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Leonard Nimoy grew up in a Jewish Orthodox neighborhood
in Boston, went to an Orthodox synagogue, and sang in the
choir. His family actually spoke Yiddish at home. He began
acting on stage as a child in Boston, and as a teen, he
performed at war bond rallies. His older brother, Melvin
Nimoy, graduated from MIT and became a chemical engineer.
Leonard studied drama at Boston College and later the
Pasadena Playhouse (1949-50) before finding small parts
in B-movies and TV shows. A brief stint of military service
(December 3rd, 1953 - November 23rd, 1955) interrupted
his early years as a young character actor.
Even after numerous television guest appearances, he was
unknown to the public until Gene Roddenberry cast him
in the role of a lifetime. As the half-human, half-Vulcan
science officer on the USS Enterprise, Spock became
one of the most popular characters on the show. Viewers
were particularly intrigued by his struggle to remain
logical and emotionless. Nimoy earned three Emmy
nominations** for his work on the series, one
for every year Star Trek aired. Following its
cancellation, the show developed a massive cult following
when it was rerun in syndication. In 1973, this led
to an animated cartoon series, Star Trek (a.k.a.
Star Trek: The Animated Series), for which the
original Star Trek actors provided the voices.
George Takei who portrayed Sulu, and Nichelle Nichols
who played communications officer Uhura, were not
originally asked to reprise their Star Trek
characters for the animated series. Takei recalled,
"When they first got the project together, Nichelle
and I were not asked to participate. When Leonard
learned of that, he said to the producers, 'Then
you're not interested in having me, because one of
the key pillars of Star Trek is diversity and people
of different cultures working together.' Leonard
used his clout, because they absolutely needed
Leonard, and we were called in to do our voices
on the series. This just shows how Leonard is truly
a human being with great integrity."
After the cancellation of Star Trek (1966-69), Nimoy
joined the cast of Mission: Impossible as a series regular, where he
played Paris, a master of disguise (1969-1971). Then,
from 1976-82 (144 episodes) he served as host and
narrator of the syndicated television show In Search of ...
The documentary series investigated paranormal, and
unexplained events.
Many are unaware of the fact Leonard Nimoy had a
noteworthy career as a director. In addition to
directing Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984),
and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986), he was
responsible for the entertaining smash hit Three Men
and a Baby (1987), as well as The Good Mother (1988),
Funny About Love (1990), and Holy Matrimony (1994).
He also directed his former Star Trek co-star,
William Shatner, on his '80s series T.J. Hooker.
He'd made his directorial debut back in the early 1970s
on Rod Serling's Night Gallery.
In addition to his acting, Nimoy is an accomplished
photographer who has had exhibitions of his works,
is a published poet, and a singer whose early albums
are known more for their camp value than any
exceeding vocal aptitude. He's been married twice,
and has two children from his first marriage. His
son Adam is an accomplished director with numerous
television credits. His son actually directed him
in the I, Robot episode of The Outer Limits
TV series in the 1990s, which was a remake of the
original I, Robot episode in the original
The Outer Limits show back in the 1960s.
Leonard Nimoy starred in that original episode
as well.
His vocal stylings can be heard on his albums
Leonard Nimoy Presents Mr. Spock's Music from Outer Space,
Two Sides of Leonard Nimoy, The Way I Feel, The Touch
of Leonard Nimoy and The New World of Leonard Nimoy.
Volumes of his poetry (some of which were self-illustrated
with his photographs) include You and I (1973), Will I
Think of You (1974), We Are All Children Searching for Love:
A Collection of Poems and Photographs (1977), Come Be with Me
(1978), These Words Are for You (1981), and Warmed by Love (1983).
He wrote two autobiographies, the first, I Am Not Spock,
published in 1975, and the second, I Am Spock, published in 1995.
In 2002, Nimoy announced he was retiring from acting
so he could focus on his photography. Following his
retirement, he and his wife made sizable donations
to the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles
to endow the Nimoy Fund for Emerging Artists, and
another to the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles
for its renovation. The Griffith Observatory
officially reopened its doors to the public November
3rd, 2006, after completing a four-year $93 million
renovation and expansion project. The observatory's
200-seat Leonard Nimoy Event Horizon Theater was
so named following a million dollar donation made
by Nimoy and his wife, in 2001.
The Nimoy Foundation works to fund organizations
that support visual artists through direct fees
and/or subsidies of space, supplies and services;
to connect artists with institutions that can
advance their careers; to support artists working
in communities who have a goal of mentoring and
teaching others, especially young and aspiring
artists; and to inspire other philanthropists
to support the arts. At the time of The Nimoy
Foundation's 2007 grant announcements, Leonard
Nimoy said, "We are delighted our program has
funded hundreds of artists working in top visual
arts centers. To support the highest level of
artistic vision, creativity and free expression
is most satisfying. Finally, knowing our investment
has inspired other philanthropists to fund the
arts -- and the work of artists -- is indeed
rewarding."
Published in 2007, The Full Body Project: Photographs
by Leonard Nimoy, raised more than a few eyebrows with
his nude photographs of obese women. Another book showing
his talents behind the lens, was Shekhina, published in 2002.
Selected film credits:
Leonard's Star Trek feature film credits include
Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979), Star Trek II:
The Wrath of Khan (1982), Star Trek III: The Search
for Spock (1984), Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986),
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989), and Star Trek VI:
The Undiscovered Country (1991). Other motion picture
credits include the Western Catlow starring Yul Brynner
and Richard Crenna (1971), and the first-rate 1978 remake
of Invasion of the Body Snatchers with Donald Sutherland.
Another of his notable roles was in a 1991 TV movie for
which he also served as executive producer. Never Forget
told the story of Holocaust survivor Mel Mermelstein who
successfully sued the Institute for Historical Review,
which claimed the Holocaust never happened.
Selected TV guest appearances:
Nimoy also guest starred on many notable television series
such as Highway Patrol, 26 Men, Dragnet, Colt .45,
Rawhide, M Squad, Sea Hunt, The Rebel, Bonanza,
Wagon Train, Tales of Wells Fargo, The Twilight Zone,
Laramie, The Untouchables, Perry Mason, Dr. Kildare,
The Outer Limits, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Death Valley Days,
Kraft Suspense Theatre, The Virginian, Combat!, A Man
Called Shenandoah, Daniel Boone, Get Smart, Gunsmoke,
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, The Hollywood Palace, The Flip Wilson
Show, The Mike Douglas Show, Night Gallery, Columbo,
T.J. Hooker, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Shelley Duvall's
Faerie Tale Theatre, The Simpsons, Futurama, and
Becker.
Selected stage credits:
He appeared in several Broadway productions, and gave
many acclaimed performances on stage. His theater credits
include, Full Circle, Equus, My Fair Lady,
Fiddler on the Roof, Camelot, Sherlock Holmes,
The King and I, A Streetcar Named Desire, One Flew Over
the Cuckoo's Nest, Oliver, Love Letters, and
Vincent. Vincent was a touring one-man drama
Nimoy wrote himself, and starred in, as Theo van Gogh,
brother of the artist Vincent van Gogh.
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