Leonard Nimoy Tribute Page!
To Be or Not to Be Spock? That is the Question.
All Leonard Nimoy wanted to do was put food on his family's table. Little did he realize that when he accepted the role of a logical, pointy-eared, green-blooded alien. For better or worse
, Spock and Nimoy are forever joined, like two halves of a whole, or like Bele and Lokai, if you will (for you Star Trek fans)--two almost-identical men who are destined to battle one another for all eternity. Even though Nimoy has acted with
screen giants such as Henry Fonda and Ingrid Bergman, he has been unable to break out of the Mr. Spock stereotype--it is still the role he is most identified with. In the seventies, he went so far as to write a book titled I Am Not Spock, but he
convinced no one and angered fans. In 1995, in an act of either
resignation or contrition, he released a new book, titled I Am
Spock.
Raised in a tenement in Boston, Nimoy began performing at the age of eight in a local community theatre, and he later joined a Yiddish theatre group when he moved to Los Angeles. He landed his first film role in the 1951 movie, Queen for a Day, and
soon graduated to such classics as Francis Goes to West Point and
Satan's Satellites (a.k.a. Zombies of the Stratosphere). The role of Spock must have looked pretty darn good in comparison. Spock was half-Vulcan and half-human, but
belonged to neither race; Earthlings considered him emotionless; Vulcans considered him too human. Nimoy's deep monotone, punctuated with a raised eyebrow and a dependable "fascinating," was the perfect antidote to William Shatner's overly emotive delivery. He soon became the fans' favorite, despite the fact that the network wanted to drop him after the first episode. Nimoy himself invented Spock's now classic Vulcan greeting, in which the fingers are splayed into a "V." The idea for the hand gesture was
borrowed from Nimoy's early experiences in synagogue, where he remembered how the kohanim (priests) would part their fingers in similar fashion to symbolize the Hebrew letter shin. For history's sake, it should be noted that during this period, Nimoy released a now-camp-classic album titled Mr. Spock's Music from Outer Space--a collection so horrifying that it should not be listened to without restraints.
When Star Trek was cancelled, in 1969, Nimoy signed on to play Paris the Great, master of disguise, on the Mission Impossible series. He left in 1971, and he then went on to provide the voice for Spock in the Star Trek animated series and to host a long-running weekly show, In Search Of . . ., which investigated such mysteries as the Loch Ness monster and U.F.O. sightings. In 1980, the Star Trek franchise was revived with Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Although
the movie was panned, it made money, and the cast returned for the much-improved follow-ups. Nimoy produced the critically and commercially successful third and fourth installments (he also scripted number four), and went on to direct such non-Trek fare as The Good Mother and Three Men and a Baby. He also directed the Broadway-bound play, The Apple Doesn't Fall . . ., a comedy written by Trish Vradenburg.
Apart from his work on the big screen and stage, Nimoy serves as host of the cable TV show Ancient Mysteries, and has also served as host of Jewish Short Stories from Eastern Europe and Beyond, a series on National Public Radio. He has made peace with Mr. Spock, and though he may stray from the Star Trek fold (he declined to participate in Star Trek: Generations because the role was little more than a walk-on), he has come to terms with the fact that he can never truly
escape it. Nimoy is Spock--any other conclusion would be illogical.
Raised in a tenement in Boston, Nimoy began performing at the age of eight in a local community theatre, and he later joined a Yiddish theatre group when he moved to Los Angeles. He landed his first film role in the 1951 movie, Queen for a Day, and soon graduated to such classics as Francis Goes to West Point and Satan's Satellites (a.k.a. Zombies of the Stratosphere). The role of Spock must have looked pretty darn good in comparison. Spock was half-Vulcan and half-human, but belonged to neither race; Earthlings considered him emotionless; Vulcans considered him too human. Nimoy's deep monotone, punctuated with a raised eyebrow and a dependable "fascinating," was the perfect antidote to William Shatner's overly emotive delivery. He soon became the fans' favorite, despite the fact that the network wanted to drop him after the first episode. Nimoy himself invented Spock's now classic Vulcan greeting, in which the fingers are splayed into a "V." The idea for the hand gesture was borrowed from Nimoy's early experiences in synagogue, where he remembered how the kohanim (priests) would part their fingers in similar fashion to symbolize the Hebrew letter shin. For history's sake, it should be noted that during this period, Nimoy released a now-camp-classic album titled Mr. Spock's Music from Outer Space--a collection so horrifying that it should not be listened to without restraints.
When Star Trek was cancelled, in 1969, Nimoy signed on to play Paris the Great, master of disguise, on the Mission Impossible series. He left in 1971, and he then went on to provide the voice for Spock in the Star Trek animated series and to host a long-running weekly show, In Search Of . . ., which investigated such mysteries as the Loch Ness monster and U.F.O. sightings. In 1980, the Star Trek franchise was revived with Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Although the movie was panned, it made money, and the cast returned for the much-improved follow-ups. Nimoy produced the critically and commercially successful third and fourth installments (he also scripted number four), and went on to direct such non-Trek fare as The Good Mother and Three Men and a Baby. He also directed the Broadway-bound play, The Apple Doesn't Fall . . ., a comedy written by Trish Vradenburg.
Apart from his work on the big screen and stage, Nimoy serves as host of the cable TV show Ancient Mysteries, and has also served as host of Jewish Short Stories from Eastern Europe and Beyond, a series on National Public Radio. He has made peace with Mr. Spock, and though he may stray from the Star Trek fold (he declined to participate in Star Trek: Generations because the role was little more than a walk-on), he has come to terms with the fact that he can never truly escape it. Nimoy is Spock--any other conclusion would be illogical.
In 1996, Leonard Nimoy and John de Lancie and Nat Segaloff teamed up to create Alien Voices, Inc. Alien Voices is a company of Star Trek actors who come together to perform dramatizations of the great Science Fiction Classics. Alien Voices is the premiere acting company in Science Fiction today. Their first 3 selections were: H.G. Well's "The Time Machine", Jules Verne's "Journey To The Center of the Earth" and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Lost World." They finished "The Invisible Man", "The Lost World" and "The First Men on the Moon". They have performed LIVE their "First Men in the Moon, The Lost World" and their "Halloween Trilogy" for Sci-Fi Channel. Leonard Nimoy and John de Lancie have performed their Spock VS Q at many conventions around the world. Their just recorded their most recent production titled, Spock VS Q The Sequel.
Leonard Nimoy Credits
Alien Voices Internal Link
Leonard Nimoy, Past and Present in Pictures!
Spock Speaks!
Leonard Nimoy on William Shatner Biography
Leonard Nimoy as Spock on Collector Cards
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