Overview (5)

Mini Bio (1)

Spouse (2)

Trade Mark (2)

Deep baritone voice





Mr. Spock on Star Trek: The Original Series (1966) and eight of the Star Trek films

Trivia (75)

Had a pet store in Canoga Park, California during the 1960s.



His father had a barber shop in Boston, where one of the more popular haircuts given was the "Spock cut".



Received his Master's degree in Education from Antioch University in Yellow Springs, Ohio (1977). He later received an honorary doctorate from the university in fall 2000.



Attended and graduated from Boston University in Boston, Massachusetts (1953). He later received an honorary doctorate of humane letters from the university in May 2012.



Stated at a 1993 convention in Toronto, Ontario, Canada that he has contracted out his signature, and can only sign items the company he has a contract with authorizes, and therefore does not sign for fans, otherwise he could be sued for breach of contract.





The "Vulcan nerve pinch" concept on Star Trek: The Original Series (1966) was invented by Nimoy when he and the series' writers were trying to figure out how an unarmed Spock could overpower an adversary without resorting to violence.



When Richard Widmark left, Nimoy became the Friday night host for "The Mutual Radio Theater" on Mutual Radio (1980).

Served in the United States Army, under the service number ER-11-229-770, from December 3, 1953 - November 23, 1955. Received an honorable discharge with the rank of Staff Sergeant (SSG).



Lent his famous voice to the introduction at the Mugar Omni Theater (The Museum of Science, Boston).





Because of his schedule, part two of the Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987) two-part episode "Unification" was filmed before part one.

Was an accomplished photographer (specializing in black and white images) and had given exhibitions of his works.





Was approached to direct Star Trek: Generations (1994), as well as appear as Spock in the film. He declined because Spock's role in the movie would have been a cameo. Nimoy stated that he did not want to play Spock, or direct any Star Trek movie in which Spock was not an integral part of the plot. Spock's character was consequently edited from the screenplay.

The sign that Spock makes with his hand is half of what is commonly done by the Cohanim, the Jewish Priests, when they bless the congregation.



Was an avid writer of poetry and had written many books.





Was the only actor to appear in every episode and both pilots of the original Star Trek: The Original Series (1966) series.



Along with Majel Barrett , he is one of only two actors to appear in both the first and last episodes of the original Star Trek: The Original Series (1966) series.



At 6' 1", he was the tallest cast member of the original Star Trek: The Original Series (1966) series.



Due to their similar deep voices, this was rumored for years that Nimoy actually recorded the bulk of Orson Welles ' dialogue as Unicron in The Transformers: The Movie (1986). Welles died before the film's release, but voice actress Susan Blu has gone on record saying that Welles recorded all his lines before his death.



When Mark Lenard and Jane Wyatt were cast as his parents on Star Trek: The Original Series (1966), they asked him if he had any advice on the Vulcan characters and culture, seeing as how he was the series' main Vulcan character. He replied that he felt the Vulcans were very much a "hand-oriented people", and so Lenard and Wyatt came up with a hand gesture in which they touched and held their fingers together to indicate a sense of intimacy.

Born in Boston, Massachusetts to Ukrainian Jewish immigrants.





Opened an exotic pet shop in 1970 after the original Star Trek: The Original Series (1966) series' cancellation.

Often nicknamed "the other Dr. Spock" for his degrees in Biology and Photography.





As a non-commissioned officer in the United States Army, Nimoy was in charge of a platoon that included Ken Berry . Berry later said in an interview that he confided to Nimoy his ambitions to be a dancer and performer and Nimoy encouraged him to go to California at the end of his enlistment.



Got his famous role of Spock on Star Trek: The Original Series (1966) in part because discussions among writers and producers of the series about the character of Spock led them to put out the word that they were looking for a tall, thin guy to play the role of an alien crew member. Casting director Joseph D'Agosta remembered Nimoy from his work in an earlier World War II series, The Lieutenant (1963) and gave him a call about this role. And so was born his most famous role and start as a popular culture icon.



