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20 fun facts to help celebrate Leonard Nimoy's birthday
Leonard Nimoy, who in 1966 debuted on the original Star Trek as the highly logical Mr. Spock, was born 78 years ago today in Boston, Mass.
To celebrate his birthday, we offer 20 fun facts you might not know about the man behind the half-Vulcan, half-human TV icon.
♦ Like his character of Spock, Nimoy is a vegetarian.
♦ Nimoy directed the most financially successful film in the franchise to date, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986).
♦ Two years before before Nimoy played William Shatner's friend in Star Trek, the two were enemies in a 1964 episode of The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
♦ Nimoy took acting lessons from Jeff Corey at the Pasadena Playhouse. Corey later played Plasus in the Star Trek: The Original Series episode "The Cloud Minders."
♦ Nimoy's follow-up role after Spock was to join Mission Impossible as a replacement for Martin Landau, who was one of the early choices to play Spock.
♦ He and William Shatner were the only actors to appear in every episode of the original Star Trek.
♦ Nimoy was nominated three times for an Emmy for his role on Star Trek.
♦ Nimoy's son, also a director, has helmed episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation and Babylon 5.
♦ Nimoy created the Vulcan salute, first seen in the second-season premiere of the original series.
♦ He voiced the character Galvatron in The Transformers: The Movie.
♦ The Griffith Observatory renamed its lecture hall the Leonard Nimoy Event Horizon to honor him.
♦ Nimoy's initial Star Trek salary? $1,250 per episode.
♦ Nimoy was the only principal cast member to be carried over from the first to the second Star Trek pilot.
♦ Nimoy directed an episode of William Shatner's series T.J. Hooker.
♦ He was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1987.
♦ In 1970, after Star Trek was canceled, Nimoy opened a pet store dealing in exotic animals.
♦ In 1996, Nimoy co-founded Alien Voices with John de Lancie and writer-producer Nat Segaloff that produced several science fiction audio productions (including the two "Spock vs. Q" audios) and a few televised specials for the SCI FI Channel: The First Men in the Moon in 1997 and The Lost World in 1998.
♦ Nimoy is also an accomplished photographer, and is perhaps best known for his nude studies of the female form, some of which are for sale.
♦ Nimoy is a new though infrequent twitterer.
♦ Despite his retirement from acting in 2002, Nimoy made appearances with William Shatner in several commercials for Priceline.com in 2005 and 2006, and will appear in J.J. Abrams' Star Trek.
By rongor at 7:13 PM ON 03/26/09
The Vulcan salute is actually the sign of the Cohane (sp?) which is the Jewish priestly class during the times of the Temple (Solomon etc).
By ripleycal at 7:21 PM ON 03/26/09
Though not a principal cast member, Majel Barrett was also in the original pilot, "The Cage," as "Number One" and wound up playing Nurse Christine Chapel in TOS, not to mention the voice of the computer in every incarnation of "Trek," up to and including J.J. Abrams' upcoming movie. And she married the boss.
By TearEmUp at 7:28 PM ON 03/26/09
@ ripleycal....Majel was the only actor to have a presence in every version of Star Trek to date. She was used as the voice of the computer in every series, including Enterprise.
By AdmNaismith at 7:50 PM ON 03/26/09
A pet store? Really?
By Mandy at 8:46 PM ON 03/26/09
I still recall when he provided the voice for Moundshroud for Ray Bradbury's The Halloween Tree in 1993. That was such a cute Halloween special. I wish they'd release it to DVD.
By Kargg at 9:46 PM ON 03/26/09
Shatner was NOT in every episode of Star Trek. He never appeared in "The Cage"--just the 'sequel' to it--"The Menagerie". So, in essence, Leonard Nimoy is the ONLY actor to have appeared in ALL of the original episodes, even beating out Shatner.
By Kargg at 9:47 PM ON 03/26/09
Shatner was NOT in every episode of Star Trek. He never appeared in "The Cage"--just the 'sequel' to it--"The Menagerie". So, in essence, Leonard Nimoy is the ONLY actor to have appeared in ALL of the original episodes, even beating out Shatner.
By Nausicaa'sLover at 10:56 PM ON 03/26/09
Majel was also Counselor Troi's mother.....remember?!
By Nausicaa'sLover at 10:58 PM ON 03/26/09
Majel was also Counselor Troi's mother.....remember?!
By Gaff at 3:03 AM ON 03/27/09
Nimoy also appeared in two different versions of the same story in the two OUTER LIMITS series: "I, Robot." In the 1964 original he was the reporter, and in the later series he played Adam Link's defense attorney, Thurman Cutler (if I have the name right). Leonard Nimoy's son Adam directed him in the remake.
By Locke at 6:49 AM ON 03/27/09
Shatner and Nimoy were born 4 days apart. Shatner on March 22, 1931 and Nimoy March 26.
By gen50 at 7:34 AM ON 03/27/09
my favorite character is spock
btw. nimoy wrote a book
i am not spock
i have it. :-)
By Storm1968 at 7:48 AM ON 03/27/09
@gen50
He also had a follow up book:
I am Spock
By Captain Jack Harkness at 11:23 AM ON 03/27/09
"Nimoy is also an accomplished photographer, and is perhaps best known for his nude studies of the female form" -- (so he's a perv), "some of which are for sale." (and a distributor of porn) -- Fascinating!
By One at 11:27 AM ON 03/27/09
Majel Barret and Leonard Nimoy are the ONLY two actors (as far as I know) whose careers have spanned Star Trek's ENTIRE HISTORY (and I obviously don't mean every second of screen time), starting with the original un-aired pilot "The Cage" all the way to the new film in May! Pretty amazing!
By KCF at 3:23 PM ON 03/31/09
"Nimoy's follow-up role after Spock was to join Mission Impossible as a replacement for Martin Landau, who was one of the early choices to play Spock."
Mark Lenard, who played Spock's father in the TOS, Next Gen, and half the movies (and the Romulan Captain in ST:TOS, and the Klingon Captain in ST:TMP) was Martin Landau's brother.
By Xolexox333 at 5:56 PM ON 04/01/09
What the mean by the only characture to recur from the pilot is he was the same characture he played spock in both and majel barret was cast as number one and then recasted as nurse chapple also sulu was there but as a differnt characture duh come on everyone comprehend the sentance...
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Xolexox333:
What the mean by the only characture to recur from the pilot is he was the same characture he played spock in both ...More »