Leonard Nimoy

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".

Was William Shatner s best man at his third wedding to Nerine Kidd.

Received his Masters degree in Education from Antioch University in Yellow Springs, Ohio. He later received an honorary doctorate from the university in fall 2000.

Attended and graduated from Boston University in Boston, Massachusetts . 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" 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.

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).

Hit #121 on the Billboard Singles Chart in 1967 with "Visit to a Sad Planet" (Dot 17038).

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" 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.

Has two roles in common with voice actor Frank Welker. Welker provided the screams for the young Spock in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock . Welker also provided the voice of Galvatron in the third and fourth seasons of "Transformers" , a role which Nimoy had voiced in The Transformers: The Movie .

Was approached to direct Star Trek: Generations , as well as appear as Spock in the film. He declined because Spocks 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. Spocks character was consequently edited from the script.

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" 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" series.

At 61", he was the tallest cast member of the original "Star Trek" series.

Had appeared in episodes of six different series with William Shatner : "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." , "Mission: Impossible" , "Star Trek" , "Star Trek" , "T.J. Hooker" and "Futurama" .

Had appeared in four different productions with Malachi Throne : "Star Trek" , "Mission: Impossible" , Assault on the Wayne and "Star Trek: The Next Generation" .

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 . Welles died before the films release, but voice actress Susan Blu has gone on record saying that Welles recorded all his lines before his death.

He was born only four days after his "Star Trek" co-star William Shatner.

Had appeared in episodes of three different series with James Doohan : "Star Trek" , "Star Trek" and "Duckman: Private Dick/Family Man" .

Had appeared in episodes of three different series with George Takei and Nichelle Nichols : "Star Trek" , "Star Trek" and "Futurama" .

When Mark Lenard and Jane Wyatt were cast as his parents on "Star Trek" , 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.

Suffered from tinnitus (ringing in the ears), along with "Star Trek" co-star William Shatner. Nimoys right ear and Shatners left ear were affected. Their hearing was apparently damaged during the filming of the episode "Star Trek" {Arena (#1.18)} , when they were both close to a special effects explosion.

Born in Boston, Massachusetts to Ukrainian Jewish immigrants.

Opened an exotic pet shop in 1970 after the original "Star Trek" 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 a 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.

Father of Adam Nimoy and Julie Nimoy. Had one stepson: Aaron Bay Schuck.

Got his famous role of Spock on "Star Trek" 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 DAgosta remembered Nimoy from his work in an earlier World War II series, "The Lieutenant" 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 , 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 Schn-T Gaii Spock, son of Schn-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.

His wife, Susan Bay , is a cousin of Michael Bay. Nimoy voiced the reemerged Megatron, known as Galvatron, in The Transformers: The Movie . Bay altogether reinvented Megatron for Transformers .

Mentioned by Will Ferrell s character Brennan Huff in the comedy film Step Brothers .

Spoke Hebrew and Yiddish fluently. According to William Shatners memoir of Nimoy, later in his life Leonard 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 , 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.

Had worked with Frank Welker in four films: Star Trek III: The Search for Spock , The Transformers: The Movie , The Pagemaster and Transformers: Dark of the Moon .

Along with David McCallum , Cliff Robertson , Barbara Rush and Peter Breck , he is one of only five actors to appear in both "The Outer Limits" and "The Outer Limits" .

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

Received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6651 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on January 16, 1985.

Father-in-law of Gregory Schwartz. Ex-father-in-law of Nancy Nimoy.

Best friends with his "Star Trek" co-star William Shatner.

Was a vegetarian.

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.

In 2011, he announced his decision to both retire from acting and stop appearing at conventions, expressing his desire for private life with his family.

Had played the same character (Spock) on three different series: "Star Trek" , "Star Trek" and "Star Trek: The Next Generation" .

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

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

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

In many interviews since the beginning of "Star Trek" , Leonard 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, well call it... that came from an experience -- Im 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, youre told not to look! Youre 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 theyre using a symbol of Gods 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 Mr. Spock on the original "Star Trek" 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. "Was" is the key here, as Spock was finally killed off. Also, character is in quotation because Jack Benny and the Three Stooges were on from the radio days to movies, then television, but they played their roles using their real names. Some soap opera stars also have beat this in the United States, United Kingdom and Australia but are only a character on television exclusively. Also of note is that Spock is 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.

