Before and during Star Trek Nimoy spent more than a decade playing only small parts in
B movies and the lead in one, along with a minor TV role. He believed his performance as the title role in the 1952 film
Kid Monk Baroni would make him a star, but the film failed after a brief cinema showing. During his military career, the film gained a larger audience on television, and after his discharge he got steadier work portraying a "heavy", where his character used street weapons like switchblades and guns or had to threaten or attack people. He overcame his
Boston accent, but realized his lean appearance made stardom unlikely. He decided to be a supporting actor rather than take lead roles, an attitude he acquired from his childhood: "I'm a second child who was educated to the idea my older brother was to be given respect and not perturbed. I was not to upstage him[...] So my acting career was designed to be a supporting player, a character actor." Nimoy played an army sergeant in the 1954 science fiction thriller
Them! and a professor in the 1958 science fiction movie
The Brain Eaters, and had a role in
The Balcony (1963), a film adaptation of the
Jean Genet play. With
Vic Morrow, he co-produced
Deathwatch, a 1965 English-language film version of Genet's play
Haute Surveillance, adapted and directed by Morrow and starring Nimoy. The story deals with three prison inmates. Partly as a result of his role, he then taught drama classes to members of
Synanon, a drug rehab center, explaining: "Give a little here and it always comes back". He had guest roles in the
Sea Hunt series from 1958 to 1960 and a minor role in the 1961
The Twilight Zone episode "
A Quality of Mercy". He also appeared in the syndicated
Highway Patrol starring
Broderick Crawford, and as Luke Reid in the "Night of Decision" episode of the
ABC/
Warner Bros. western series
Colt .45. Nimoy appeared four times in ethnic roles on
NBC's
Wagon Train, the number one rated program of the 1961–1962 season. He portrayed Bernabe Zamora in "The Estaban Zamora Story" (1959), "Cherokee Ned" in "The Maggie Hamilton Story" (1960), Joaquin Delgado in "The Tiburcio Mendez Story" (1961), and Emeterio Vasquez in "The Baylor Crowfoot Story" (1962). Nimoy appeared in numerous episodes of
Gunsmoke, as well as in
Steve Canyon (1959),
Bonanza (1960),
The Rebel (1960),
Two Faces West (1961),
Laramie (1961),
Rawhide (1961),
The Untouchables (1962),
The Eleventh Hour (1962),
Perry Mason (1963),
Combat! (1963, 1965),
Daniel Boone,
The Outer Limits (1964),
The Virginian (1963–1965; first working with
Star Trek co-star
DeForest Kelley in "Man of Violence", episode 14 of season 2, in 1963), and
Get Smart (1966). He appeared in the 1995
Outer Limits series. He appeared on
Gunsmoke in 1961 as Grice, in 1962 as Arnie, and in 1966 as John Walking Fox. Nimoy and later
Star Trek co-star
William Shatner first worked together on an episode of the NBC spy series
The Man from U.N.C.L.E., "The Project Strigas Affair" (1964). Their characters were from opposite sides of the
Iron Curtain, though with his saturnine appearance, Nimoy played the villain and Shatner played a reluctant U.N.C.L.E. recruit. By then he had a good reputation in Hollywood as a character actor, and chose
Star Trek over a role on
Peyton Place. On the stage, Nimoy played the lead role in a short run of
Gore Vidal's
Visit to a Small Planet in 1968 (shortly before the end of the
Star Trek series) at the Pheasant Run Playhouse in
St. Charles, Illinois.
Star Trek , alongside
William Shatner as Captain
James T. Kirk Nimoy was best known for his portrayal of
Spock, the half-human, half-
Vulcan character he played on
Star Trek from the first TV episode in 1966 to the film
Star Trek Into Darkness in 2013.
