Leonard Nimoy, known for playing the character known as Spock, has recently died at the age of 83. Nimoy died from complications of COPD ( chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) in his Bel Air home on February 27, 2015. Nimor announced last year that he had the disease, attributing it to many years of smoking, a habit he had given up nearly three decades ago.
Nimoy had become an American icon, playing a cerebral, pointy-eared Vulcan that goes by the name of Mr. Spock. Nimoy has played the character for decades, starring as Spock in Star Trek: The Original Series (1966-1969), 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), Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991), Star Trek (2009), and Star Trek Into Darkness (2013). Nimoy’s role became one of the most recognizable of the twentieth century. The character’s cool personality and physical appearance has gained him many fans, the majority known as “Trekkies.”
Other than the Star Trek franchise, Nimoy has had a supporting role in the Transformers franchise. He was the voice of Galvatron in “Transformers: The Movie” (1986) and voiced Sentinel Prime in “Transformers: Dark of The Moon” (2011). He has also appeared in many popular television series such as Bonanza, The Twilight Zone, The Simpsons, Futurama, and the Big Bang Theory.
William Shatner, fellow Star Trek actor who portrayed Captain James T. Kirk, stated “I loved him like a brother. We will all miss his humour, his talent, and his capacity to love.”
President Barack Obama stated “I loved Spock. Long before being nerdy was cool, there was Leonard Nimoy. Leonard was a lifelong lover of the arts and humanities, a supporter of the sciences, generous with his time and talents.
“And of course, Leonard was Spock. Cool, logical, big-eared and level-headed, the center of Star Trek’s optimistic, inclusive vision of humanity’s future.”
Zachary Quinto, who played Spock in the 2009 reboot film, Star Trek, said “My heart is broken. I love you profoundly my dear friend and I will miss you everyday. May flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.”
George Takei, widely known for his role as Hikaru Sulu in the Star Trek franchise, stated “You know, the word ‘extraordinary’ is often overused, but I think it’s really appropriate for Leonard. He was an extraordinarily talented man, but he was also a very decent human being. His talent embraced directing as well as acting and photography. He was a very sensitive man. And we feel his passing very much. He had been ill for a long, long time. And we miss him very much.”
Even Seth MacFarlane, creator of the Fox television series, Family Guy, stated “ Leonard Nimoy brought us one of the greatest, noblest characters in the history of American storytelling. Someone find the Genesis planet.”
In his final public statement, Nimoy said something that touched the hearts of many. He said “ A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. LLAP.”