Leonard Nimoy

Leonard Simon Nimoy (March 26, 1931February 27, 2015) was an American actor, movie director, poet, musician and photographer. He was famous for playing the character of Spock on Star Trek, an American television series that was made for three years in the late 1960s.

Early life
Nimoy was born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts. His parents were immigrants from Ukraine. They were Dora Spinner and Max Nimoy. He took acting classes at Boston College and the Pasadena Playhouse.

Career

Nimoy began his career in his early twenties, teaching acting classes in Hollywood and making minor movie and television appearances through the 1950s, as well as playing the title role in Kid Monk Baroni.

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

Later career
Nimoy's fame as Spock was such that both of his autobiographies, I Am Not Spock (1975) and I Am Spock (1995), were written from the viewpoint of sharing his existence with the character. Nimoy has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2011, Nimoy voiced the main villain, Sentinel Prime, in Transformers: Dark of the Moon. In 2009 and in 2013, Nimoy played Spock Prime in the J. J. Abrams Star Trek movies: Star Trek and Star Trek Into Darkness. He also voiced Master Xehanort in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep and Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance.

Personal life

Nimoy was married twice. In 1954, he married actress Sandra Zober (1927–2011), whom he divorced in 1987. On New Year's Day of 1989, he married actress Susan Bay, cousin of director Michael Bay. Nimoy had a daughter and son by his first wife.

Death
Shortly after he was photographed in a wheelchair and using an oxygen mask, Nimoy said in February 2014 that he had been diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Little over a year later, Nimoy died from the disease on February 27, 2015 at the age of 83 in his Bel Air home.

Nimoy was laid to rest in a private service in Los Angeles on March 1, 2015 at the Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery in Culver City, California. He was buried on a Sunday since Jewish tradition does not allow such services on a Saturday.

Movies

Director 
 Vincent: Based on the play "Van Gogh" by Phillip Stephens (1978-1981)
 Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)
 Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)
 Three Men and a Baby (1987)
 The Good Mother (1988)
 Funny About Love (1990)
 Holy Matrimony (1994)
 episodes of T.J. Hooker, The Powers of Matthew Star, and Deadly Games

Actor 

 Kid Monk Baroni (1951)
 Rhubarb (1951)
 Zombies of the Stratosphere (1952)
 Them! (1954)
 Satan's Satellites (1958)
 The Brain Eaters (1958)
 Harbor Command (Episode - Contraband Diamonds) (1958)
 The Twilight Zone – "A Quality of Mercy" (1961)
 General Hospital (1963)
 Perry Mason (1963)
 Combat! (1965) Two Episodes
 Deathwatch (1966)
 The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (1966)
 Get Smart (1966)
 Star Trek (1966-1969): Lieutenant Commander/Commander Spock
 Mission Impossible (1969-1971) The Indomitable Paris
 The Alpha Caper (1973) (TV)
 Columbo (1973) (TV)
 Star Trek: The Animated Series (1973-1974)
 Equus (1977) (Broadway Play) Dr. Martin Dysart
 Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)
 Vincent: Based on the play "Van Gogh" by Phillip Stephens (1978-1981)
 Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)
 A Woman Called Golda (1982) (TV)
 Marco Polo (1982) (mini) TV Series
 Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
 Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)
 The Sun Also Rises (1984) (mini) TV Series
 The Transformers: The Movie (1986) Galvatron (voice only)
 Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)
 Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)
 The Simpsons, "Marge vs. the Monorail" (1993) as himself
 Never Forget (1991) (TV)
 Star Trek: The Next Generation – "Unification" (1991) (two-part episode): Ambassador Spock
 Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)
 Lights: The Miracle of Chanukah (1993) (voice)
 The Halloween Tree (1993) (voice)
 The Pagemaster (1994) Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde (voice)
 The Time Machine (1994) (audio drama) The Time Traveller
 The Simpsons, "The Springfield Files" (1997) as himself
 Brave New World (1998)
 Futurama, "Space Pilot 3000" (1999)
 Seaman (2000): Narrator (voice)
 Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001): King Kashekim Nedakh (voice)
 Becker (2001)
 Futurama, "Where No Fan Has Gone Before" (2002)
 Civilization IV (2006): Narrator (voice)
 What's going on up there? (2006): Narrator/Introduction (voice)
 Star Trek (movie) (2009): as Spock
 Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011): as Sentinal Prime (voice)
 Star Trek Into Darkness (2013): as Spock

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

References

Other websites 

 
 Leonard Nimoy's entry at Startrek.com 
 Archive of American Television Interview with Leonard Nimoy Nov 2, 2000 on Google Video
 Leonard Nimoy Poetry and Photography
 Leonard Nimoy Official Fan Club 
 Leonard Nimoy's Photography
 Maiden Wine
 

1931 births
2015 deaths
Actors from Boston, Massachusetts
American activists
American movie directors
American movie actors
American photographers
American poets
American singer-songwriters
American television actors
American voice actors
Deaths from COPD
Disease-related deaths in Los Angeles
Musicians from Boston, Massachusetts
Singers from Boston, Massachusetts
Writers from Boston, Massachusetts