Star Trek was broadcast from 1966 to 1969. For his role as Spock, Nimoy was nominated three times for an
Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, and has long remained the only
Star Trek actor nominated for an
Emmy. Among Spock's recognized and unique symbols Nimoy incorporated into the series is the
Vulcan salute, which became identified with him in pop culture. Nimoy created the sign from his childhood memories of the way
kohanim (Jewish priests) hold their hands when giving the
Priestly Blessing. The accompanying spoken blessing is "Live long and prosper". Nimoy conceived the "
Vulcan nerve pinch", which he suggested as a replacement for the scripted knock out method of using the butt of his phaser. He wanted a more sophisticated way of rendering a person unconscious. Nimoy explained to the director that Spock had, per the story, attended the Vulcan Institute of Technology and had studied human anatomy. Spock possessed the ability to project a unique form of energy through his fingertips. Nimoy explained the idea of putting his hand on his neck and shoulder to Shatner, and they rehearsed it. Nimoy credits Shatner's acting during the "pinch" that sold the idea and made it work on screen. He co-starred with
Yul Brynner and
Richard Crenna in the Western movie
Catlow (1971). He also had roles in two episodes of Rod Serling's
Night Gallery (1972 and 1973) and
Columbo (1973). He appeared in television films such as
Assault on the Wayne (1970),
Baffled! (1972),
The Alpha Caper (1973),
The Missing Are Deadly (1974),
Seizure: The Story Of Kathy Morris (1980), and
Marco Polo (1982). He received an
Emmy Award nomination for best supporting actor for the television film
A Woman Called Golda (1982), for playing the role of Morris Meyerson, Golda Meir's husband, opposite
Ingrid Bergman as Golda in her final role. In 1975, Nimoy filmed an opening introduction to Ripley's
World of the Unexplained museum located at
Gatlinburg, Tennessee, and
Fisherman's Wharf at San Francisco, California. From 1976 to 1982, he hosted and narrated the television series
In Search of..., which investigated
paranormal or unexplained events or subjects. In 2000–2001 he hosted
CNBC TV series
The Next Wave With Leonard Nimoy, which explored how e-businesses were integrating with technology and the Internet. He also had a character part as a psychiatrist in
Philip Kaufman's 1978 remake of
Invasion of the Body Snatchers. '' cast in 1970
Stage Nimoy won acclaim for a series of stage roles. In 1971 he played the starring role of Tevye in
Fiddler on the Roof, which toured for eight weeks. Having performed in the Yiddish theater as a young man, he said the part was like a "homecoming" for him because his parents, like Tevye, also came from a
shtetl in Russia and could relate to the play when they saw him in it. Later that year he starred as Arthur Goldman in
The Man in the Glass Booth at the
Old Globe Theater in San Diego. He starred as
Randle McMurphy in ''
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'' in 1974, one year prior to its release as a feature film, with
Jack Nicholson in the same role. During the run of the play, Nimoy took over as its director and wanted his character to be "rough and tough," and insisted on having tattoos. The costumer for the show, Sharon White, was amused: "That was sort of an intimate thing.... Here I am with Mr. Spock, for god's sakes, and I am painting pictures on his arms." In 1975, Nimoy toured with and played the title role in the
Royal Shakespeare Company's
Sherlock Holmes. By 1977, when Nimoy played Martin Dysart in
Equus on Broadway, he had played 13 important roles in 27 cities, including Tevye,
Malvolio in
Twelfth Night, and
Randle McMurphy in ''
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. In 1981, Nimoy starred in Vincent
, a one-man show which he wrote and published as a book in 1984. The audio recording of the play is available on DVD under the title, Van Gogh Revisited.'' It was based on the life of artist
Vincent van Gogh, in which Nimoy played Van Gogh's brother Theo. Other plays included
Oliver!, at
The Melody Top Theater in Milwaukee,
6 Rms Riv Vu opposite
Sandy Dennis, in Florida,
Full Circle with Bibi Anderson on Broadway and in Washington, D.C. He was in
Camelot,
The King and I,
Caligula,
The Four Poster, and
My Fair Lady. Star Trek films After Paramount agreed to settle a lawsuit by Nimoy for
Star Trek merchandise royalties, he agreed to join
Star Trek: The Motion Picture, the first in the
Star Trek film series. By 1986, Nimoy had earned more than half a million dollars in royalties.
