Leonard Nimoy
- Acting
- March 26, 1931 · Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- February 27, 2015
Biography
Leonard Simon Nimoy (March 26, 1931 – February 27, 2015) was an American actor, film director, poet, musician and photographer. Nimoy's most famous role is that of Spock in the original Star Trek series 1966–1969, multiple films, television and video game sequels. 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. 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 would go on to play the character of Mr. Spock until 1969, followed by seven further films and a number of guest slots in various sequels. His character of Spock generated a significant cultural impact and three Emmy Award nominations; TV Guide named Spock one of the 50 greatest TV characters. Nimoy also had a recurring role in Mission: Impossible and a narrating role in Civilization IV, as well as several well-received stage appearances. Nimoy's fame as Spock is such that both his autobiographies, I Am Not Spock (1977) and I Am Spock (1995) detail his existence as being shared between the character and himself. Nimoy was born to Yiddish-speaking Orthodox Jewish immigrants from Iziaslav, Ukraine. His father, Max Nimoy, owned a barbershop in the Mattapan section of the city. His mother, Dora Nimoy (née Spinner), was a homemaker. Nimoy began acting at the age of eight in children's and neighborhood theater. His parents wanted him to attend college and pursue a stable career, or even learn to play the accordion—which, his father advised, Nimoy could always make a living with—but his grandfather encouraged him to become an actor. His first major role was at 17, as Ralphie in an amateur production of Clifford Odets' Awake and Sing!. Nimoy took Drama classes at Boston College in 1953 but failed to complete his studies, and in the 1970s studied photography at the University of California, Los Angeles. He has an MA in Education and an honorary doctorate from Antioch University in Ohio. Nimoy served as a sergeant in the U.S. Army from 1953 through 1955, alongside fellow actor Ken Berry and architect Frank Gehry.
Known for
Filmography
- Sally · Self
- Piece by Piece · Spock (voice) (archive sound) (uncredited)
- Tolkien: The True Story of the Rings · Self
- Way of Tomorrow: The Evolution of Science Fiction Movies · Self
- 765874: Unification · Spock
- The Center Seat: 55 Years of Star Trek · Self
- Star Trek: Prodigy · Spock (Voice)
- Emily @ the Edge of Chaos · Sigmund Freud (Voice)
- Everything You Wanted to Know About Sudden Birth (but were afraid to ask) · Self
- My Brother Vincent · Self
- Star Trek: Discovery · Spock (archive footage)
- Star Trek: Inside the Roddenberry Vault · (archive footage)
- For the Love of Spock · Self
- 50 Years of Star Trek · Self
- Star Trek Beyond · Ambassador Spock (archive footage), In Memory Of
- The Shannara Chronicles · Spock (archive footage)
- To Be Takei · Self
- Leonard Nimoy's Boston · Self
- Star Trek: The Next Generation - Unification · Spock
- The Prime Ministers: The Pioneers · Levi Eshkol (Voice)
- Leonard Nimoy's Oral History · Self
- Star Trek Into Darkness · Ambassador Spock
- Star Trek: The True Story · Self
- Hava Nagila: The Movie · Self
- Zambezia · Sekhuru (Voice)
- Transformers: Dark of the Moon · Sentinel Prime (Voice)
- Classic TV Bloopers Uncensored · Spock (archive footage)
- Billy Blackburn's Treasure Chest: Rare Home Movies and Special Memories
- Star Trek: Evolutions · Narrator
- Star Trek: Evolutions
- The Evolution of the Enterprise · Self
- Land of the Lost · The Zarn (Voice)
- Bring Back... Star Trek · Self
- Star Trek · Ambassador Spock
- Star Trek: The Captain's Summit · Self
- Late Night with Jimmy Fallon · Self
- Shatner's Raw Nerve · Self
- Fringe · Dr. William Bell
- The Real Story · Self
- The Big Bang Theory · Mr. Spock (Voice)
- The Pixar Story · Spock (archive footage)
- Star Trek: Beyond the Final Frontier · Self
- Cinemaville · Self
- The Once and Future Griffith Observatory · Self
- William Shatner in Concert · Self
- 40 Years of Star Trek · Self
- The Colbert Report · Self
- Bring Back... · Self
- Ringers: Lord of the Fans · Self
- Rambam - The Story of Maimonides · Rambam (Voice)
- Reflections on Spock
- Kiss 'N' Tell: Romance in the 23rd Century
- Birth of a Timeless Legacy
- el moro · Music
- The Perils Of Peacemaking · Self
- Comedy Central Roasts · Self
- HypaSpace · Self
- After They Were Famous · Self
- The Making of 'Atlantis: The Lost Empire' · Self
- Mind Meld: Secrets Behind the Voyage of a Lifetime · Self
- Atlantis: The Lost Empire · Atlantean King (Voice)
- The Fly Papers: The Buzz on Hollywood's Scariest Insect · Narrator
- Sinbad: Beyond the Veil of Mists · Akron/ Baraba/ King Chandra
- Forging Greatness: Lincoln in Indiana · Narrator
- The Story of Computer Graphics · Narrator
- Futurama · Leonard Nimoy's Head (Voice)
- Y2K Family Survival Guide · Self
- Rashi: A Light After The Dark Ages · Rashi (Voice)
- Becker · Professor Emmett Fowler
- A Life Apart: Hasidism in America · Narrator
- The Lost World · Angus McArdle
- Invasion America · General Konrad (Voice)
- Brave New World · Mustapha Mond
- Armageddon: Target Earth · Host
- Trekkies · Self
- David · Samuel
- David · Samuel
- The Great Pyramids · Narrator (Voice)
- The Harryhausen Chronicles · Self
- Mystical World of Ancient Greece · Narrator (Voice)