Leonard Nimoy, best known as Mr. Spock, turns 81 years YOUNG today!
And yes, he is best known as Star Trek’s iconic Mr. Spock — but did you know that Nimoy is also an accomplished photographer?
Here’s some other fun facts about Nimoy:
- He served as a sergeant in the US Army from 1953 until 1955.
- He was raised by Yiddish-speaking, Orthdox Jewish immigrants originally from the Soviet Union.
- One of his first roles prior to Spock was in the B-film “Zombies of the Stratosphere.” You can hear Nimoy talking about it, and see a clip from the film, here.
- Nimoy was offered the role of Spock at the same time he was offered a role on the then-popular soap opera Peyton Place. He chose the role of Spock — a move, at the time, that was considered risky and “career suicide.”
- Thanks to his role on Star Trek, Nimoy formed a close friendship with William Shatner, who played Capt. James T. Kirk. The friendship has lasted more than 45 years, & continues to this day.
- Nimoy has an MA in Education from Antioch College; he also holds an honorary doctorate from Antioch.
- In April 2010, Leonard Nimoy announced that he is retiring from playing the signature character of Star Trek’s Spock, citing both his advanced age and the desire to give Zachary Quinto the opportunity to enjoy full media attention with the Spock character.
- During and following Star Trek, Nimoy also released five albums of vocal recordings on Dot Records, including Trek-related songs such as “Highly Illogical,” and cover versions of popular tunes, such as “Proud Mary.”
- In addition to his own music career, he directed a 1985 music video for The Bangles’ “Going Down to Liverpool.” (You can see the video here.) He makes a brief cameo appearance in the video as their driver. This came about because his son Adam Nimoy (now a frequent television director) was a friend of Bangles lead singer Susanna Hoffs from college.
- Nimoy’s second (and current) wife is Susan Bey, a cousin of directory Michael Bay.
From all of us here at Pop Culture Madness, we wish you a happy birthday, Leonard Nimoy! May you have a million more — you have certainly “lived long, and prospered”!