— Terry W. Virts (@AstroTerry) February 28, 2015
… And a mensch, down to his bones. He had a famously complicated relationship to being identified so strongly with his most famous role, but Mr. Spock — and, I suspect, Star Trek — would never have succeeded in achieving such reach and longevity if Nimoy hadn’t been an extraordinary actor and human being.
… “I am what I am, Leila,” Mr. Spock declares after the spores’ effect has worn off and his emotions are again in check. “And if there are self-made purgatories, then we all have to live in them. Mine can be no worse than someone else’s.”…
His immigrant, working-class Jewish parents weren’t sure that being an actor was really a… respectable occupation. (Check out the video at the end of this post!) And even after filming the pilot for what was being presented as “Wagon Train to the Stars”, the studio executives told Gene Rodenberry his new series could have either a main-cast alien, or a logic-driven female second in command — not both. So, as Rodenberry would gleefully recite at conventions for many years to come, “I married the woman [Majel Barrett] and kept Mr. Spock, because in California at that time it was illegal to do it the other way ’round.”
Mr. Spock would be my (and millions of other teenage geek girls’) first celebrity crush; and the success of Star Trek would propel me and hundreds or thousands of other female sf fans into a science fiction fandom that wasn’t always sure it appreciated the gender/media rebalancing, either…
Mr. Charles P. Pierce, another proud Trekkie:
… It’s extraordinarily hard to imagine American TV without Sarek and Amanda’s kid who, like the current president of the United States, was the child of two worlds, in Spock’s case, quite literally. (The series debuted in 1966, nine months before the Supreme Court handed down its decision in Loving v. Virginia. The show always was ahead of its time.) Nimoy’s creation of one of our indispensable television icons is a marvelous work-in-progress throughout the course of the series, and then through its subsequent movie and television iterations. Spock was the great gravitational force that held together all of the themes that Gene Roddenberry and his remarkable group of visionary writers wanted to run through their space opera. Spock faced bigotry. He faced his status as an outsider, even among a universe of people who were outsiders in one way or another. And when the script forced him to break character, Nimoy demonstrated that Spock’s human-half was both witty and charming, and something of a ladies man…
Leonard Nimoy died today at the age of 83. He respected the indelible character he created, and one of the ways he did that was not to take himself or the character too seriously, but always to take seriously the love that fans had for that character… [H]e lived long, and we all prospered for it.
And Nimoy, the man, was quick to appreciate what Mr. Spock, the character, meant to so many fans, not least the female fans who hadn’t always found a sympathetic space in science fiction (or, for that matter, among professional scientists). Via commentor LAMH36, he would write a two-page letter for a celebrity fanmag encouraging a mixed-race teenage girl to ignore her tormentors and ‘live up to [her] own personal values and uniqueness.’
From TrekMovie.com, in an article last summer:
… Today the Las Vegas Sun had an interview with original Star Trek star Walter Koenig to promote the big Las Vegas convention. Mostly the interview covered familiar ground but when talking about his relationship with his fellow Trek co-stars, Koenig said this about Leonard Nimoy.
Koenig: Leonard (Nimoy, Mr. Spock) was always kind of unapproachable. But a very good man. Sound ethics and a good sense of morality.
LV Sun: How so?
Koenig: When it came to the attention of the cast that there was a disparity in pay in that George [Takei] and I were getting the same pay but Nichelle was not getting as much, I took it to Leonard and he took it to the front office and they corrected that.
TrekMovie reached out to Mr. Nimoy who confirmed the story. He also clarified that it “was during the Desilu years,” meaning during the production of the original Star Trek series. Nimoy also recalled a similar incident (which has been reported before) about how during the 1970s he again went to bat for his co-stars, noting…
Nimoy: There was also the case where George and Nichelle were not hired to do their voices in the animated series . I refused to do Spock until they were hired. Mr. Roddenberry started calling me the conscience of Star Trek.
The fact that Nimoy fought for Nichelle Nichols back in the 1960s shows a bit of bravery. Back then women’s pay equity wasn’t the same kind of hot topic it is today. On top of that, while he was a lead, Nimoy was still just an actor in the show and didn’t have the kind of pull he would eventually have when he went on to produce and direct for the Star Trek movies in the 80s & 90s…
Mr. Spock’s success gave Leonard Nimoy the chance to pursue a whole range of artistic interests, from directing (including Three Men & A Baby) to photography. He was a generous promoter and patron as well, for science as well as art and his Yiddish heritage. But perhaps Nimoy’s greatest legacy was the open-minded generosity of spirit that enabled him to encourage so many other people, to honor his iconic role (sometimes in surprising twists) even while graciously handing “Mr. Spock” off to a new generation.
moonbat
I will always miss him.
