RIP Spock: Leonard Nimoy embodied his pointy eared Star Trek character

Very few actors are known and defined by a single role they have played for the rest of their lives. A few come to mind: Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones, Christopher Reeves as Superman and Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia. But you can add one more name to this illustrious list- Leonard Nimoy, who played the much-loved Star Trek character Spock. Nimoy died yesterday (27 February) at 83. [caption id=“attachment_2127327” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Flowers adorn the Hollywood Walk of Fame star of Leonard Nimoy in Los Angeles. AP[/caption] With his jet black hair, five-point haircut, unforgettable slanting eyebrows, expressionless face, pointed ears and serious intensity, Nimoy’s on-screen portrayal of Spock, the half-Vulcan, half-human First Officer on board the Starship Enterprise, made him a cult hero overnight. The logical alien and his severely detached persona - which only amplified Spock’s mysteriousness - and his sarcastic conversations with his fully human, completely passionate, womanising, adventurous leader Captain Kirk, played by William Shatner, was a joy to watch even years after the series had been cancelled. And he was, as an outsider and an alien, best placed to analyse and critique human behaviour: in 1968, Season 3, episode 7, he very poignantly pointed out: “May I say that I have not thoroughly enjoyed serving with humans? I find their illogic and foolish emotions a constant irritant.” However hard it is to believe, Star Trek did not have the best beginning. First aired by NBC for three years from 1966 to 1969, it was discontinued due to lack of viewership. It was only later in syndication that its fan following grew by leaps and bounds. As a television programme, Star Trek was in touch with the common themes of the 60’s. It portrayed violence, greed, jealousy, prejudice, peace and love — all together in an inter-galactic adventure like no other, “boldly going where no man had gone before.” The fans’ fell more in love with the character after Star Trek was adapted into an animated show, various new series and multiple movies with most of the original television cast. These included William Shatner (as Captain Kirk), George Takei (Sulu), James Doohan (the chief engineer, Scott), Nichelle Nichols (the chief communications officer, Uhura) and Walter Koenig (the navigator, Chekov). In the most recent spin-off directed by JJ Abrams in 2009, he was the surprise addition to an all-new cast including Zachary Quinto as Spock, and Chris Pine as Captain Kirk. Nimoy also appeared in the 2013 follow-up, Star Trek Into Darkness. The Washington Post mentions  film-maker George Lucas as saying that Star Trek helped pave the way for his Star Wars movies. The success of Star Wars, in turn, helped spur the Star Trek film series. However, for a brief period, Nimoy tried to disassociate himself from the alien and being bound to a character for life in his two autobiographies: I Am Not Spock, published in 1977, and I Am Spock, published in 1995. In the first, he wrote, “In Spock, I finally found the best of both worlds: to be widely accepted in public approval and yet be able to continue to play the insulated alien through the Vulcan character.” Born in Boston, Massachusetts, to Jewish immigrant parents Max, a barber, and Dora, Nimoy showed an interest in acting from a young age. He graduated in drama at Boston College and began to get minor roles in theatre, film and television. At 20, he was cast in the lead role of a young boxer in the 1952 film Kid Monk Baroni, a film he thought would be his big break. However, that wasn’t to be and he joined the army from 1953 to 1955, during which time one of his duties was to be in charge of army talent shows. But it’s safe to say that Leonard Nimoy made Spock his own, adding key details to the character, including the traditional Vulcan greeting: a hand held up and the four fingers parted to create a V, inspired by a prayer gesture the actor saw at a synagogue during his childhood. In a 1995 interview, in trying to justify his character’s popularity he came to the conclusion that people identified with Spock because they “recognise in themselves this wish that they could be logical and avoid the pain of anger and confrontation.” “How many times have we come away from an argument wishing we had said and done something different?” he asked. In, arguably, the most memorable episodes of the series The Naked Time, the spaceship crew were infected with a virus that caused their  “hidden selves” to emerge — revealing previously unknown aspects of Spock’s nature. This even led him to break down and cry at a particular point. On that path-breaking moment in the series, Nimoy told The New York Times in 1968, “I knew that we were not playing a man with no emotions, but a man who had great pride, who had learned to control his emotions and who would deny that he knew what emotions were. In a way, he was more human than anyone else on the ship.” The New York Times reports that Nimoy announced last year that he had the disease, attributing it to years of smoking. “I quit smoking 30 years ago. Not soon enough. Grandpa says, quit now!!”. COPD is an umbrella term for several lung diseases, including chronic bronchitis, emphysema and some forms of bronchiectasis. He went on to direct two Star Trek movies, and he directed the  international hit 3 Men and a Baby (1987).

In 1968 he wrote to Digby Diehl about the strange effect Spock and his pointy ears had on women in particular: “I tell you frankly, I’ve never had more female attention on a set before,” he said. “And get this: They all wanted to touch the ears.” Until the end, Leonard Nimoy stayed true to the Vulcan saying “Live Long and Prosper.” And I’m sure that for me and the rest of the world, Spock will live forever.