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Sci-Fi News

Leonard Nimoy Turns 80 165

Posted by Soulskill from the if-shatner-gets-one-so-does-nimoy dept.
ZosX writes "Leonard Nimoy, whom we all fondly remember as Spock, has turned 80 today. StarTrek.com has posted a three-part interview with Nimoy. He talks about shooting the original series ('it was explained to me that they were concerned that the character looked devilish'), moving to the silver screen ('The feeling was, after that first movie, there was something to be done with Star Trek, that the first movie hadn't done what was available to be done'), and passing the torch to the new rebooted cast ('I think the alternate universe was necessary.') Thanks for the memories, Mr. Nimoy! May you live long and prosper!"
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Leonard Nimoy Turns 80 More

Leonard Nimoy Turns 80

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  • First Shatner, now this?? (Score:5, Funny)

    by Kell Bengal ( 711123 ) on Saturday March 26, 2011 @07:30PM (#35626098)
    What is it with the cast of Star Trek all celebrating birthdays? It's like it's an annual occurrence or something!

  • Leonard who? (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward

    Was he the guy who invented the spork?

  • Thanks Leo (Score:5, Insightful)

    by spliffington ( 1130983 ) on Saturday March 26, 2011 @07:37PM (#35626144)
    For being the face of Vulcans, All those groovy spaced out 60's go go records and for all that voiceover work through the years. Especially Civ4. Thanks for doing what you do!

  • I decided to "skip a year" of Fringe with an eye towards one day buying the DVD. At the time he seemed interested in playing William Bell for a few episodes, but apparently things didn't work out.

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by Kozz ( 7764 )

      I decided to "skip a year" of Fringe with an eye towards one day buying the DVD. At the time he seemed interested in playing William Bell for a few episodes, but apparently things didn't work out.

      Well, what's amusing is that in the most recent (?) episode, his character sort of makes a "comeback", although not with Nimoy. Yet I must say that the person who is "doing" the Bell character definitely seems to be attempting to also emulate Nimoy's speech and mannerisms. Details left slim to avoid spoilers...

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward

      He was only cast to do 3 episodes. He was open to doing more, but it would depend on a lot of external factors and his schedule. From what I have read, it was pretty much just a favor to JJ Abrams. http://insidetv.ew.com/2009/05/01/leonard-nimoy-o/

  • He's a photographer now....I'm even more of a fan (Score:5, Informative)

    by ZosX ( 517789 ) <zosxavius.gmail@com> on Saturday March 26, 2011 @08:25PM (#35626432) Homepage

    As a semi-professional photographer I find it interesting that nimoy took up photography and directing. You guys should really google for some of his work. Its pretty interesting to say the least. He does have an online gallery:

    http://www.rmichelson.com/Artist_Pages/Nimoy/pages/Leonard-Nimoy-Gallery.html [rmichelson.com]

    Oh and thanks soulskill for filling out the summary a bit.

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by ZosX ( 517789 )

      OH....NSFW BTW!

  • Don't forget his other 70's TV series (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Slacker ( 3964 ) on Saturday March 26, 2011 @09:08PM (#35626662)

    He wrote and hosted the series "In Search Of..." from 1976-1982

    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074007/ [imdb.com]

    " Lost civilizations, extraterrestrials, myths and monsters, missing persons, magic and witchcraft, unexplained phenomena. "In Search Of..." cameras are traveling the world, seeking out these great mysteries. This program was the result of the work of scientists, researchers and a group of highly-skilled technicians."

    Many of these episodes were pure awesome for us kids that grew up just missing the first run of OST, but still getting to hear him wax poetic about alien visitors and way off the beaten path "science".

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by VValdo ( 10446 )

      Another series he did, besides "In Search Of..." (which was a cool show) from the early 80s that for some reason doesn't show up on his IMDB page [imdb.com]was on Nickelodeon called

      Standby... Lights Camera Action! [wikipedia.org]

      It was broken into segments where they showed "behind the scenes" making-of videos of movies including "Gandhi", "The Meaning of Life", and "Return of the Jedi" (examples here [youtube.com])

      W

    • That show was one of the scariest things I encountered during my childhood. All of it. The creepy synth music, the topics, the writing, and most of all, Nimoy's narrating. Terrifying stuff for an 8 year old. Of course I ate it up.