The mineral Yominium Sulfide in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986), is named after him. If you notice the first five letters spells "Nimoy" backward.

In books over the years, the "unpronouncable" full name of his Star Trek character is S'chn-T' Gaii Spock, son of S'chn-T' Gaii Sarek (of Skon and Solkar) of Vulcan.





Along with Majel Barrett , he is one of only two actors to have appeared on Star Trek in every decade from the 1960s to the 2000s.



Mentioned by Will Ferrell 's character Brennan Huff in the comedy film Step Brothers (2008).



Spoke Hebrew and Yiddish fluently. According to William Shatner 's memoir of Nimoy, Leonard later in his life was concerned about losing his fluency in Yiddish because of a lack of practice. So Nimoy found a Yiddish speaking psychiatrist and made an regular appointment with her so he could spend an hour each week speaking the language.



During an interview with Al Roker on Today (1952), to promote Star Trek (2009), it was revealed that the news anchor Ann Curry had a major crush on him. They showed several clips of her stating that she was in love with Spock. Roker then called her out on stage. She came on stage, and immediately hugged and kissed Leonard Nimoy , and told him how great she thinks he is. Leonard was very flattered and told her she had great taste.



After the success of (former Star Trek castmate) Walter Koenig 's "Raver" comic series, he sold issues of his "Primortals" comic series (1996).

He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6651 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on January 16, 1985.







David Knight has been Leonard Nimoy's Son-in-law since May 2015.

Father-in-law of Gregory Schwartz . Ex-father-in-law of Nancy Nimoy David Knight has been Leonard Nimoy's Son-in-law since May 2015.

Had one brother: Melvin Nimoy, five years older.





Second cousin, once removed, of Jeff Nimoy

On April 21, 2010, he retired from acting after 60 years in the motion picture industry.



Announced his decision to both retire from acting and stop appearing at conventions, expressing his desire for private life with his family (2011).



Managed an online shop with his granddaughter called shopllap.com.





Has come out of retirement to reprise his iconic role of Mr. Spock for the Star Trek (2009) remake. [January 2008]

Announced that he is suffering from chronic obstruction pulmonary disease, one month after he was seen in a wheelchair in New York. [February 2014]





In many interviews since the beginning of Star Trek: The Original Series (1966), Nimoy has recounted the origin of the Vulcan salute, which he introduced into the series. In one such interview (with The A.V. Club in July 2010), he explained, "The gesture that I introduced into Star Trek, the split-fingered Vulcan salute, we will call it... that came from an experience -- I'm going all the way back to my childhood again -- when I was about 8 years old, sitting in the synagogue at high holiday services with my family. There comes a moment in the ceremony when the congregation is blessed by a group of gentlemen known as Kohanim, members of the priestly tribe of the Hebrews. And the blessing is one that we see in the Old and New Testament: 'May the Lord bless you and keep you; may the Lord cause His countenance to shine upon you', and so forth. When they give this blessing, you're told not to look! You're supposed to avert your eyes. I peeked, and I saw these guys with their hands stretched out - there were five or six of them, all with their hands stretched out toward the congregation - in that gesture, that split-fingered gesture. Some time later, I learned that the shape that hand creates is a letter in the Hebrew alphabet, the letter shin, which is the first letter in the word Shaddai, which is the name of the Almighty. So the suggestion is that they're using a symbol of God's name with their hands as they bless the congregation.".

Grandfather of Madeleine Nimoy and Jonah Nimoy.





Best known by the public (and by many sci-fi fans) for his starring role as the Vulcan officer Mr. Spock on the original Star Trek: The Original Series (1966) series.

Nimoy was the only actor to have portrayed the same character in two separate American media (television, then film) longer than anyone else. From 1966 to 2013 (47 years), he was Mr. Spock, a worldwide known character.