WereBear
Yup. A mensch.
Last night we watched Wrath of Khan and I cried. Haven’t done that since the first time I saw it, but now, it might be a regular thing.
NotMax
Too young to fall for Ilya Kuryakin?
Villago Delenda Est
Absolutely, positively a mensch.
His like are rare, and are to be treasured, and well remembered when they pass on to the stars.
Kropadope
OT, I know, but I just caught this at the New York Times and had to share it:
My emphasis. That’s just-reelected Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin.
The reporter didn’t seem to notice.
Villago Delenda Est
@Kropadope: Past tense? Apparently he’s about as committed to the job as Failin’ Palin was.
MattF
Note that the NYT obit gives “Live long and prosper” in both English and Vulcan. A nice touch.
NotMax
PacePeter & Gordon.
Birds sing out of tune
And rain clouds hide the moon
I’m okay, here I stay with my loneliness
I don’t care what they say
I won’t stay in a world without Spock
Seems the logical thing to hum along with.
debbie
I like the way Nimoy disavowed Star Trek and then came to embrace it. Unlike Shatner.
Raven
@NotMax: Never in my frame of reference.
Botsplainer
I wish Captain Spock the best as he quests for the Ring to rule them all. Make it so!
aimai
@NotMax: Good point. I had a crush on Ilya Kuriakin, also on John Steed. Man, I am old.
the Conster
Love that Massachusetts is being bestowed the Vulcan greeting in the image, and that Nimoy was born in the long gone West End. See you on the other side, Spock.
Gene108
@Kropadope:
Sigh…if there is a liberal media, they would be spending today – the day of news shows – beating Walker over the head with the comment.
Fox News et al would do this to a Democrat and have it dominate the news for the rest of the week.
ruemara
He’ll always be a hero of mine. He probably would have enjoyed the burlesque show I went to last night. Women of all sizes and shapes dancing about with a sexy attitude. The showstopper goddess of burlesque who closed us out was in her 60’s and boy howdy if she wasn’t the best. My gym trainer invited me along and now I can cross that off my list. Next up, see a sport of some sort.
Tommy
I will just say this. I was born in 1969. I saw Star Trek later. Brother much younger, later. At my nieces 6th birthday party yesterday my parents and others were trying to make their hands do LLAP in the middle of their granddaughters birthday. I think half joking. Dad said he had broken his fingers too often, couldn’t do it. Others just laughed.
I stood up and did it, I can spread my little fingers in that manner wide, and said “live long and prosper Katie. Happy birthday.”
Since my brother has been wanting for her to get to this age where she might want to watch Star Wars or Star Trek I hope she sees this video of me.
Oh I gave her all super geeky shit. Everybody else “Princess” stuff. Third time with her b-day and Christmas I don’t go there …… I gave her Little Bits.
No man will tell her she can’t, well engineer or design shit ……………
Violet
I love that Leonard Nimoy did stuff like this. Didn’t take himself too seriously. RIP.
satby
@WereBear: I’ve been a bit teary about it myself. Good people must be celebrated, and are always missed.
gf120581
@Violet: His “Simpsons” appearances are Exhibit A of that.
“A solar eclipse. The cosmic ballet…goes on.”
“Does ANYONE wanna switch seats?”
I just hope that, as he’s being greated in the beyond, that no one mistakes him for one of the Little Rascals. ;-)
Patricia Kayden
@WereBear: I also cried when I heard he had died. His appeal goes well beyond Star Trek fans. Just a great person overall.
donnah
A friend of ours worked at Paramount and he posted that his office was across from Nimoy’s. He said Leonard was a genuinely nice guy, humble, friendly, and kind. Our friend spoke fondly of conversations they shared about movies, televison, and life in general, and said he was going to miss Nimoy more than he could say.
RIP, Good sir!
Patricia Kayden
@Kropadope: Following Half Term Governor Palin, I see.
Kropadope
@Patricia Kayden: He learned a lesson from her too. Get reelected once before quitting so that you are taken seriously as a presidential prospect.
shelley
Does your cable system carry the MeTV channel? Tonight, they’re gonna have a mini-marathon of his different Tv roles, such as the murderous doctor of ‘Columbo.’
geg6
Yup. I’ve been teary eyed ever since I heard the news. I watched TOS in first run. I was 8, my mom was taking night classes and my oldest brother was usually in charge until she got home (dad worked two jobs: main one working shifts at the steel mill and a part-time thing at a cemetery a friend owned). He thought I’d like the show but since it was on after bed time, I had to be in bed. However, my bedroom had a straight view into the living room and the tv, so he’d leave the door open after getting little sister and I to bed and I laid in bed, watching. Spock was always my favorite and always will be.
