Spock’s pensive face unmistakably makes the Vulcan many have grown to love. But beneath prosthetic ears and perfectly groomed eyebrows, Spock is Leonard Nimoy who lived the life of an earthling. And like a number of persons we have come to know from the boob tube or the silver screen, he was a sensational character off set. How unfortunate it is that Leonard Nimoy did not achieve the Vulcan age he attained in his Star Trek character, but the feats he has accomplished are amazing all the same.
Before setting foot on stage, Leonard Nimoy (or Lenny to dear ones) was the son of a Ukrainian couple who had migrated to Boston. He grew up in the midst of an energetic immigrant community. Though he landed his “greatest” role only after being in the industry for quite some time, Nimoy had gravitated to the performing arts at an early age. He appeared in his first play at eight. As a teenager it had already dawned on him that this was what he wanted to be doing the rest of his life.
In later years, Nimoy shared his gratitude for being exposed to such a community and the difficulties immigrants faced in early America. This exposure allowed Nimoy to acquire a certain disposition and substance that inspired his love for performing and pursuing what he believed to be a worthwhile mission in life: to give people illumination about their own lives. To be blessed with the ability to touch others with the characters and stories in his performances and to somehow take the lingering feeling of displacement he had grown up with that he might give those who resonated with him a voice.
Knowing the intense perseverance and passion that an artistic career requires, he developed a determination evident throughout his work. That determination meant taking odd jobs to survive as he went from audition to audition as a young man, dropping out of acting school to guard his principles of doing only inspired and meaningful work, recognizing mentors and being constantly grateful for all that he knew and had yet to know.
Nimoy’s whole acting repertoire spans a whopping 73 roles, both on stage and on screen. Although a significant part of his accomplishments were achieved by also dabbling in work off screen. A number of movies, even a few Star Trek sequels, are in his directing portfolio. The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins is just one of many musical curios that Nimoy has produced. And when he wasn’t writing poetry, he managed an online shop with his granddaughter. However despite his multitude of achievements, what is truly worth admiring even beyond the quantity of his creative output is the distinct sincerity they all possess.
The history of his relationship with the Spock character alone, speaks volumes of Nimoy’s desire to tell stories truthfully as he lent more than his physical self to the development of the character. The infamous Vulcan Salute and disarming nerve pinch were his own ideas, borrowing from his Jewish heritage to mark the “Live long and prosper” hand gesture. In his two autobiographies, he candidly reveals his struggle of refusing to lose his own identity to the fictional character. And yet, Spock was one of the most accurate embodiments of the story he strove to tell, of the feeling of being neither here nor there. Half-human, Half-Vulcan, amidst a galaxy of aliens.
Outside of Spock, he continued his impact on his many audiences. His photography projects focused on themes of self-empowerment, capturing the beauty of being comfortable in one’s own skin. He lent his voice to documentaries that captured issues he thought were of great importance. Even down to his Twitter feed he stayed true to his message: a scroll of Star Trek memorabilia, his own poetry, inspirational tidbits, plugs of his grandchildren’s art, and promoting for a few good causes. Just some of these causes include quitting smoking, wage equality for women, anti-bullying, and on some days, humpback whales. Though we’ve always identified him as a character of the future, he admirably maintained a traditional respect for the use of technology.
In a brilliant stroke of irony, Nimoy’s trademark character is an over-evolved humanoid that represses every ounce of feeling and emotion, while Nimoy’s legacy as a human was created by doing just the opposite. His art is a testament to his most sincere attempts to express an abundance of emotions. In a speech he gave to graduating art students of Boston University in 2012, he posed the challenge: “If acting is to be considered an art, one needs to learn more than the superficial craft. This is true of any work in the arts. What is the work about? … What light does it cast on our lives and on the issues which concern us and connect us? Indeed, how does it help to heal the world?”
I believe I am not the only one who is hoping that someone out there is frantically searching for the Genesis planet. In the meantime, it would do well to pay our respects to why Spock was most memorable: to his humanity, Leonard Nimoy.