He and his "Luke and the Tenderfoot" {The Boston Kid } co-star Richard Bakalyan both died on February 27, 2015.

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

Prior to performing on "Star Trek" , Nimoy played various roles on the series "Wagon Train" . The original title of Star Trek was Wagon Train to the Stars.

He died only two days before Harve Bennett , with whom he worked on A Woman Called Golda , Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan , Star Trek III: The Search for Spock , Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home and Star Trek V: The Final Frontier .

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.

Had two roles in common with Carl Steven : (1) Nimoy played Spock in "Star Trek" and its numerous spin-offs while Steven played the nine-year-old version of the character in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock and Nimoy and Steven both played Mel Mermelstein in Never Forget .

Had played the same character (Spock) in films released in five different decades from the 1970s to the 2010s: Star Trek: The Motion Picture , Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan , Star Trek III: The Search for Spock , Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home , Star Trek V: The Final Frontier , Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country , Star Trek and Star Trek: Into Darkness .

Pictured as the character Commander Spock on one of a set of five Canadian commemorative postage stamps celebrating the 50th anniversary of the television series "Star Trek" , issued May 5, 2016. Price on day of issue was 85. Other stamps in the set honored William Shatner , James Doohan , DeForest Kelley and John Colicos.

He was widely known to be a very private man.

Has appeared in two works about alien plants that take over human bodies and making them euphoric: "Star Trek" {This Side of Paradise (#1.24)} and Invasion of the Body Snatchers .

Appeared at a Save the Rose Theatre event, as part of an exhibition nearby upon the London Southbank, his guest cameos linking many other ST:OS-Actors including Mark Lenard , who came from the U.S. to participate in variety of film industry conventions during the same weekend.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

I became enamored with photography when I was about 13 or 14 years old.

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.

Live Long and Prosper,Rocket shipsare excitingbut so are roseson a birthday.

I have found my way, step by step, proceeding from touch points that have emerged, some through conscious choice and some through dream state discovery.

Spencer Tracy, when asked for advice on acting, said, “Know your lines and don’t bump into the furniture. ” James Cagney said, “Walk in, plant your feet, look the other fellow in the eye and…tell the truth. ” With all due respect to both of these giant talents, I would have to say there’s something more. The true creation of a being, a character other than one’s self, for me is comparable to a mystical or spiritual experience. To stand in another person’s shoes. To see as he sees, to hear as he hears. To know what he knows, and to do all this with a sense of control, a mastering of the dramatic moment, there must be more than a “natural talent” at work.

For each of us is A separate miracleIn a collective miracleBrought together For a momentBy a group of notesAnd a scan of wordsFrom the heart Of one Who dares To thinkThat othersMight feel As he feels,Prayer Against the DarknessShekhinaPray for us now bound with scripture and shielded with shawlArmed with passion and loving carePray for us now against suffering, turmoil, and injusticePray for us now against the chaos of the dark.

Embracing the LightCollected bits of truthShimmering sparksShards of lightMergeHealingRestoringBursting BrightRisingin divine ecstatic flame.

The GatheringAccording to the Kabbalah, in the beginning everything was God. When God contracted to make room for creation, spiritual energy filled the void. The energy poured into vessels which strained to hold the great power. The vessels shattered, sending countless shards, bits of the glowing matter, into the vastness of the universe. These scattered bits of divine light must be collected. When the task is done the forces of the dark will be vanquished and the world will be healed.

The BlessingHeads are covered by the Tallit, or prayer shawl; hands are extended out with the fingers splayed to form the shape of the letter Shin, the first letter in the word Shaddai, a name for the Almighty. The chant, in Hebrew, is loud and ecstatic: "May the Lord bless and keep you. "The Shekhina is summoned; the feminine essence of God. She enters the sanctuary to bless the congregation. The very sight of her, the awesome light emanating from the Shekhina, is dangerous to behold.

I am intrigued with scriptural mythology that tells us that God created a divine feminine presence to dwell amongst humanity. This concept has had a constant influence on the work. I have imagined her as ubiquitous, watchful, and often in motion. This work is, in effect, the photographic image of the invisible.

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.

Logic is the beginning of wisdom, not the end. .