Linda Featheringill
@NotMax:
Well, yes. There is that. :-)
WaterGirl
@aimai: Yes and yes. I had forgotten about John Steed! He and Emma Peel were the best!
The Thin Black Duke
What I find remarkable about Nimoy’s life and career is that in this celebrity-obsessed culture, it’s so easy to become a narcissistic, money-grubbing asshole (case in point: Bill Shatner), but he chose not to. Other than his portrayal of Spock, I think that was his greatest achievement.
WaterGirl
@geg6: That is a very sweet story.
Linda Featheringill
@shelley:
Spock mini-marathon: Ooh! Gotta catch that!
Linda Featheringill
@WaterGirl:
Emma Peel has been, and always will be my role model.
[To paraphrase Spock]
Linda Featheringill
BTW:
Elderly black cat, Sally, has a birthday today. She’s 21 years old. [About 100 in cat years?]
People tuna for breakfast. Yum.
weavrmom
@Notmax: Ilya Kuryakin forever!!! My first crush, my first poster (scandalized my parents–only framed pictures should be on the wall!). And I adored Spock, but my heart belonged to Kirk.
Nimoy the man however, I have always admired, respected and loved. Gonna go watch ‘The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins’ one more time, just so I’ll laugh through the sadness.
ruemara
@Linda Featheringill: I’m an Emma Peel fashion & ability as role model girl. Whereas Spock was my persona model.
NobodySpecial
The best part about the story, however, is that the driving force behind all this cultural change was a show that didn’t last as long as 8 Simple Rules.
NobodySpecial
@Linda Featheringill: Tremendous! My Scooter made it 23 before I had to let her go this month. I hope your Sally still gets around ok!
WereBear
@NobodySpecial: It’s not how long you do something.
It’s how well.
Bobby B.
SCTV did a “Spock & McCoy” parody that really nailed it. The whole Legolas/Gimli thing.
debbie
@WaterGirl:
Yes, Emma Peel totally reflected the times for women. Both The Avengers and The Prisoner were my must-see shows.
TaMara (BHF)
Learned a lot about Nimoy this week. Here’s rare photo of him in the army.
And two stories from my friend Jackie Joseph:
and about that military service:
TaMara (BHF)
I think Emma Peel would be a great name for a cat.
oldster
One very small way that Leonard Nimoy contributed to the world:
He was clearly the model for Alan Rickman’s hilarious role in Galaxy Quest.
“By Grabthar’s Hammer, you shall be avenged!”
For those laughs, too, I am grateful to Leonard Nimoy.
Mr. Twister
@aimai: Emma Peel and Honey West !
slag
Growing up in a Faux News household, I credit Star Trek (along with The Twilight Zone), and Spock, in particular, with opening my brain enough to allow the dirty hippie liberal socialist agenda to creep in. Thank you, Spock! A thousand times thank you!
WaterGirl
@TaMara (BHF): Emma Peel would be an awesome name for a cat.
WereBear
@WaterGirl: Yes, and Steed would be an equally awesome name for a boy cat.
A tuxedo cat, of course :)
bemused
@Kropadope:
So Walker said this morning that he had no intention of comparing union protestors to ISIL. It was about leadership! Sure, you betcha. Meanwhile, drooling CPACers were eating that right up.
TaMara (BHF)
@WereBear: And the same person needs to own them and then make funny youtube videos recreating the opening sequence.
Suzanne
I was born in 1980, so my first celebrity “crush” was Mark Hamill, though I only got to see the original trilogy on video when we got a VCR in 1986. So it wasn’t a crush per se, but I did think he was a cutie.
But my mom loved Star Trek, and we watched all the movies and reruns, and thought they were just awesome. The scene from Wrath of Khan with the bugs in the ears freaked me out SO BAD. But I went on to totally nerd out as I got older, and Star Trek is still my favorite. Spock was just the best. I honestly can’t imagine that character played by anyone else. And Nimoy seems like he was just a wonderful person. We have lost a great deal.
Elizabelle
@shelley: Thanks for the head’s up about MeTV: Here’s the Nimoy programming for today: all times eastern:
Sunday
6:00 p.m. – Columbo: A Stitch in Crime
7:30 p.m. – The Twilight Zone: A Quality of Mercy
8:00 p.m. – The Man from U.N.C.L.E.: The Project Strigas Affai
9:00 p.m. – Mission: Impossible: The Hostage
10:00 p.m. – Get Smart: The Dead Spy Scrawls
@ Aimai: UNCLE! Ilya Kuryakin AND Spock.
