Leonard Nimoy; actor, director, poet, singer, and
photographer…has passed away at 83.
Born in Boston in 1931, Leonard Nimoy began acting at the
age of eight in a children’s theater. His first major role on stage was at 17
in an amateur production of AWAKE AND SING. After drama classes at Boston
College (in which he failed to complete his studies), he served in the U.S.
Army from 1953-1955.
His acting had actually begun to take off before his
military service. He received the title role in the 1952 film KID MONK BARONI,
and would go on to play more than 50 small parts in B-movies and television
series such as PERRY MASON, DRAGNET, THE TWILIGHT ZONE, WAGON TRAIN, BONANZA,
THE UNTOUCHABLES, GET SMART, OUTER LIMITS, GUNSMOKE, and MISSION IMPOSSIBLE
from 1969-1971.
His greatest prominence would come from his role as Spock on
the original STAR TREK TV series, which aired from 1966 to 1969. Embracing the
role of a half-Vulcan (alien) and half-human serving as a science officer
aboard an exploration vessel, Nimoy would play Spock for 79 episodes of the original
series; earning Emmy nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor for a drama
series each year.
He would take Mr. Spock to the big screen with ease,
bringing him to life again in STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE in 1979. He would
allow Spock to meet an unfortunate end in the pinnacle of the TREK franchise in
THE WRATH OF KHAN, and accept a resurrection in THE SEARCH FOR SPOCK. Nimoy
would play Spock for five more films, including J.J. Abrams’ 2009 reboot and
eventual sequel. The character was a constant thread in the STAR TREK universe,
as he would reprise the role again on TV in the spin-off series THE NEXT
GENERATION, and THE ANIMATED SERIES.
His other film credits included INVASION OF THE BODY
SNATCHERS (1978), TRANSFORMERS THE MOVIE (1986), THE PAGEMASTER (1994), and TRANSFORMERS:
DARK OF THE MOON (2011). He would step behind the camera as director; helming
the third and fourth entries in the TREK film series. He would also direct the smash
hit THREE MEN AND A BABY in 1987. He was an accomplished photographer with his
work being displayed in galleries in Northampton, Massachusetts. He would
author two volumes of autobiography, and during and after TREK…he released five
albums of musical vocal recordings; which would include a version of Johnny
Cash’s I WALK THE LINE, and the now notorious BALLAD OF BILBO BAGGINS.
*
This Blogger cannot remember a time before Spock; having
been introduced to STAR TREK in the late 1970’s…with Dad on every weekend afternoon
when the Original Series was run on WPIX and the local PBS affiliate. Besides
the space adventure filled with aliens and ships and planets and phaser-guns,
there was obviously something different about TREK…and Leonard Nimoy’s Spock
was truly at the center of it all. Even though he played a character who
shunned emotion and clinged to cold logic, it was no difficult task to enjoy
the character; a tribute to Nimoy’s careful acting balance of human and alien. Through
the years, Nimoy and Spock became the true pillars of sci-fi entertainment
through film, TV, books, video games, graphic novels, toys, and the internet…and
the genre has certainly lost one of its pioneers and necessary components.
Nimoy’s Spock had a customary farewell of “live long and prosper”, and that was
something that he did to the letter. He opened up the universe for us on and
off the screen, and that is his true legacy.
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