It is with sadness in my heart that I report that Leonard Nimoy died today.  His wife Susan Bay Nimoy reportedly confirmed his death at age 83, saying the cause was end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.  I have met Leonard a few times in my life as a professional nerd and he was always so much more to me than an actor.  He was an inspiration.  Leonard Nimoy was a renaissance man through and through.  He was an actor, a poet, a songwriter/singer and a photographer.  A couple of years ago at a comic con, I was telling Leonard about some aspirations I had in entertainment creation and that I was worried about finding the right audience for what I want to do.  He told me “If you truly want to create something, do it.  If you are happy with the result, no one else’s opinion matters.”  He lived those words.  As he took on new ideas and new mediums for his art, he not only did it his way, but showed that he truly enjoyed what he did.

 

He lived long and prospered.  He was known for many roles, but the one he is most known for is of course Mr. Spock on “Star Trek”.  I fondly remember watching re-runs of “Star Trek” in the mid-seventies.  I was fascinated by the show.  The crew, the sci-fi, the stories and the aliens were all great, but there were two things that really captured my imagination.  First was the Enterprise herself, but the other was this Vulcan creature that felt no emotion.  Most importantly for me was that he was the science officer.  I have been influenced by science all through my life, but I can trace my love of science back to watching Mr. Spock doing his thing on “Star Trek”.

 

Spock was my favorite of Leonard’s roles, but I also enjoyed him as Paris, the master of disguise from “Mission Impossible”.  He joined the cast after Start Trek wrapped.  I really enjoyed the old series “In Search Of”, which Leonard narrated for the series run.  He of course went on to play Spock again in the “Star Trek” film franchise, most notably directing the third and fourth in the series.  Directing was a good fit for him.  He also directed “3 men and a baby” in 1987.

 

Leonard Nimoy announced his retirement a few years ago citing advanced age as the reason.  That was a sad day as it made us think about the fact that we are losing our original series actors.  I just saw Nichelle Nichols a few weeks ago, and it was evident that, no matter how full of life she is, she is getting up there in time.  She started joking about the shirt I was wearing that was a spoof of the SAMCRO logo from “Sons of Anarchy” that had Joker instead of the reaper and said “Sons of Arkham”.  She said that she would make one heck of a biker babe!  We talked about her cast members for a minute and she mentioned Leonard’s health.  A very somber moment for this Trekkie and now makes me shed some tears thinking about it.

 

Leonard Nimoy is now reunited with DeForest Kelley and Jimmy Doohan at the great star base in the sky.   We must always remember to “Live Long and Prosper”

 

Rest in Peace Leonard, we will all miss you.  “May flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.” 

 

Chubtoad with Leonard Nimoy in 2011