  • Nimoy's okay, but... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by KingSkippus ( 799657 ) on Saturday March 26, 2011 @09:28PM (#35626752) Homepage Journal

    Nimoy's okay, but I miss James "Scotty" Doohan. I saw Nimoy in person back in 1988 when he did a talk in Alabama. It was an interesting talk, but he didn't do autographs or anything, which was a bit disappointing. I saw Jimmy Doohan a few years later, and not only did he have an autograph session, but he actually scheduled a second impromptu one for people who couldn't make the first one, and was telling us stories the whole time. It was awesome. One of my prize possessions is an autographed copy of Mr. Scott's Guide to the Enterprise. Not so much because the signature, but because of the memories that go along with what was happening at the time I got it.

    Jimmy Doohan also happens to be a genuine war hero. He took part in the Normandy invasion at Juno Beach. He took out two snipers. He also took six bullets from friendly fire, including one in the chest and one that blew off a finger.

    Photography schmotography. Know what Jimmy Doohan was doing when he was 80 years old? Having a baby girl (Sarah Doohan), that's what. If Leonard Nimoy could duplicate that feat, his family would have a boy with a great great aunt that's younger than he is.

    • Re:Nimoy's okay, but... (Score:5, Informative)

      by Frosty Piss ( 770223 ) * on Sunday March 27, 2011 @12:32AM (#35627622)
      I know people are *not* going to like this... I worked at the Seattle Sheraton back in 1998 - 1999, and Doohan came in to eat at our lower end restaurant, at that time called Pike Place Cafe. I was the Pastry Chef at the time. As a manager, on occasion I had to go out and deal with customer "issues". Doohan was drunk off his ass and one of the rudest customers I've ever had to deal with. Very abrasive with the wait staff, and if it where not for the fact that he got up and left on his own, I would have had to call Security to escort him out. I think he was staying in the hotel, but I'm not sure, just that he was highly inebriated and rude and abusive to our staff.

      Sorry to burst anyone's bubble, but it's a true story.

      • I know people are *not* going to like this... I worked at the Seattle Sheraton back in 1998 - 1999, and Doohan came in to eat at our lower end restaurant, at that time called Pike Place Cafe. I was the Pastry Chef at the time. As a manager, on occasion I had to go out and deal with customer "issues". Doohan was drunk off his ass and one of the rudest customers I've ever had to deal with. Very abrasive with the wait staff, and if it where not for the fact that he got up and left on his own, I would have had to call Security to escort him out. I think he was staying in the hotel, but I'm not sure, just that he was highly inebriated and rude and abusive to our staff.

        Sorry to burst anyone's bubble, but it's a true story.

        But you left out that he had an Andromedan with him - it was all in the line of duty!

      • Re: (Score:2, Interesting)

        by Anonymous Coward

        Fits the profile actually.

        Doohan being more open to fans, telling stories, trying to connect and earn respect, but at the same time having to deal with the pressure of being a known person... and having a baby girl with 80 means having a young woman...

        Nimoy being more interested in seeking respect through self expression...

        Seems like being under the pressure of being a known figure just does not solve your life issues and you still stay human.

      • OMG, a Scotsman drunk and rude in public!!!!@!#$! Call the cops! Well my word, this has NEVER BEFORE HAPPENED IN HUMAN HISTORY!!!

        Seriously, get a grip, you middle American fuckwad. It happens. You, as a member of the servile class, are going to see this on occasion. Get used to it. Oh, and by the way, [citation needed]. Unless it was reported by a credible journalist, it didn't happen.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by hawk ( 1151 )

        >if it where not for the fact that he got up and left on his
        >own, I would have had to call Security to escort him out

        ooh, security, we're scared!

        let's see, Scotty on the one hand, and a couple of red-shirts on the other . . . yeah, they could take care of it--right until they got transported somewhere interesting.

        I don't recall for sure, but isn't he the only one ever to still be both wearing a read shirt *and* breathing at the end of a Star Trek episode?

        hawk

  • I saw this movie once... (Score:3)

    by bmo ( 77928 ) on Saturday March 26, 2011 @09:41PM (#35626820)

    ... It was directed by J.J. Abrams and it was called "Lens Flare"

    It had Leonard Nimoy in it if I recall correctly.

    --
    BMO

    • I thought it was "A Study in Dramatic Camera Shaking". (Apologies to anyone who didn't notice how shaky the camera was and, upon rewatching, gets really distracted like some friends of mine have after I mentioned it.)

