March 17, 2006. Copyright 2006, Graphic News. All rights reserved

Leonard Nimoy
By Joanna Griffin

LONDON, March 17, Graphic News: In life, as on screen, Leonard Nimoy has resisted being typecast. As he approaches his 75th birthday, the actor best known for playing Mr Spock in Star Trek is still pursuing a diverse creative career that has brought acclaim if not the instant recognition of Spock.

Nimoy is famously ambivalent about his Star Trek persona. In two autobiographies he documented his love-hate relationship with the science fiction creation that made him a household name but from whose one-dimensional identity he has struggled to escape.

The son of Ukrainian Jewish immigrants, Nimoy was born in Boston on March 26, 1931. He began acting at eight, but was trapped in the murky world of B-movies until breaking into Hollywood at the age of 20. In 1951, he was seen in Queen for a Day, and Rhubarb. Somewhat prophetically, he also played a Martian in the series Zombies of the Stratosphere.

After a brief spell in the army, Nimoy landed the role of Spock, the half-Vulcan crew member of the USS Enterprise. Though the Star Trek series lasted just three years, its characters achieved screen immortality. Nimoy reportedly had lots of input into Spock, whose Vulcan salute was based on the Jewish kohanic blessing. In turn, Spock became an icon whose ÒgeekyÓ hairstyle was often requested at NimoyÕs fatherÕs salon in Boston.

After Star Trek, NimoyÕs dark looks meant that he was often cast as the villain, including an appearance in The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and a turn as a murderer in Colombo. He played a spy in the hit series Mission Impossible, and appeared in numerous television films in the 1980s. His portrayal of a psychologist in the Invasion of the Body Snatchers was a welcome change of image, and he won an Emmy for his part in A Woman Called Golda.

If on stage Nimoy finally broke out of type -- appearing in works as diverse as One Flew Over the CuckooÕs Nest and Fiddler on the Roof -- he would reprise Spock again and again during his career, providing the voice for the animated series and donning his Vulcan outfit for six Star Trek films. It was also Star Trek that launched his film directing career -- in 1984 he directed Star Trek III: The Search for Spock.

The title was an apt one considering that NimoyÕs autobiographies, I am Not Spock (1977) and I Am Spock (1995), focused on his battle to establish a separate identity from the character. But he has also written several volumes of poetry and recorded songs, including the much ridiculed homage to Tolkien's Hobbit, The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins.

In 2002, Nimoy, who is also an accomplished photographer, announced his retirement from films. Fans can hear his distinctive deep voice narrating for the History Channel.
Leonard Nimoy is married to Susan Bay, with whom he has one child. He has two children from his first marriage to Sandra Zober.
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