LOS
ANGELES >> Leonard Nimoy, the actor known and loved by generations
of "Star Trek" fans as the pointy-eared, purely logical science officer
Mr. Spock, has died.
Nimoy
died Friday of end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at his
Los Angeles home, said his son, Adam Nimoy. He was 83.
Although
Nimoy followed his 1966-69 "Star Trek" run with a notable career as both
an actor and director, in the public's mind he would always be Spock.
His half-human, half-Vulcan character was the calm counterpoint to
William Shatner's often-emotional Captain Kirk on one of TV and film's
most revered cult series.
"He affected the lives of many," Adam Nimoy said. "He was also a great guy and my best friend."
Asked if
his father chafed at his fans' close identification of him with his
character, Adam Nimoy said, "Not in the least. He loved Spock."
However,
Leonard Nimoy displayed ambivalence to the role in the titles of his two
autobiographies, "I Am Not Spock" (1975) and "I Am Spock" (1995).
After
"Star Trek" ended, the actor immediately joined the hit adventure series
"Mission Impossible" as Paris, the mission team's master of disguises.
He also
directed several films, including the hit comedy "Three Men and a Baby"
and appeared in such plays as "A Streetcar Named Desire," ''Cat on a Hot
Tim Roof," ''Fiddler on the Roof," ''The King and I," ''My Fair Lady"
and "Equus." He also published books of poems, children's stories and
his own photographs.
But he
could never really escape the role that took him overnight from bit-part
actor status to TV star, and in a 1995 interview he sought to analyze
the popularity of Spock, the green-blooded space traveler who aspired to
live a life based on pure logic.
People
identified with Spock because they "recognize in themselves this wish
that they could be logical and avoid the pain of anger and
confrontation," Nimoy concluded.
He became
Spock after "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry was impressed by his
work in guest appearances on the TV shows "The Lieutenant" and "Dr.
Kildare."
The space
adventure set in the 23rd century had an unimpressive debut on NBC on
Sept. 8, 1966, and it struggled during its three seasons to find an
audience other than teenage boys. It seemed headed for oblivion after it
was canceled in 1969, but its dedicated legion of fans, who called
themselves Trekkies, kept its memory alive with conventions and fan
clubs and constant demands that the cast be reassembled for a movie or
another TV show.
Trekkies
were particularly fond of Spock, often greeting one another with the
Vulcan salute and the Vulcan motto, "Live Long and Prosper," both of
which Nimoy was credited with bringing to the character. He pointed out,
however, that the hand gesture was actually derived from one used by
rabbis during Hebraic benedictions.
When the
cast finally was reassembled for "Star Trek -- The Motion Picture," in
1979, the film was a huge hit and five sequels followed. Nimoy appeared
in all of them and directed two. He also guest starred as an older
version of himself in some of the episodes of the show's spinoff TV
series, "Star Trek: The Next Generation."
"Of
course the role changed my career-- or rather, gave me one," he once
said. "It made me wealthy by most standards and opened up vast
opportunities. It also affected me personally, socially,
psychologically, emotionally. ... What started out as a welcome job to a
hungry actor has become a constant and ongoing influence in my thinking
and lifestyle."
In 2009,
he was back in a new big-screen version of "Star Trek," this time
playing an older Spock who meets his younger self, played by Zachary
Quinto. Critic Roger Ebert called the older Spock "the most human
character in the film."
***
Twelve ways Leonard Nimoy made Spock more human than the rest of us
***
Tributes
[6/28/15] - Shatner interview
***
Twelve ways Leonard Nimoy made Spock more human than the rest of us
***
Tributes
[6/28/15] - Shatner interview
