Born March 26: Leonard Nimoy

By Michael Baadke

Actor and director Leonard Nimoy was just four days younger than his friend and Star Trek co-star, William Shatner.

Leonard Simon Nimoy was born March 26, 1931, in Boston, Mass. His interest in acting grew while he was still in school, and he studied drama at Boston College.

After moving to Los Angeles, Nimoy landed occasional film and television roles, and in the 1960s he began appearing more frequently in TV guest spots, acting in episodes of Bonanza, Rawhide, The Virginian, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., and other popular series.

He was hired to play science officer Spock when the original Star Trek television series debuted in 1966. He continued in the role throughout the three-year run of the landmark science fiction series and in several feature films, beginning with Star Trek: The Motion Picture in 1979, and including Star Trek in 2009, and Star Trek Into Darkness in 2013, where he and actor Zachary Quinto each portrayed a version of Spock from a different timeline.

After the initial Star Trek series ended in 1968, Nimoy accepted a lead role in the series Mission: Impossible, which he played for two seasons, and he also continued to appear in films, in television guest appearances, and on stage.

He directed two of the more highly regarded films featuring the original Star Trek cast — Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home — as well as other successful feature films.

Nimoy died Feb. 27, 2015, at age 83.

In his role as Spock, Nimoy appeared on stamps from several different countries. Canada honored the actor in 2016 on two nearly identical stamps in its Star Trek commemorative set: a $2.50 stamp (Scott 2912e) and a nondenominated (85¢) permanent-rate stamp (2920). Nimoy is also pictured as Spock on a pair of $2 stamps from the same set showing scenes from the Star Trek television series (2922).