Leonard Nimoy 1931-2015

Today marks the passing of an entertainment legend. Leonard Nimoy died this afternoon at the age of 83 at his home due to end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease that the actor freely admits was probably caused by his years of smoking.

What can you say about his acting, his directing and his writing? His career though wasn't just limited to Spock. Depending on your age you might remember him from Bonanza, The Twilight Zone, Mission: Impossible (the TV series), In Search Of and later Fringe. For Transformers fans he is known as the voice of Galvatron in Transformers: The Movie and Sentinel Prime in Transformers: Dark of the Moon. His directing efforts including Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home and 3 Men and a Baby. (Hero Complex Video Retrospective) He also helped with writing Star Trek IV and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. His free time was often spent on writing poetry, photography and music where he used his twitter account to remain connected with fans and friends. Regardless of his other work, all roads lead back to Spock. (Top Quotes)

I grew up on Star Trek Leonard Nimoy's Mr. Spock and the rest of the Enterprise crew as he introduced such many of the ideals of Star Trek such as IDIC (Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations) and of course Nimoy's favorite twitter sign-off LLAP (Live Long and Prosper) while Spock provided the mirror to the human condition. He will always be known as Spock. For a while he hated it but in his later years he embraced it as he constantly toured the conviction circuit, participated in panels and answered unending stream of questions with humor and grace. He may be most known for a single role but what a role. A character that is his and his alone with any that follow just a pale copy.

His role as Spock has influenced literally millions of people from across the world for generations now and for generations to come. What a legacy. Leonard Nimoy's other legacy includes his wife, two children, six grandchildren and one great-grandchild. My condolences to his family and all of fan-dom. A legend has passed today and he will be missed. Nimoy's final tweet:

A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. LLAP
— Leonard Nimoy (@TheRealNimoy) February 23, 2015

Tributes from Friends and Fans:

I loved him like a brother. We will all miss his humor, his talent, and his capacity to love." http://t.co/U8ZN98tVYp — William Shatner (@WilliamShatner) February 27, 2015

my heart is broken. i love you profoundly my dear friend. and i will miss you everyday. may flights… https://t.co/WPJmt1X4ox — Zachary Quinto (@ZacharyQuinto) February 27, 2015

Leonard Nimoy brought us one of the greatest, noblest characters in the history of American storytelling. Someone find the Genesis planet. — Seth MacFarlane (@SethMacFarlane) February 27, 2015

RIP Leonard Nimoy. So many of us at NASA were inspired by Star Trek. Boldly go... http://t.co/qpeH5BTzQc pic.twitter.com/nMmFMKYv1L — NASA (@NASA) February 27, 2015

Today, the world lost a great man, and I lost a great friend. We return you now to the stars, Leonard. You taught us to "Live Long And Prosper," and you indeed did, friend. I shall miss you in so many, many ways. - George Takei February 27, 2015

We stood on your shoulders, and wouldn’t have had a galaxy to explore if you hadn’t been there, first. Thank you, Leonard, Rest in peace. — Wil Wheaton (@wilw) February 27, 2015

“Long before being nerdy was cool, there was Leonard Nimoy. Leonard was a lifelong lover of the arts and humanities, a supporter of the sciences, generous with his talent and his time. And of course, Leonard was Spock. Cool, logical, big-eared and level-headed, the center of Star Trek’s optimistic, inclusive vision of humanity’s future.

“I loved Spock.

“In 2007, I had the chance to meet Leonard in person. It was only logical to greet him with the Vulcan salute, the universal sign for ‘Live long and prosper.’ And after 83 years on this planet – and on his visits to many others – it’s clear Leonard Nimoy did just that. Michelle and I join his family, friends and countless fans who miss him so dearly today.” — Barack Obama (@BarackObama) February 27, 2015

LLAP