WaterGirl
@WereBear: Emma Peel and John Steed would have fit my girl and boy kitties perfectly. Where’s that time machine, I only need to go back 4 or 5 years.
ThresherK
His immigrant, working-class Jewish parents weren’t sure that being an actor was really a… respectable occupation.
Of course it wasn’t respectable in 1931.
If it were respectable to be a performer or empresario in anything except classical music and opera and Shakespeare, wouldn’t these doors basically have been closed to Jews then?
(I gleaned this from dozens of books about theater, movie history, and biography.)
WaterGirl
We have about 10 inches of snow this morning, definitely taller than my little puppy. He’s such a trooper, he bunny hops out there so he can get around in the snow.
He comes in with big snow balls hanging from every bit of his fur, head to toe. I have to carry him to the sink and run him under the water to dissolve the snow. Then, as soon as he’s dry, he wants to go back out again.
It’s been a 2-bath day already so far, and it’s not even noon! The snow is beautiful, though, and I love snow, so I’m enjoying that.
WaterGirl
@Elizabelle: I thought what I found said it starts at 8pm ET. The shows here in central time seem to be starting at 7.
Edit: I just checked the website and found this:
The special programming schedule (all times are Mountain Time Zone):
So I think it starts at 8pm ET.
CaseyL
Reading that Leonard Nimoy had died was like getting gut-punched.
I’m old enough to have watched TOS when it first came out. I don’t remember what I thought of the series then – I was only a kid – but in college, when it syndicated, I watched it every day. Over and over, with the SciFi club.
Do any Trekkies/Trekkers remember the game of trying to identify the episode during the first 10 seconds of the teaser? I got really good at that.
New Treks came and went, TV shows and movies, and I loved nearly all of them (never got into Voyager, and the less said about Enterprise the better). Seeing Spock in TNG, was wonderful.
Seeing Old Spock hand his mission over to Young Spock in the 2009 reboot was also wonderful. That Nimoy and Quinto became genuine friends, mentor/protege, was not only sweet and touching, but… reassuring: Nimoy letting everyone know that Spock was in good hands.
The NYT obit has hundreds of comments. It is astounding to read of so many people who entered the sciences because of Spock. So many people with horrible childhoods who found a haven and a role model in Spock. He never won an Industry award, but his legacy is wider, deeper, and more meaningful that those.
LLAP, Leonard. You will be missed.
Renie
And who wants to picket his funeral? Yep, Westboro Baptist Church. These people are insane.
Elizabelle
@WaterGirl: what kind of puppy? Pictures?
Bobby B.
@Elizabelle: They show Night Gallery at night so maybe we’ll get “She’ll Be Company For You.”
Nobody saw Mellow Spock on Trek last night??
WaterGirl
@Elizabelle: Henry is a maltese poodle mix, and he weighs about 10 pounds at this point. I’ll look for some photos and put them up in a bit.
Villago Delenda Est
@Renie: There is a method to their insanity.
WBC is a pack of lawyers who are the genesis of all the lawyer jokes in the world. They’re looking to provoke someone into actions that they can then litigate over.
This is, it seems to me, a pretty dangerous thing to do in a country with 300 million firearms in private hands and virtually no restrictions on who can possess them.
WereBear
@TaMara (BHF): That would be hilariously awesome!
Elmo
For those who are interested, Bill Shatner is doing a remembrance on Twitter right now. #LeonardNimoy
WereBear
I used to be really good at that :)
Villago Delenda Est
@oldster: That film was simultaneously parody and tribute to Trek.
Patrick Stewart was at first reluctant to go see it, but Jonathan Frakes talked him into it, telling him he had to see it on a Saturday night with a full house.
Stewart went, and had a grand time…no one laughed, Stewart said, louder than he did.
George Takei loved it too.
Wil Wheaton wishes he had been cast as one of the fans at the convention.
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@TaMara (BHF): I had a friend who named her cats Emma Peel and Miss Marple. Miss Marple predeceased her, but Emma Peel survived my friend(who died young). I was unable to take her, but she got a nice place to live her final years.
kc
@shelley: @Elizabelle:
Oh, man. Wish I could get MeTV.
Splitting Image
Grace Lee Whitney said that when she was assaulted during her time on Star Trek, Nimoy was the most supportive of her.
Definitely one of the good ones.
Amir Khalid
@Renie:
Not that I’m expecting the Westboro Baptist Church to have a rational justification for these things, but what’s their official reason?