Other roles Voice acting In 1975, Nimoy's renditions of
Ray Bradbury's "
There Will Come Soft Rains" and "Usher II", both from
The Martian Chronicles (1950), were released on
Caedmon Records. During 1980, Nimoy hosted the Friday "Adventure Night" segment of the radio drama series
Mutual Radio Theater, heard via the
Mutual Broadcasting System. In 1986, Nimoy lent his voice to the character Galvatron in the animated film
The Transformers: The Movie. In Bradbury's 1993 animated TV film
The Halloween Tree, Nimoy was the voice of Mr.Moundshroud, the children's guide. Nimoy lent his voice as narrator to the 1994
IMAX documentary film,
Destiny in Space, showcasing film-footage of space from nine
Space Shuttle missions over four years time. In 1999, he voiced the narration of the English version of the
Sega Dreamcast game
Seaman and promoted
Y2K educational films. Together with
John de Lancie, who portrayed
Q in the
Star Trek franchise, Nimoy created
Alien Voices, an audio-production venture that specializes in audio dramatizations. Among the works jointly narrated by the pair are
The Time Machine,
Journey to the Center of the Earth,
The Lost World,
The Invisible Man,
The First Men in the Moon, and several television specials for the Sci-Fi Channel. In an interview published on the official
Star Trek website, Nimoy said that Alien Voices was discontinued because the series did not sell well enough to recoup costs. In 2001, Nimoy voiced the Atlantean King Kashekim Nedakh in the Disney animated feature
Atlantis: The Lost Empire. Nimoy provided a comprehensive series of voice-overs for the 2005 computer game
Civilization IV. In the television series
The Next Wave he interviewed people about technology. He hosts the documentary film
The Once and Future Griffith Observatory. Nimoy and his wife,
Susan Bay-Nimoy, were major supporters of the
Griffith Observatory's historic 2002–2004 expansion. In 2009, he voiced "The Zarn" in the television-based movie
Land of the Lost. He voiced the
Star Trek Online massive multiplayer online game, released in February 2010, and
Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep as
Xehanort, the series' leading villain.
Tetsuya Nomura, the director of
Birth by Sleep, said Nimoy was chosen for the role specifically because of his role as Spock, to play opposite
Mark Hamill, famous for his role as
Luke Skywalker in
Star Wars, as Nomura was a fan of both series and wanted to pit them against each other. Nimoy reprised this role for
Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance in 2012. After his death in 2015, Nimoy was replaced in the role of Xehanort by
Rutger Hauer. Hauer died in 2019 and was succeeded by
Christopher Lloyd, who also appeared in
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. Nimoy voiced Sentinel Prime in the 2011 film
Transformers: Dark of the Moon. He was a frequent and popular reader for
Selected Shorts, an ongoing series of programs at
Symphony Space in New York City (that also tours around the country) which features actors, and sometimes authors, reading works of short fiction. The programs are broadcast on radio and available on websites through
Public Radio International,
National Public Radio and
WNYC radio. Nimoy was honored by Symphony Space with the renaming of the Thalia Theater as the Leonard Nimoy Thalia Theater.
