Subscribe
The Daily Grind Video
CLOSE

Leonard Nimoy, the beloved actor who played human-alien Mr. Spock in the television and movie series Star Trek, died on Friday morning, his wife confirmed. He was 83-years-old.

Susan Bay Nimoy said her husband died at his home in the Bel-Air section of Los Angeles. The cause of death was end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. He was hospitalized earlier this week for complications due to the disease.

From the New York Times:

“Star Trek,” which had its premiere on NBC on Sept. 8, 1966, made Mr. Nimoy a star. Gene Roddenberry, the creator of the franchise, called him “the conscience of ‘Star Trek’ ” — an often earnest, sometimes campy show that employed the distant future (as well as some primitive special effects by today’s standards) to take on social issues of the 1960s.

His stardom would endure. Though the series was canceled after three seasons because of low ratings, a cultlike following — the conference-holding, costume-wearing Trekkies, or Trekkers (the designation Mr. Nimoy preferred) — coalesced soon after “Star Trek” went into syndication.

The fans’ devotion only deepened when “Star Trek” was spun off into an animated show, various new series and an uneven parade of movies starring much of the original television cast, including — besides Mr. Nimoy — William Shatner (as Capt. James T. Kirk), DeForest Kelley (Dr. McCoy), George Takei (the helmsman, Sulu), James Doohan (the chief engineer, Scott), Nichelle Nichols (the chief communications officer, Uhura) and Walter Koenig (the navigator, Chekov).

When the director J. J. Abrams revived the “Star Trek” film franchise in 2009, with an all-new cast — including Zachary Quinto as Spock — he included a cameo part for Mr. Nimoy, as an older version of the same character. Mr. Nimoy also appeared in the 2013 follow-up, “Star Trek Into Darkness.”

Our thoughts and prayers are with his family. As the Vulcan often declared on the popular television show himself: “Live long and prosper.” May he rest in peace.

SOURCE: New York Times | PHOTO CREDIT: Getty