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@Amir Khalid: Because they can. Or, that Leonard Nimoy worked on a show with George Takei and g*d hates fags. But mainly because they can. Although I suspect there will be a large contingent to shoo them away.
trollhattan
@CaseyL:
Originally watched it in B&W (shut it, you kids and get offa mah lawn!) then later in color when it was perennially in rerun in the ’70s. At some point the local station sprang for a fresh 35mm master set in lieu of their ancient and raggedy 16mm collection and it became an entirely new viewing experience, especially on my friend’s Sony–the “Holy Trinitron.” (Only downside was you could also see cell rectangles surrounding the ships in the space sequences.)
At that point I was able to enjoy it for the character interactions and socio-political subtext that were lost in my youthful love of spaceship battles (pew-pew-pew), kung-fu lizards and Kirk makin’ it with some green chick. Not to mention it was rollicking fun to be with half a dozen others being Beavis and Butthead long before Mike Judge arose from the couch and channeled us into a show. I have zero doubt he’s a fellow traveler.
WaterGirl
@Elizabelle: Here’s Henry.
Notice the photo where Tucker (my 3 year old dog) has Henry’s entire head in his mouth. They play play play all the time and Henry definitely holds his own.
Edit: and you can see we’ve graduated from the blue tarp to a cheap rug from amazon. My nice rug is safely rolled up in another room, but at least that’s progress!
Culture of Truth
William Shatner is currently doing a live remembrance of Nimoy on twitter.
Bruuuuce
I was born too late to remember (but not to see) TOS in first run, and grew up on it in syndication. Where other kids wanted to be Captain Kirk, I was always first to play at being Spock. I have never heard anything bad about Leonard Nimoy, and will add to the mensch tag from everything I’ve heard.
@Renie: David Gerrold, who wrote “The Trouble With Tribbles” and worked on TOS, TAS, and Next Gen, says this on FB:
“Okay, so here’s what I’m imagining.
“The Westboro Baptist Frauds show up.
“And then … a full battalion of redshirts stands in front of them. Does an about face to face them. All pull out their phasers. ‘Set phasers to ridicule.’ And then everybody has a good belly laugh, pointing and laughing.
Because that’s how you deal with ‘energy creatures.’ “
Roger Moore
@Renie:
They’re not insane. They’re evil. Westboro Baptist is a lawsuit machine; they troll people until they’re attacked and then sue the attackers. The best response is either to ignore them or to counter-troll. They won’t stop until the grift stops working.
ruemara
@Bruuuuce: Win
Renie
@Amir Khalid: Here’s an article
http:www.inquisitr.com
TriassicSands
@Villago Delenda Est:
He may not be committed to the job (being governor), but unlike Palin he’s committed to the Cause. Palin abandoned politics to make money; I doubt we’ll see Walker do that (until after he’s been president, ruined the country, and retired to bleed the US for every penny an ex-president can “earn”). Palin was after money; Walker wants power. He’s just as much of a dolt as she is, but he’s willing to work at politics to achieve his outsized goal (destroy ISIS by firing them as if they were the air traffic controllers).
As such, Walker may represent a very real threat to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness (except for the 1%). Palin quickly disappeared (if only she had really disappeared) into irrelevance. We’ll be dealing with Walker for as long as the main stream media refuse to report accurately what an idiot he is or until he makes so many unforced errors that he kills his own presidential hopes ala Perry.
The Red Ped
Ironically, Roddenberry chose him for Spock because he was “uniquely wooden” as an actor.
@TaMara (BHF):
Berry later went on to command F Troop.
TaMara (BHF)
@WaterGirl: My day needed that level of cuteness.
Tommy
@Renie: A number of years ago. This women, her cousin had fallen in Iraq. The Westboro Baptist were coming. She set-up a Facebook page. Asked for help to stop them.
On the day of the funeral hundreds, not dozens, hundreds showed up with poster boards to shield the family from their hate.
Gosh now I think about it, that was 8-9 years ago, the people from Westboro Baptist never came back. Losers!!!
MattF
@Renie: Well, if Nimoy follows Jewish tradition, his funeral will be over by now. Westboro made the same mistake with Elizabeth Taylor– Jewish funerals take place pretty much as soon as possible.
rikyrah
Loved him as an actor, and he always seemed to be a good human, trying to bring positive to the world.
Davis X. Machina
He’s famous in these parts for the voice-overs for the advances in Civilization IV — listening to him do the ‘Beep-beep-beep’ Sputnik quotation for “Satellites” is worth the price of admission.
PurpleGirl
MeTV, where I watch Star Trek on Saturday nights, has changed it’s regular schedule to show a number of Nimoy’s “lesser” roles. Tonight, starting at 6 p.m., they show other series for something like 5 hours.
Last night, This Side of Paradise was scheduled but they showed Amok Time.
Check your cable system’s TV guide. In NYC, Time-Warner has MeTV on channel 1239.
Tommy
@Davis X. Machina: Yes it is.