On February 19, 2015, he was rushed to UCLA Medical Center for severe chest pains after a 911 call and has been in and out of hospitals for the "past several months".



His final Tweet, posted four days before his death, was "A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. LLAP" (Live Long and Prosper).



Leonard Nimoy passed away on February 27, 2015, a month away from what would have been his 84th birthday on March 26.



At the time of his death, his Twitter account had 1.1 million followers. He followed the Twitter accounts of: Spencer Schwartz, Jonathan Frakes, Patrick Stewart, Greg Grunberg, Ben Stiller, Ian McKellen, Dana Delaney, Zachary Quinto, Simon Pegg, George Takei, Walter Koenig, Barack Obama, Michael Powell, Bruno Mars, Aaron Bay Schuck, Gerard Way, The Futuristics, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Hammer Museum and TrekMovie.com.





Prior to performing on Star Trek: The Original Series (1966), Nimoy played various roles on the series Wagon Train (1957). The original title of Star Trek was Wagon Train to the Stars.

Following his death, he was interred at Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery in Culver City, California. An asteroid discovered on September 2, 1988 has been renamed 4864 Nimoy in his honor.



He was widely known to be a very private man.





Appeared at a Save the Rose Theatre event, as part of an exhibition nearby upon the London Southbank, his guest cameo's linking many other Star Trek actors including Mark Lenard , who came from the United States to participate in variety of film industry conventions during the same weekend.



Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) Was the final Star Trek film to be released before his death.



Whilst working as a taxi driver in leaner times, one of a pre-fame Nimoy's fares was a pre-fame John F. Kennedy , with whom he chatted during the journey.

Leonard declined an offer to be an Executive Producer on "Star Trek: The Next Generation" because he felt the series would not be successful.



Personal Quotes (45)

Spock is definitely one of my best friends. When I put on those ears, it's not like just another day. When I become Spock, that day becomes something special.





[on being asked to executive-produce the proposed sequel series Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987)] I thanked him and wished him well with the project, but explained it simply couldn't work. I felt the original Star Trek: The Original Series (1966)'s success was due to many factors: the themes, the characters, the chemistry between the actors, the timing (the future-embracing 1960s)... There was simply no way, I told him, that anyone could duplicate all those things and be successful with a second Star Trek show. And so I opted out... While my argument sounded perfectly rational at the time, my ego was certainly involved. When I said to Frank Mancuso and the assembled execs, "How can you hope to capture lightning in a bottle again?", part of me was *really* saying, "How can you ever hope to do it without *us*?"... You know, crow isn't so bad. It tastes like chicken.

My folks came to the US as immigrants, aliens, and became citizens. I was born in Boston, a citizen, went to Hollywood and became an alien.



[on the death of Spock] I thought everything was managed in excellent taste. I feel proud. When it was first suggested to me that Spock would die, I was hesitant. It seemed exploitative. But now that I've seen how it was accomplished, I think it was a very good idea.



Logic is the beginning of wisdom, not the end.



That is the exploration that awaits you! Not mapping stars and studying nebula, but charting the unknown possibilities of existence.



The miracle is this: the more we share the more we have.



I think about myself as like an ocean liner that's been going full speed for a long distance, and the captain pulls the throttle back all the way to 'stop', but the ship doesn't stop immediately, does it? It has its own momentum and it keeps on going, and I'm very flattered that people are still finding me useful.



I think it's my adventure, my trip, my journey, and I guess my attitude is, let the chips fall where they may.



Which is probably the reason why I work exclusively in black and white... to highlight that contrast.



But if you're talking about fine art work, then I think you have to ask yourself some pretty deep questions about why it is you want to take pictures and what it is you want to say.



Other times, you're doing some piece of work and suddenly you get feedback that tells you that you have touched something that is very alive in the cosmos.



My wife and I are affiliated with a temple here in Los Angeles. We feel very close to the congregation and to the rabbi, who happens to be my wife's cousin and who I admire greatly. I talk to him regularly but I consider myself more spiritual than religious.



