The Record Journal of Meriden (Conn.), March 4:
Among those most saddened to learn of the death of Hollywood legend Leonard Nimoy on Feb. 27, no doubt, were Trekkies ”“ the rabid, often-times colorful fans of the Star Trek franchise.
Nimoy played the most iconic Star Trek character, the brilliant, stoned-faced, pointy-eared Mr. Spock, a human-alien hybrid.
It was reported that when the news of Nimoy’s passing reached the Long Beach Comic Expo in California, thousands of attendees observed a moment of silence, throwing up the Vulcan salute. (For the uninitiated, along with being half human, Spock was a Vulcan. The Vulcan salute splits the fingers to create a V).
One wonders what Nimoy, who was 83, would have thought of that Comic Expo display, as the actor was known to have had a love-hate relationship with Spock, and the Star Trek juggernaut in general. Consider this: Nimoy’s 1977 autobiography is titled “I Am Not Spock,” while his second autobiography, published in 1995, is “I Am Spock.”
It’s not difficult to understand why Nimoy wrestled with his fictional persona. While Spock made him rich, famous, Nimoy was much deeper than any one character. In fact, he was a true Renaissance man; his creative pursuits including directing, poetry, singing and photography.
Nimoy wrote of his complicated relationship with Spock in his 1977 book, stating:
“I went through a definite identity crisis. The question was whether to embrace Mr. Spock or to fight the onslaught of public interest. I realize now that I really had no choice in the matter. Spock and Star Trek were very much alive and there wasn’t anything that I could do to change that.”
So, he learned to embrace it.
In 2009 and, again, in 2013, Nimoy reprised the role of Spock in Star Trek films, and the actor would include “LLAP” ”“ Live long and prosper, Spock’s signature line ”“ in each of his Tweets.
On Feb. 23, Nimoy sent this message ”“ his final one ”“ out to his 1.1 million Twitter followers:
“A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. LLAP.”
Four days later, Nimoy was, in Star Trek parlance, “beamed up,” and the world lost a unique talent, and a deep man.
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