WaterGirl
@TaMara (BHF): Henry is definitely smaller than your pup by a factor of 10, but I think we are a few weeks ahead of you in age.
There was a point a few weeks ago where I called Henry a tyrant and I seriously wanted to throttle him. And then one day it wasn’t nearly as hard, and now he’s mostly a joy. I just thought that might give you some hope. :-)
smedley the uncertain
@aimai:
Emma Peel, Mrs. for me.
smedley the uncertain
correcting the name to stay out of moderation
Renie
@MattF: Yes that’s right. I believe the funeral is today.
geg6
@WaterGirl:
Bittersweet, more like it. Oldest bro, who really was a good brother when I was small, went off to the Navy a few years later and shortly thereafter, descended into a decades long battle with undiagnosed bipolar disorder. Even with a diagnosis and multiple medications, we don’t see him. He won’t come out often. He stays at his home all the time. It’s sad but we just deal with it.
Elizabelle
@WaterGirl: Two thank yous:
1) for the Henry puppy pics. What a charmer. We have a similar beguiler up the street; same mix of dog, and a little love. Enjoy Henry and his snow days.
2) thanks for clarification on MeTV Nimoy tribute times. My link is from a Colorado news channel, and thus the times are Mountain. (MeTV just lists the episodes, not that they feature Leonard Nimoy.)
Elizabelle
Here’s the MeTV schedule site. Nimoy programming begins with Columbo. (I remember that episode!)
PurpleGirl
@Bobby B.: Actually MeTV showed Amok Time last night. It was great watching it.
I was a teenager when Star Trek first debuted on NBC. I wanted to watch it, my father thought it was crap and, so, he went to the basement to watch Milton Berle or whatever else was on opposite ST. So, I ended up able to watch it on the big TV upstairs.
PurpleGirl
@Villago Delenda Est: And an homage to Star Trek Conventions… Yes, fandom for forever. Fandom is a lifestyle. (Although I’ve been more a fringe fan but I did work the NYC Star Trek conventions.)
mdblanche
@Davis X. Machina: A lot of them are good.
Bobby B.
@PurpleGirl: I was going by MeTv’s cable schedule and didn’t see it because I was taking a Power Nap. Guess they decided Horny Spock was better than Stoned Spock.
WaterGirl
@geg6: Bittersweet is right. What a terrible loss of a beautiful spirit.
Thor Heyerdahl
Leonard Nimoy mourned in Canadian ‘home’ of Vulcan, Alberta
A farming town 60 miles south of Calgary. Mr. Nimoy took the time to visit in 2010.
WereBear
@PurpleGirl: My grandmother gave me a hard time so I had to sneak out to watch when I was visiting. She complained it wasn’t “realistic.”
Her favorite show? Gunsmoke.
Iowa Old Lady
I think Star Trek was the first show to spawn a lot of fanfiction too. Fans ran off the zines on mimeographs machines in the basement of Student Unions.
WaterGirl
@Elizabelle: Henry really is a bundle of love and joy, I’m glad you have a similar guy on your street.
MeTV here lists mash as one of the episodes, so I was double checking everything. I read that they already had all but one of the 5 shows in their lineup, so mostly all the did was change the episodes to ones where Leonard Nimoy guest starred. My Tivo listing is wrong, even after I forced an update. So I just set up a manual recording for 4.5 hours, starting at 7pm central time.
But it was confusing and I often get the timezone times wrong, so that’s how I happened to catch the timezone thing. Most places just list ET, so it’s an easy mistake.
PurpleGirl
@PurpleGirl: Fandom is a lifestyle.
The exact fanish expression is FIAWOL: Fandom Is A Way of Life.
Bruuuuce
@PurpleGirl: Except for when FIJAGH (Fandom Is Just a Goddamned Hobby), of course.
@Iowa Old Lady: Very much so. And much if not most of it was K/S (Kirk/Spock) erotica, which was mostly written by women, and launched several to actual publishing careers. (I can’t remember who at the moment, though I know there’s at least one fairly well known name on the list.)
mdblanche
I remember “Who put the bomp” from going to the Boston Museum of Science, but I don’t remember Nimoy being paired with an overly enthusiastic cruise director.
Iowa Old Lady
@Bruuuuce: Lois McMaster Bujold originally wrote CORDELIA’S HONOR as Star Trek fanfic. She filed the serial numbers off, as they say, and sold the book to Baen.
Elizabelle
Another Leonard Nimoy sighting — but look quick! Tiny role: TCM airs “Them” tomorrow at 1:30 p Eastern.
