Star Trek: Leonard Nimoy R.I.P.

Leonard Simon Nimoy (March 26, 1931 – February 27, 2015) was an American actor, film director, poet, singer and photographer. Nimoy was best known for his role as Spock in the original Star Trek series (1966–69), and in multiple film, television and video game sequels. NOTE: Leonard Nimoy quit smoking 30 years prior to being diagnosed with COPD. If you smoke, don’t. Just quit. TODAY! 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. Foreshadowing his fame as a semi-alien, he played Narab, one of three Martian invaders in the 1952 movie serial Zombies of the Stratosphere. In 1953, he served in the United States Army. In 1965, he made his first appearance in the rejected Star Trek pilot, The Cage, and went on to play the character of Mr Spock until 1969, followed by eight feature films and guest slots in the various spin-off series. The character has had a significant cultural impact and garnered 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…, and narrated Civilization IV, as well as making several well-received stage appearances. More recently, he also had a recurring role in the science fiction series Fringe. 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. Star Trek “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 Nimoy’s greatest prominence came from his role in the original Star Trek series. As the half-Vulcan, half-human Spock—a role he chose instead of one on the soap opera Peyton Place—Nimoy became a star, and the press predicted that he would “have his choice of movies or television series”. He formed a long-standing friendship with Shatner, who portrayed his commanding officer, saying of their relationship, “We were like brothers.” Star Trek was broadcast from 1966 to 1969. Nimoy earned three Emmy Award nominations for his work on the program. He went on to reprise [...]