Special appearances From 1982 to 1987, Nimoy hosted the children's educational show
Standby...Lights! Camera! Action! on Nickelodeon. He was an occasional voice actor in animated feature films, including the character of
Galvatron in
The Transformers: The Movie in 1986. He narrated the 1991
CBS paranormal series
Haunted Lives: True Ghost Stories. In 1994, he voiced
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in
The Pagemaster. In 1998, he had a leading role as Mustapha Mond in
Brave New World, a TV-movie version of
Aldous Huxley's
1932 novel. at
Walt Disney World's
Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park From 1994 to 1997, he narrated the
Ancient Mysteries series on
A&E including "The Sacred Water of
Lourdes" and "Secrets of the
Romanovs". He appeared in advertising in the United Kingdom for the computer company
Time Computers in the late 1990s. In 1997, he played the prophet Samuel, alongside Nathaniel Parker, in
The Bible Collection movie
David. He appeared in several popular television series, including
Futurama and
The Simpsons, both as himself and as Spock. In 2000, he provided on-camera hosting and introductions for 45 half-hour episodes of the anthology series
Our 20th Century on the AEN TV Network. The series covers world news, sports, entertainment, technology, and fashion using original archive news clips from 1930 to 1975 from the National Archives in Washington, D.C. and other private archival sources. In 2001, Nimoy appeared on the television show
Becker, where he played Dr. Emmett Fowler, a professor who cannot recall his former student. Nimoy played the recurring enigmatic character of Dr.William Bell on the television show
Fringe. Nimoy opted for the role after previously working with Abrams,
Roberto Orci and
Alex Kurtzman on the 2009
Star Trek film and offered another opportunity to work with this production team again. Nimoy also was interested in the series, which he saw was an intelligent mixture of science and science fiction, and continued to guest star through the show's fourth season, even after his stated 2012 retirement from acting. Nimoy's first appearance as Bell was in the Season1 finale, "
There's More Than One of Everything", which explored the possible existence of a
parallel universe. In the May 9, 2009, episode of
Saturday Night Live, Nimoy appeared as a surprise guest in the
Weekend Update segment with
Zachary Quinto and
Chris Pine, who play the young Spock and Kirk in the
Star Trek which had just premiered days earlier. In the sketch, the three actors attempt to appease long-time
Trekkers by assuring them the new film would be true to the original
Star Trek.
Producer In 1991, Nimoy starred in
Never Forget, which he co-produced with
Robert B. Radnitz. The movie was about a
pro bono publico lawsuit by an attorney on behalf of
Mel Mermelstein, played by Nimoy as an Auschwitz survivor, against a group of organizations engaged in
Holocaust denial. Nimoy said he experienced a strong "sense of fulfillment" from doing the film. In 2007, he produced the play, ''Shakespeare's Will'' by Canadian
Playwright Vern Thiessen. The one-woman show starred
Jeanmarie Simpson as Shakespeare's wife,
Anne Hathaway. The production was directed by Nimoy's wife, Susan Bay.
Semi-retirement In April 2010, Nimoy announced that he was retiring from playing Spock, citing both his advanced age and the desire to give
Zachary Quinto full media attention as the character.
Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep was to be his final performance; however, in February 2011, he announced his intent to return to
Fringe and reprise his role as William Bell. Nimoy continued voice acting during retirement; his appearance in the third season of
Fringe includes his voice (his character appears only in animated scenes), and he provided the voice of Sentinel Prime in
Transformers: Dark of the Moon. In May 2011, he made a cameo appearance in the alternate version music video of "
The Lazy Song" by
Bruno Mars.
Aaron Bay-Schuck, the
Atlantic Records executive who signed Mars to the label, is Nimoy's stepson. Nimoy provided the voice of Spock as a guest star in a Season5 episode of the CBS sitcom
The Big Bang Theory titled "The Transporter Malfunction", which aired on March 29, 2012. Also in 2012, Nimoy reprised his role of William Bell in
Fringe for the
fourth season episodes "
Letters of Transit" and "
Brave New World" parts1 and2. Nimoy reprised his role as Master Xehanort in the 2012 video game
Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance. On August 30, 2012, Nimoy narrated a satirical segment about
Mitt Romney's life on
Comedy Central's
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. In 2013, Nimoy reprised his role as
Ambassador Spock in a cameo appearance in
Star Trek Into Darkness. == Other career work ==