Leonard Nimoy

His mother, Dora (née Spinner; 1904–1987), was a homemaker, and his father, Max Nimoy (1901–1987), owned a barbershop in the Mattapan section of Boston.

He had an elder brother, Melvin.

He also had a distant cousin, Jeff Nimoy, a writer and actor.

As a child, Nimoy took miscellaneous jobs to supplement his family's income, including selling newspapers and greeting cards, shining shoes, or setting up chairs in theaters, and when he got older, selling vacuum cleaners.

He began acting at the age of eight in a children's and neighborhood theater.

His parents wanted him to attend college and pursue a stable career, or even learn to play the accordion, so he could always make a living, but his grandfather encouraged him to do what he then wanted to do most, which was acting.

Nimoy realized he had an aptitude for singing, which he developed in his synagogue's choir.

His singing during his bar mitzvah at age 13 was so good he was asked to repeat his performance the following week at another synagogue.

William Shatner said, "He is still the only man I know whose voice was two bar mitzvahs good!"

His first major role was at 17, as Ralphie in an amateur production of Clifford Odets's Awake and Sing!, about the struggles of a matriarchal Jewish family similar to his during the Great Depression.

He said, "Playing this teenage kid in this Jewish family that was so much like mine was amazing... The same dynamics, the same tensions in the household."

The role "lit a passion" that led to his acting career, saying "I never wanted to do anything else."

Shatner has said that Nimoy also worked on local radio shows for children, often voice acting Bible stories:

"Obviously, there was something symbolic about that. Many years later as Captain Kirk, I would be busy rescuing civilizations in distress on distant planets while Leonard's Mr. Spock would be examining the morality of man- and alienkind."

Nimoy took drama classes at Boston College, and after moving to Los Angeles, he used $600 he saved from selling vacuum cleaners to enroll at the Pasadena Playhouse, supporting himself by being a theatre usher, taxicab driver and stocking vending machines.

However, he was soon disillusioned and quit after six months, feeling that the acting skills he had already acquired from earlier roles were more advanced: "I thought, I have to study here three years in order to do this level of work, and I'm already doing better work".

He became a devotee of method acting concepts derived from the teachings of Konstantin Stanislavsky, realizing the stage allowed him to explore his original inspirations for acting: the "psychological, emotional, and physical territories of life that can't be done anywhere else".

Like his method actor role model, Marlon Brando, Nimoy wore jeans and T-shirts.

Between studies, he took a job at an ice cream parlor on the Sunset Strip.

Leonard Simon Nimoy (March 26, 1931 – February 27, 2015) was an American actor and director, famed for playing Spock in the Star Trek franchise for almost 50 years.

Leonard Simon Nimoy was born on March 26, 1931, in an Irish section of the West End of Boston, Massachusetts, to Jewish immigrants from Iziaslav, Ukraine.

His parents left Iziaslav separately, his father first walking over the border into Poland while his mother and grandmother were smuggled out of the Soviet Union in a horse-drawn wagon by hiding under bales of hay.

They reunited after arriving in the United States.

Nimoy's acting career began during his early twenties, teaching acting classes in Hollywood and making minor film and television appearances throughout the 1950s.

From 1953 to 1955, he served in the United States Army as a Staff Sergeant in the Special Services, an entertainment branch of the American military.

He originated and developed Spock beginning with the February 1964 Star Trek television pilots "The Cage" and "Where No Man Has Gone Before", through series' end in early 1969, followed by eight feature films and guest appearances in spin-offs.

This includes originating Spock in the original Star Trek series in 1966, then Star Trek: The Animated Series, the first six Star Trek films, and Star Trek: The Next Generation.

From 1967 to 1970, Nimoy had a music career with Dot Records, with his first and second albums mostly as Spock.

After the original Star Trek series, Nimoy starred in Mission: Impossible for two seasons, hosted the documentary series In Search of..., appeared in Columbo season 2 episode 6 – A Stitch in Crime as a surgeon, and made several well-received stage appearances.

Nimoy's portrayal of Spock made a significant cultural impact and earned him three Emmy Award nominations.

His public profile as Spock was so strong that both his autobiographies, I Am Not Spock (1975) and I Am Spock (1995), were written from the viewpoint of coexistence with the character.

Nimoy also directed films, including Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984), Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986), and Three Men and a Baby (1987), and appeared in several films, television shows, and voice acted in several video games.

Outside of acting, Nimoy was a film director, photographer, author, singer, and songwriter.

Leonard Nimoy played the elder Spock, with Zachary Quinto portraying a younger Spock, in the 2009 Star Trek reboot film, directed by J. J. Abrams.

In 2010, Nimoy announced that he was retiring from playing Spock, citing both his advanced age and the desire to give Quinto full media attention as the character.

His final role as Spock was in the 2013 sequel, Star Trek Into Darkness.

Nimoy died in February 2015 after a long case of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

His death was international news and was met with expressions of shock and grief by fans, Star Trek co-stars, scientists, celebrities, and the media.

An asteroid was named 4864 Nimoy in his honor.

For the Love of Spock (2016) was produced by his son Adam about his life and career, and Remembering Leonard Nimoy (2017) was produced by his daughter Julie about his illness.