Leonard Nimoy, famed for his portrayal of Mr. Spock on the \u201cStar Trek\u201d science fiction TV series and movies, has died after battling chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. He was 83.\nNimoy, who had grappled with a love-hate relationship for his logical human-alien screen self, died Friday morning. His granddaughter confirmed Nimoy`s death in a post to his Twitter account, @TheRealNimoy.
\n\u201cLeonard Nimoy created a positive role model who inspired untold numbers of viewers to learn more about the universe. Many of those people are ardent space supporters and industry leaders today,\u201d Space Foundation Chief Executive Elliot Pulham said in a statement.
\nLast year, Nimoy disclosed on Twitter that he had been diagnosed with the progressive lung disease. \u201cI quit smoking 30 years ago. Not soon enough,\u201d he tweeted to his 810,000 followers. \u201cGrandpa says, quit now!!\u201d Nimoy had other roles during a long career in TV, film and theatre, and directed successful movies, wrote books, composed poetry, published photographs and recorded music. But he will be forever linked to the half-Vulcan, half-human Spock in the original 1960s \u201cStar Trek\u201d TV series and subsequent movies.
\nKnown for suppressing his emotions and using strict logic to guide his actions, Spock became one of the best-known and most beloved sci-fi characters of the late 20th century. For years, Nimoy resented that Spock defined him but ultimately came to accept that his life would be intertwined with the alien who inspired a fervent fan following for \u201cStar Trek.\u201d
\nHis feelings were summed up in the titles of his memoirs – \u201cI Am Not Spock\u201d in 1975 and \u201cI Am Spock\u201d two decades later.
\n\u201cI was involved in something of a crusade to develop a reputation as an actor with some range,\u201d Nimoy wrote in \u201cI Am Not Spock.\u201d
\n\u201cI went through a definite identity crisis. The question was whether to embrace Mr. Spock or to fight the onslaught of public interest. I realise now that I really had no choice in the matter. Spock and `Star Trek` were very much alive and there wasn`t anything that I could do to change that.\u201d
\nStill, he wrote that if given the choice of being any other television character, he would choose Spock. Nimoy had often confronted \u201cStar Trek\u201d creators during the original series over their conception of Spock, and his input was responsible for many aspects of the character. He came up with the Vulcan nerve grip that rendered foes unconscious, as well as the split-fingered Vulcan \u201clive long and prosper\u201d salute, which he said was inspired by a gesture he had seen worshippers make in his synagogue when he was a boy.
\nNimoy signed off his tweets with \u201cLLAP,\u201d an abbreviation of Spock`s trademark phrase \u201clive long and prosper.\u201d
\n\u201cStar Trek\u201d followed the crew of the starship Enterprise as they explored other worlds and encountered aliens. Alongside William Shatner, who played Captain James T. Kirk, Spock helped make \u201cStar Trek\u201d a cultural phenomenon. Shatner and Nimoy sometimes had a professional rivalry but maintained a long friendship.
\n\u201cI loved him like a brother. We will all miss his humor, his talent, and his capacity to love,\u201d Shatner said in a statement.
\nThe original series was cancelled in 1969 by NBC after three seasons. But it found success during syndicated reruns in the 1970s and inspired fan conventions with hordes of devotees. It jumped to the big screen by the end of the decade.
\nNimoy was not thrilled about taking part in the big-budget first film \u201cStar Trek: The Motion Picture\u201d in 1979.
\nBut it was a financial success, leading to many sequels. Nimoy agreed to appear in \u201cStar Trek II: The Wrath of Khan\u201d in 1982 only after the producers promised him a great death scene and other sweeteners.
\nEven though Spock \u201cdies\u201d at the movie`s end, Nimoy returned to play the character in the next four \u201cStar Trek\u201d films, directing the third and fourth ones.
\nAfter those efforts, Nimoy branched out and directed the comedy \u201c3 Men and a Baby,\u201d the top money-making movie of 1987.
\nSpock, whose father was from the planet Vulcan and mother from Earth, served as first officer and science officer under Kirk. Vulcans looked human, except for their pointy ears.
\nIn the successful 2009 \u201cStar Trek\u201d movie, Zachary Quinto took over the role of Spock but Nimoy appeared briefly as an older version of the character.
\nNimoy, the son of Russian Jewish immigrants, was born in 1931 in Boston and began acting at age 8. In the 1950s and 1960s, he took a succession of roles on TV and in the movies, including \u201cZombies of the Stratosphere.\u201d Later he hosted the TV series \u201cIn Search Of…\u201d (1976-1982) and co-starred in 1978`s \u201cInvasion of the Body Snatchers\u201d film remake.
\nHis everlasting renown as Spock led to quirky guest appearances on popular TV shows in recent decades, including the cartoons \u201cThe Simpsons\u201d and \u201cFuturama\u201d (in which he provided the voice for his own disembodied head) and on the \u201cThe Big Bang Theory,\u201d in which he was the voice of an opinionated Spock doll. Nimoy was married twice and had two children.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"