Leonard Nimoy, Spock of 'Star Trek' Series, Dies At 83

From Hal Eisner:

I heard someone say that today he lost a little of his childhood. He was talking about the death of Leonard Nimoy. As an actor, Nimoy's 'Mr. Spock' was as iconic as Star Trek itself. The show promised to boldly go where no one has gone before and it did. He did too.

The television show only ran from 1966 to 1969, but it had a huge effect on the science fiction world and on Nimoy. As Spock, he would say things to Captain James T. Kirk like "I would say that was a logical assumption, Captain."

Spock was always the logical counterbalance to the more human and emotional Captain. William Shatner, who played Kirk, says he's saddened by the death of Leonard Nimoy. "I loved him like a brother" tweets Shatner, "We will all miss his humor, his talent, and his capacity to love."

He was famous for saying "Live Long and Prosper" and he did both. At the time of his death from lung disease he was 83.

And, he had a prosperous career with acting, directing, photography and writing. He hosted a show called "In Search of..." and played Paris, a master of disguise, on "Mission: Impossible."

In 1996, at our sister station KCOP-My13, Nimoy was asked it was like to take on such a character as his pointy-eared, always logical, half-human and half-Vulcan Spock. He said, "If you're in the character 12 hours a day 5 days a week, which you often are, you're in the character a lot more than you're out of it. And, in my case it tends to absorb me and it would take Saturday, and sometimes Sunday, to relax and then say here I am again... and let him go!"

On hearing of his death Nichelle Nichols (Uhuru) said: "Leonard's integrity and passion as an actor and devotion to his craft helped transport STAR TREK into television history. His vision and heart are bigger than the universe."

And, that also showed up in his philanthropy. He and his wife gave a million dollars, for instance, to refurbish the Griffith Observatory where there's a theater named after him.

George Takei (Sulu) was also saddened by the news of Nimoy's death. He tweeted "Rest in peace with the stars, my dear friend."