Coventry, England: Maggy Edwards. Archived fromthe original on May 14, 2011. RetrievedJune 22, 2010.
^"Leonard Simon Nimoy".Genealogy of Lucks, Kai and Related Families. Columbia, MD: Michael Lucks.Archived from the original on October 1, 2023. RetrievedNovember 1, 2013.
^"Y2K" on YouTube (excerpt).Bisley, Donnie (Director); Nimoy, Leonard (Host, Narrator) (1998).The Y2K Family Survival Guide. La Vergne, TN:Monarch Home Video (Distributor).OCLC41107104.
^Whitney, Christa (February 6, 2014)."Leonard Nimoy 15Oct2013 Yiddish Book Center".Yiddish Book Center. 6:42–7:33. RetrievedSeptember 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.
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