Leonard Maltin gives it 3.5 of 4 stars. His capsule review:
TCM viewers concur. Some of their reviews:
Well then. Date with the DVR recorder. And TCM’s airing it during daylight.
germy shoemangler
I read the William Shatner autobiography. When Shatner’s wife was struggling with alcoholism, Leonard offered to reach out to her. (He’d struggled with drinking for a time, as well, and could relate.)
Leonard seemed more… centered emotionally than Shatner. They both suffered hearing loss after an explosion on the set. Shatner in his later years freaked out over it. Nimoy calmly alluded to it in interviews, only after being asked.
Does anyone remember his Mission: Impossible role?
Tree With Water
In a (or is it “the”?) time portal episode in the original series, Spock suddenly realizes his recording transponder has been turned off as centuries of earth’s history has unfolded before his eyes. In his inimitable and logically detached tone of voice he suddenly says, “I am a fool”. Always mimicking Nimoy’s Vulcan intonation, throughout my life I’ve uttered that phrase to myself thousands of times. It has and will continue to serve as a gentle mantra to myself that my everyday opaque fumbling and bumbling is unavoidable, and happens to the best of them. RIP indeed. I wonder what he’s up to now?
Elizabelle
@germy shoemangler:
Loudly.
Sorry. Couldn’t resist.
Bruuuuce
@Tree With Water: We were recently forced, at my workplace, to switch from CorelDRAW to Adobe Illustrator. Illustrator purports to be both intuitive and more powerful than Corel, but it’s not in many ways that I won’t name at the moment. I have, since that time, been known and come to be known for grumbling about having to work with “stone knives and bearskins” (from the same episode).
germy shoemangler
@Elizabelle: Indeed.
Suzanne
@Bruuuuce: Illustrator smokes CorelDraw in every meaningful way.
shelley
Let’s not forget Nimoy took over Martin Landau’s role in ‘Mission Impossible’ as the man of a thousand faces.
Iowa Old Lady
@shelley: I remember that, but I also remember Nimoy’s nose being too big for convincing disguises.
germy shoemangler
I go way back with Mr. Spock. Saw the original episodes on NBC. I have vivid memories of watching the Halloween episode (with the big cat shadow on the wall) and experiencing an altered consciousness, as only a nine-year-old can.
A few years ago I rediscovered the episodes on “ME-TV” (home of mary tyler moore!) and said “gee, those planets look more detailed than I remember them. Then I learned that the special effects had been digitally improved. On youtube, there are side-by-side comparisons of the before and after shots.
When a man dies, and everyone who knew him says how wonderful he was… that goes beyond talent and celebrity. Because often when a talented celebrity dies, there’s embarrassed silence from colleagues, or stories from “little people” about abuse.
Bruuuuce
@Suzanne: Sorry, I must disagree. I’ll give you one significant example, though if you wish we can discuss this privately.
We export EMF files (lots, though by no means all, of them logos that we’ve recreated) from Illustrator (CS6 under Windows 7) for use in PPT and Word documents. There are two ways of creating images with gradient fills, and both have produced problems when exporting to EMF. Gradient fills themselves export as bitmaps within the EMF, and since we want vector images in the first place, that’s an issue. Likewise, using blends and clipping masks produces some (but not all) EMFs that fail, or render poorly, when brought into Office. Vice versa, Corel rendered both EMF and WMF files completely as vectors, with a far lower failure rate than Illustrator.
There are other deficiencies in Illustrator, but this one is the absolute worst of them.
RSA
That’s 158 in Star Trek years. (Too soon?)
RIP, Leonard Nimoy. Spock was my favorite character across all Trek variations.
Mnemosyne (iPad Mini)
@Iowa Old Lady:
I’ve read “Cordelia’s Honor” many times and I have to admit, I don’t see much of a “Star Trek” connection there.
Ben Cisco (onboard the Defiant)
OT: PBS currently pimping Dr. Ben Carson: The Missing Link: The Science of Brain Health.”
I’ve tried to view this from the standpoint of someone who didn’t know who he was. I could see taking him seriously on medical matters. Still not seeing how this translates to running a country.
Amir Khalid
@germy shoemangler:
Robin Williams’ passing last year brought a similar flood of stories from people remembering his warmth and generosity. It sucks that people like Nimoy and Williams are gone.
Iowa Old Lady
@Mnemosyne (iPad Mini): Cordelia was originally a female Star Force officer, and Aral was a Klingon.
Mnemosyne (iPad Mini)
@Iowa Old Lady:
Still not really seeing it. I didn’t think the Klingons were monarchists, but I wasn’t really a huge fan of the show.
Plus, the original book is actually called “Shards of Honor.” “Cordelia’s Honor” is what Baen titled their combined edition of the first book and its sequel, “Barrayar.”
