Few actors outside soap opera become defined by a single role to the exclusion of all else in their career. But that was the case for Leonard Nimoy, who has died aged 83.
He did not simply play Mr Spock, first officer of the USS Enterprise in Star Trek – he was synonymous with him, even after taking on other parts and branching out into directing and photography.
Star Trek began life on television, running for three series between 1966 and 1969, and later spawned numerous spin-offs, including a run of films of varying quality, two of which Nimoy directed. "I'm very proud of having been connected with the show," he wrote in 1975. "I felt that it dealt with morality and philosophical questions in a way that many of us would wish were part of the reality of our lives."
In front of the camera, as the half-human half-Vulcan Spock, he captured with delicious wit the tensions in the character. Spock’s logical, detached perspective could be infuriating to his more demonstrative colleagues; it also caused him to be amused or bewildered by the workings of humans.
This could play out humorously or poignantly. He was uniquely placed, for example, to analyse coolly our emotional shortcomings: “It is curious how often you humans manage to obtain that which you do not want,” he mused in the first series.
Headgear
Once seen, Spock was never forgotten. The hair, boot-polish black, was snipped short with a severe, straight fringe; it looked more like headgear than a haircut, more painted on than grown. Then there were the sabre-like eyebrows that arched extravagantly upwards and which came in handy for conveying what the reserved Spock could not always express verbally. “The first thing I learned was that a raised eyebrow can be very effective,” said Nimoy.
Spock’s defining physical feature, though, was his pointed ears. The actor’s first reaction upon seeing them was: “If this doesn’t work, it could be a bad joke.” Sharply tapered but in no way pixieish, the ears somehow never undermined his gravitas.
Or rather, Nimoy’s sober disposition precluded laughter. Besides, in a show suffused with messages of inclusivity and tolerance, it would never do for audiences to laugh at someone just because he came from Vulcan.
Nimoy contributed key details to the character, including the traditional Vulcan greeting: a hand held up and the four fingers parted to create a V. This was inspired by prayer gestures witnessed by the young Nimoy at synagogue.
Leonard Simon Nimoy was born in Boston to Max, a barber, and Dora, and showed an interest in acting from a young age. He studied drama at Boston College and began to get small parts in theatre, film and television. In the early 1960s he began teaching acting classes, while also starring in guest roles on television series including Bonanza, Rawhide and The Twilight Zone. He established his own acting studio, where he taught for three years.
Nimoy had auditioned for an earlier Gene Roddenberry project, and when Roddenberry created Star Trek he thought of him for the role of Spock. "I thought it would be a challenge," Nimoy said. "As an actor, my training had been in how to use my emotions, and here was a character who had them all locked up."
After 79 episodes across three series, the NBC network cancelled the show because of its low ratings.
Photographic studies
Nimoy went straight into another regular slot – a role on the light-hearted spy series
Mission: Impossible
– and then began studying photography at the University of California, Los Angeles. He would later publish photographic studies including
Shekhina
(2002), a celebration of spirituality and sexuality in Judaism, and
The Full Body Project
(2007), focused on unorthodox female body sizes.
His acting work in the 1970s included a chilling performance in Philip Kaufman's intelligent 1978 remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. In 1979, he returned to play Spock in the rather leaden Star Trek: The Motion Picture. He would do so in a further seven Star Trek films. He was the only original cast member to appear in JJ Abrams's instalments of the revived or "rebooted" franchise, Star Trek (2009) and Star Trek Into Darkness (2013).
If Nimoy never escaped association with Spock, it was not for want of trying. He wrote seven poetry collections, released several albums and established himself as a successful and varied director. He scored an international box-office hit with 3 Men and a Baby (1987). He also made the drama The Good Mother (1988), starring Diane Keaton and Liam Neeson, as well as two disappointing comedies, Funny About Love (1990) and Holy Matrimony (1994).
He is survived by his widow, Susan Bay, and by two children, Adam and Julie, from his first marriage, to Sandi Zober, which ended in divorce.