I did not move into developing or processing color. I stayed with black and white. I still think to this day that I prefer to work in black and white if it has to do with poetry or anything other than specific reality. I have worked in color when I thought it was the appropriate way to express the thought that I was working on.



A neighborhood friend showed me how it was possible to go to a camera shop and pick up chemicals for pennies... literally... and develop your own film and make prints.



You know, for a long time, I have been of the opinion that artists don't necessarily know what they're doing. You don't necessarily know what kind of universal concept you're tapping into.



The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.



I'm attracted to images that come from a personal exploration of a subject matter. When they have a personal stamp to them, then I think it becomes identifiable.



That's true, because I'm a photographer now.



For a period of time, I carried cameras with me wherever I went, and then I realized that my interest in photography was turning toward the conceptual. So I wasn't carrying around cameras shooting stuff, I was developing concepts about what I wanted to shoot. And then I'd get the camera angle and do the job.



My dream concept is that I have a camera and I am trying to photograph what is essentially invisible. And every once in a while I get a glimpse of her and I grab that picture.



I became hooked on the idea of being able to shoot an image and process it myself, and end up with a product.



What I'm exploring right now is the subject of my own mortality. It's an area that I'm curious about, and I'm researching it to see if there's a photographic essay in it for me. If images don't start to come, I'll go to something else.



Some words having to do with the death of the people in the World Trade Center attack had been added, and when I got to it, I had this overwhelmingly emotional experience. I struggled to get through the words; tears were streaming down my cheeks.



I'm touched by the idea that when we do things that are useful and helpful - collecting these shards of spirituality - that we may be helping to bring about a healing.



You proceed from a false assumption: I have no ego to bruise.



Boston was a great city to grow up in, and it probably still is. We were surrounded by two very important elements: academia and the arts. I was surrounded by theater, music, dance, museums. And I learned how to sail on the Charles River. So I had a great childhood in Boston. It was wonderful.



This time, there have been a lot of interesting discussion about the subject matter and I've had a good time talking about it. And in some of the cases, I'm not just signing books; I'm showing slides and talking about the work.



Years ago - in the '70s, for about a decade - I carried a camera every place I went. And I shot a lot of pictures that were still life and landscape, using available light.



My memory of those places is better than my pictures. That's why I get much more satisfaction out of shooting thematic work that has to do with an idea that I'm searching for, or searching to express.



I became involved in photography when I was about thirteen years old.



I also do my own processing, so it means a big commitment in lab time.



The book tour has been really interesting and very gratifying. I have not book toured before. I've never had quite as much pleasure, as much satisfaction.



I became enamored with photography when I was about 13 or 14 years old. I've been at it ever since. I studied seriously in the '70s.



Most of my images have been done in-studio, under very controlled lighting conditions. There have been a few that have been shot in nature, but even then they were shot almost exclusively at night, and again, under controlled lighting conditions.



I began working with a family camera. It was called a Kodak Autographic, which was one of those things where you flopped it open and pulled out the bellows. And I've been at it ever since; I've never stopped.



I'm not an equipment nut. I tend to use whatever's to hand. I have several cameras, of course, but I'm not emotional about any of them.



I deal with this spiritual issue every day - either shooting or processing or sorting or discussing or having conversations - I'm in constant contact with it.



For me, it's all about personal vision; is there something about a subject that uniquely speaks to me.



I use a computer. I don't know if that qualifies me as a techie, but I'm pretty good on the computer.



I've been working with photography for many years.



That's the most difficult issue for me... to find a subject that holds my interest long enough that I'm prepared to go to work and spend the time and energy to shoot the subject.



I certainly don't live in a kosher home although I was raised in a kosher environment.



I have a Master's degree in Photography as a fine art, and I would call my work primarily conceptual. I don't carry cameras with me wherever I go. I get an idea of a subject matter I want to deal with and I pull out my cameras.



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