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Quick Facts
- NAME: Leonard Nimoy
- OCCUPATION: Film Actor, Television Actor
- BIRTH DATE: March 26, 1931 (Age: 82)
- EDUCATION: English High School, Boston College
- PLACE OF BIRTH: Boston, Massachusetts
- Full Name: Leonard Simon Nimoy
- ZODIAC SIGN: Aries
Best Known For
Leonard Nimoy is an actor who has played Spock in both the 1960s TV series Star Trek and several movies based on the show.
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Leonard Nimoy - Meet the Guest
A preview of William Shatner's interview with Leonard Nimoy.
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Play NowLeonard Nimoy. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 11:48, May 25, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/leonard-nimoy-9423757.
Leonard Nimoy. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/leonard-nimoy-9423757 [Accessed 25 May 2013].
"Leonard Nimoy." 2013. The Biography Channel website. May 25 2013, 11:48 http://www.biography.com/people/leonard-nimoy-9423757.
"Leonard Nimoy," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/leonard-nimoy-9423757 [accessed May 25, 2013].
"Leonard Nimoy," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/leonard-nimoy-9423757 (accessed May 25, 2013).
Leonard Nimoy [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 May 25] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/leonard-nimoy-9423757.
Leonard Nimoy, http://www.biography.com/people/leonard-nimoy-9423757 (last visited May 25, 2013).
Leonard Nimoy. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/leonard-nimoy-9423757. Accessed May 25, 2013.
Synopsis
After roles on the likes of Dragnet and The Twilight Zone, Leonard Nimoy earned the attention of producer and writer Gene Roddenberry and was cast on Star Trek as Mr. Spock. Star Trek premiered in 1966 and turned Nimoy into a legitimate star. Nimoy has always stayed active as an actor, but his role as Spock from the show and the Star Trek movies appearing over the years dominates his reputation.
Aspiring Young Actor
Leonard Nimoy was born Leonard Simon Nimoy on March 26, 1931, in Boston, Massachusetts. Nimoy was the youngest child of Max and Dora, Yiddish-speaking Jewish immigrants who had escaped from Stalinist Russia. The family settled in the West End of Boston, where Max was a popular local figure and enjoyed his life as a barber. The young Nimoy brothers -- Leonard and older brother Melvin -- were neighborhood fixtures, and sold newspapers in Boston Common.
The acting bug bit Nimoy early on, and he was just 8 years old when he appeared in his first play. He performed throughout his teen years at Boston's English High School, and after his graduation in 1949, he attended Boston College. While playing the role of Ralphie in a collegiate production of Clifford Odets' Awake and Sing, Nimoy noticed that another Odets play was making a professional, pre-Broadway debut in Boston. After seeking career advice from one of the play's established cast members, Nimoy submitted an application to California's Pasadena Playhouse. He made his way out to the West Coast using money he earned by selling vacuum cleaners.
Big Break: 'Star Trek'
By the early 1950s, Nimoy was appearing in bit parts in feature films, and his first title role came with 1952's boxing-themed Kid Monk Baroni. After a two-year stretch in the U.S. Army Reserve beginning in 1953, and marrying Sandra Zober in 1954, Nimoy resumed his acting career in 1955. He began studying with Jeff Corey, a highly respected acting coach, and continued to land bit parts on television series and B-movies. During this time, he became a father of two; daughter Julie was born in 1955 and son Adam followed in 1956.
After carving out a niche with day-player roles on the likes of Dragnet, The Rough Riders, Sea Hunt, Bonanza, The Twilight Zone, Dr. Kildaire and Perry Mason, Nimoy's featured role on a 1965 episode of The Lieutenant earned the attention of producer and writer Gene Roddenberry. At the time, Roddenberry was casting for the upcoming sci-fi series Star Trek, and thought Nimoy would be ideal for the role of the stoic, logical, and brilliant science officer known as Dr. Spock. Roddenberry even allowed Nimoy to contribute his own elements to the character. Nimoy developed both the pacifistic Vulcan Nerve Pinch and the two-fingered Vulcan salute; the latter is reportedly based on a Jewish blessing.
Star Trek premiered in 1966, and turned both Nimoy and co-star William Shatner into legitimate stars. The groundbreaking show garnered a steady following (and earned Nimoy three Emmy nominations), but forged an active rivalry between its two competitive leading men.
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Star Trek Stars
View groupLearn more about the stars of the wildly popular Star Trek television and film franchise. Created by Gene Roddenberry in the early 1960s, this otherworldly series debuted on the small screen in '66 and has since seen dozens of installments, most recently the J.J. Abrams-directed Star Trek Into Darkness (2013), starring Chris Pine, Zoe Saldana, Chris Hemsworth and Zachary Quinto. Learn more about other cast members of the franchise, including William Shatner, Walter Koenig, Nichelle Nichols, Leonard Nimoy, Patrick Stewart, LeVar Burton, George Takei, Kirstie Alley and Winona Ryder. Who knows, you might even discover your inner-Trekkie.
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