ETA: Also, I obviously don’t think it’s fair to equate an accomplished and award-winning author like Bujold to someone like EL “Fifty Shades of Gray” James.
Iowa Old Lady
@Mnemosyne (iPad Mini): Yeah, that’s right.
I heard Bujold talk about this at World Con in Denver a few years back. I don’t know exactly what changes she made when she de-Star Trekked the book, so what you’re seeing is probably quite different than what she originally wrote.
She said some interesting things about fanfic in general in her GOH speech. She said writers who objected to fanfic about their own work were attacking their most ardent fans, like some sort of auto immune disease. That image stuck with me.
ETA: Also god forbid the comparison to James. Bujold can write. Starting in fanfic makes no difference to that.
ruemara
@Suzanne: yes. For years.
Tree With Water
@shelley: That would be Martin “Special Guest Star” Landeau of Mission Impossible. He was a “special guest star” in every episode for like 5 straight seasons, which was always good for a chuckle.
Mnemosyne (iPad Mini)
@Iowa Old Lady:
Ah, okay, that makes more sense. I’ve done stuff like that myself, so I can see how you could start with “what if a Starfleet officer fell in love with a Klingon?” as a launching pad and end up with “Shards of Honor.” There’s a “rational society vs. warrior society” underpinning to both even though each society is different than the “Star Trek” versions.
wasabi gasp
He is pure energy.
Chris
@Roger Moore:
Yarp.
Religious fundamentalism is where the business/elite and racist/populist wings of the GOP meet. The congregations may be dimwits riddled with identity issues, but the guy on the pulpit is as much a snake oil salesman as anyone in the Chamber of Commerce. The head honchos of the WBC are very much in that vein.
Iowa Old Lady
@Mnemosyne (iPad Mini): The planet Beta made me laugh. If academics designed a planet, it would be Beta. Only there would you need a degree in–what was it? counseling? social studies?–to be a sex worker.
Chris
@germy shoemangler:
I loved him in that. The first episode had him grow facial hair and put on fatigues and a beret to impersonate not!Che Guevara as part of a scam on some communist leaders. Definitely a shock for someone used to seeing him in Starfleet.
Anniecat45
@CaseyL:
When Nimoy appeared in Spock Prime’s first scene in that movie i started to cry and the entire audience applauded.
lol
Nimoy was great on Fringe.
sempronia
Leonard Nimoy appeared on Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me a few years ago. Peter Sagel and his co-hosts completely nerded out and turned into excited 15-year-old fanboys. Nimoy recounted a story of being at a hotel holding a Star Trek convention in late 2007. The hotel also happened to be hosting some presidential election event. An elevator door opened in front of him, and there was the candidate, who saw Nimoy, did a double-take, and flashed the LLAP sign at him.
Sagel: Which candidate?
Nimoy: I probably shouldn’t say. But it was NOT John McCain!
Elizabelle
@sempronia: I love that story. Thank you.
Tree With Water
Here’s an example of a person living up to his own per values and uniqueness:
“I’ve seen soldiers gun down unarmed civilians in Latin America, Irish terrorists kill and maim their fellow citizens in Belfast with bombs,” O’Reilly wrote. A Fox spokesperson told the Washington Post that O’Reilly did not witness any bombings or injuries in Northern Ireland but was simply shown photos by police officers””.
I know what O’Reilly is talking about. For example: I witnessed that very instant an mutual ancestor of ours first discovered that a wood club could be used as a weapon. I only wish now I’d killed it, and every single primate that saw him do it. Who knows? Perhaps I may have spared humanity the curse of war unto our time.
Bystander
NYers thank Mr. Nimoy for rescuing the Thalia Theater in the Symphony Space on the UWS. The Symphony Space is also noting his passing on their website.
mak
Best Nimoy headline I saw today (at Kos):
“Damn it, Spock!”
Kathi
@aimai:
It was Ilya Kuriakin for me too but I’m old as dirt.
Don K
@TaMara (BHF):
My husband and I named a cat Emma in her honor, because we were watching Avengers DVDs at the time we got her.
brantl
@MattF: Should’ve been in Yiddish, too.
Cermet
Strange but besides being the soul of the show he was also, and considering he had “no emotions” as a Vulcan, it’s heart! Amazing man and that he fought for equal pay for woman speaks to his true nature. We lose not just a man but a symbol of hope for the future.
Barry
@Mnemosyne (iPad Mini): “I’ve read “Cordelia’s Honor” many times and I have to admit, I don’t see much of a “Star Trek” connection there. ”
Think of the first parts, where they are stranded on a planet, after Aral’s political officer (spoiler) him. Aral was to be a Klingon.