Leonard Simon Nimoy died Feb. 27, 2015 at the age of 83 at his home in the Bel Air Estates neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, of complications from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). He is survived by his wife Susan Linda Bay Nimoy. Nimoy was born on Mar. 31, 1931 in the West End of Boston, Massachusetts. His parents were immigrants from the Soviet Union. Leaving separately, his father walking over the border into Poland before they reunited in the United States.
Nimoy studied drama at Boston College and photography at the University of California, Los Angeles. He earned a Master of Arts in Education from Antioch College and received an honorary doctorate from Antioch University — partly for his activism in Holocaust remembrance — as well as an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Boston University. Nimoy received the Douglas S. Morrow Public Outreach Award in 2010 from the Space Foundation for inspiring untold numbers of people to learn more about the universe.
He began acting at the age of eight, and is best known for his role as the half-Vulcan, half- human Commander (later Captain, and then Ambassador) Spock in “Star Trek: The Original Series,” “Star Trek: The Animated Series,” the first six Star Trek films featuring the original cast (two of which he directed), two episodes of “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” and as the elder Spock from the primary universe in the two recent Star Trek films directed by J. J. Abrams. Other recent roles include that of William Bell in “Fringe,” created by Abrams and his Star Trek writers Robert Orci and Alex Kurtzman. Nimoy wrote two books, “I Am Not Spock,” and “I Am Spock,” both exploring his relationship with his most famous character. A few days before his death, he tweeted, “A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. LLAP (Live Long and Prosper).”
In the wake of his death, director and actor Kevin Smith tweeted (quoting James Tiberius Kirk), “‘Of all the souls I have encountered in my travels, his was the most… Human.’ Farewell, Leonard Nimoy.”