Just when we thought you could get through the week without another heartbreaking celebrity death, we had to receive word that beloved spokesperson and sci-fi icon Leonard Nimoy died this morning at his home in the Bel Air section of Los Angeles. He was 83. According to a report by the New York Times, his wife, Susan Bay Nimoy, confirmed that he died of end-stage COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) complications. The disease originated from a cigarette habit that Nimoy gave up three decades ago.
Nimoy's Mr. Spock character on the original Star Trek series inspired millions of fans with his rational calm and resolute morality. His catchphrase "Live long and prosper" not only endeared many to his space-traveling character but became representative of the method-trained, affable actor who portrayed him.
Gene Roddenberry, the creator of the Star Trek franchise, called Nimoy “the conscience of Star Trek.”
Those of us who grew up in the 1970s recall Nimoy fondly as the narrator of the amazing-but-true docu-series In Search Of ... . His deeply intoned voice lent a special gravitas to the show's hyperbolic, ominous revelations, benefited by some truly choice psychedelic soundtrack music.
Leonard Simon Nimoy was born in Boston on March 26, 1931, the second son of Max and Dora Nimoy, Ukrainian immigrants and Orthodox Jews. His father was as a barber.
