Leonard Nimoy facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Leonard Nimoy
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Leonard Nimoy in May 2011
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| Born |
Leonard Simon Nimoy
March 26, 1931 |
| Died | February 27, 2015 (aged 83) Bel Air, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
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| Cause of death | Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease |
| Resting place | Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery, Culver City, California |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Actor, film director, poet, photographer, singer, songwriter |
| Years active | 1951–2013 |
| Television | Star Trek |
| Spouse(s) | Sandra Zober (m. 1954-1987, divorced) Susan Bay (m. 1989-2015, his death) |
| Children |
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Leonard Simon Nimoy (born March 26, 1931 – died February 27, 2015) was an American actor, movie director, poet, musician, and photographer. He became very famous for playing the character of Spock on the TV show Star Trek. This popular science fiction series first aired in the late 1960s.
Contents
Early Life and Acting Start
Leonard Nimoy was born and grew up in Boston, Massachusetts. His parents, Dora Spinner and Max Nimoy, were immigrants from Ukraine. From a young age, Leonard was interested in acting. He took acting classes at places like Boston College and the Pasadena Playhouse to learn more about his craft.
Becoming a Star: The Spock Years
Nimoy started his acting career in his early twenties. He taught acting classes in Hollywood and appeared in many small roles in movies and TV shows during the 1950s. One of his first main roles was in the movie Kid Monk Baroni.
In 1965, he first appeared as Spock in a pilot episode for Star Trek. He continued to play the logical, pointy-eared alien from the planet Vulcan until the show ended in 1969. The character of Spock became incredibly popular and had a big impact on pop culture. Nimoy was nominated for three Emmy Awards for his role. TV Guide even called Spock one of the 50 greatest TV characters ever!
After the original Star Trek series, Nimoy continued to act. He starred in Mission: Impossible for two seasons and hosted a documentary series called In Search of.... He also lent his voice to the video game Civilization IV and performed in several plays. Later, he had a regular role in the science fiction TV show Fringe.
Later Career and Spock's Return
Nimoy's connection to Spock was so strong that he wrote two autobiographies about it: I Am Not Spock (1975) and I Am Spock (1995). These books explored how he shared his life with the famous character.
He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, which is a special honor for entertainers. In 2011, Nimoy voiced the main villain, Sentinel Prime, in the movie Transformers: Dark of the Moon. He also returned to play an older version of Spock, known as Spock Prime, in the new Star Trek movies directed by J. J. Abrams: Star Trek (2009) and Star Trek Into Darkness (2013). He also voiced Master Xehanort in the video games Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep and Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance.
Personal Life
Leonard Nimoy was married two times. His first wife was actress Sandra Zober, whom he married in 1954. They later divorced in 1987. On New Year's Day in 1989, he married actress Susan Bay. Nimoy had a daughter and a son from his first marriage.
Death
In February 2014, Leonard Nimoy shared that he had been diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This is a lung disease that makes it hard to breathe. He passed away from this disease on February 27, 2015, at the age of 83, at his home in Bel Air.
Nimoy was buried in a private service in Los Angeles on March 1, 2015, at the Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery in Culver City, California. He was laid to rest on a Sunday because Jewish tradition does not allow such services on a Saturday.
Movies and TV Shows
As a Director
Leonard Nimoy directed several movies and TV episodes, including:
- Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)
- Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)
- Three Men and a Baby (1987)
- The Good Mother (1988)
- Episodes of TV shows like T.J. Hooker
As an Actor
Nimoy acted in many movies and TV shows throughout his career. Here are some of them:
- Kid Monk Baroni (1951)
- Them! (1954)
- The Twilight Zone – "A Quality of Mercy" (1961)
- General Hospital (1963)
- Star Trek (1966-1969) as Spock
- Mission Impossible (1969-1971)
- Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)
- Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)
- Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
- The Transformers: The Movie (1986) as Galvatron (voice)
- Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)
- The Simpsons, "Marge vs. the Monorail" (1993) as himself
- Star Trek: The Next Generation – "Unification" (1991) as Ambassador Spock
- Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001) as King Kashekim Nedakh (voice)
- Star Trek (movie) (2009) as Spock
- Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011) as Sentinal Prime (voice)
- Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) as Spock
Images for kids
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Publicity photo of Nimoy in 1967
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Publicity photo of Nimoy as Mr. Spock, alongside William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk
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Nimoy in a Mission: Impossible photoshoot in 1970
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Nimoy at a 1980 sci-fi convention
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Handprints of Leonard Nimoy in front of The Great Movie Ride at Walt Disney World's Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park
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Nimoy playing guitar in 1967
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Nimoy at the 2011 Phoenix Comicon
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NASA Astronaut Terry W. Virts took this picture of the Vulcan salute from the International Space Station, in orbit above Nimoy's home town of Boston on February 28, 2015.
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Statement by United States President Barack Obama on Nimoy's death.
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See also
In Spanish: Leonard Nimoy para niños