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by bmo ( 77928 )

        This is late but...

        I never even notice shaky-cam anymore because it's so overused. The first time I saw it on NYPD Blue, I couldn't watch the TV series at all.

        It was there in the film to simulate cinéma vérité as was the lens flare stuff.

        But if the point was to simulate cinéma vérité then JJ Abrams failed, because there is also no sound in space.

        --
        BMO

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by bmo ( 77928 )

          Well, fuck, that's supposed to say cinema verite with accents but thanks to Slashdork and its complete lack of unicode, it got butchered.

          So much for a geek site. Taco should eat his geek card dry with nothing to wash it down.

          --
          BMO

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by Thing 1 ( 178996 )
            I dunno, I kinda like "cinacma vacritac", it sounds like something enjoyed by those Martians who Attacked. Agree with the eating, though, and if it's televised (haha so last century) then perhaps they can sell some ads...

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      I would really like to see that movie again without the lens flare. Hopefully one day there will be a special edition or something. I thought it might have been okay but the lighting was just so distracting that it was hard to really concentrate.

  • Star Trek IV (Score:3)

    by Dachannien ( 617929 ) on Saturday March 26, 2011 @10:20PM (#35626980)

    Okay, so the interviewer lauds Star Trek IV as "the most successful of the TOS features on several levels." I don't get it, and I never have. Maybe someone else can explain it to me?

    Sure, it was amusing, with the colorful metaphors and the nuclear wessels and the nerve pinch on the bus and "hello computer" and all that. But it didn't seem like a strong story to me: the premise of aliens killing us because we let the whales die was one of the worst gratuitous insertions of present-day political issues into any Star Trek medium (second, perhaps, only to Riker getting busy with that androgynous alien that one time); the whole redemption of Kirk for his court-martial offense under the sham pretense of demoting him to the job he really wanted seemed like a Voyager-worthy push of the magic reset button solving everyone's problems during the last five minutes of the episode; and without an Enterprise, it didn't feel much like Star Trek.

    So what was it that validated this movie for some folks? Maybe I just need a new perspective.

    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward

      I think to true trekkies (or trekkers) Star Trek II will still be the best TOS movie. But I'ld be the first to admit, watching ST II and ST III is a bit depressing. ST IV was definitely a much needed turn toward light-heartedness without being too silly (like some of the later TNG movies)

      • I don't agree that 2 was the best TOS movie. I actually prefer both 6 and 4 (in that order) to 2. The final scenes of 2 are definitely the saddest in all of Star Trek (including all 11 movies and all episodes of the 6 series), though.
    • Gratuitous insertions of present-day political issues into episodes was basically the entire run of TNG.

    • Re:Star Trek IV (Score:5, Insightful)

      by PotatoHead ( 12771 ) <doug.opengeek@org> on Sunday March 27, 2011 @12:34AM (#35627632) Homepage Journal

      It was just fun.

      I think the idea that there are good people in the world, who care, who would risk their lives, and have fun is a great idea to muse upon. Lots of things are not fun right now, and there are a lot of not so good people, who don't care, risking our lives instead of theirs, and that sucks.

      On some low fantasy level, I think it would be just fine to have a Kirk and crew, or even SG-1 and crew, swoop in and solve some problems.

      Other things were the characters in that movie. They lit up. I enjoyed that, because I think they enjoyed doing it. That does not always come through on film, and on that movie, it did.

    • I don't think we were supposed to take the plot seriously. I viewed it as an intentionally thin excuse to get the crew of the Enterprise to 1980's San Francisco where they could interact with each other and their strange environment in amusing and unique ways without spending much time on the plot. It was able to focus on very strong Kirk-Spock interactions immediately following Spock's resurrection and also develop several subplots for other characters who normally don't get much screen time without spendi

    • More than any other first generation story, IV is character driven.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by elrous0 ( 869638 ) *

      It's entertaining, but it's also very dated now (especially all that "Save the Whales" crap), and doesn't hold up nearly as well as the best of the TOS movies (Star Trek 2).

  • May the force be with you!

  • Leonard Nimoy did an excellent role of "Paris" in the original "Mission: Impossible" series, from, um, way back when. Most of Slashdotters were probably swimming around in their dad's balls at that time . . . whatever . . . For any folks who only know Leonard Nimoy as "Mr. Spock", it's worth a look to see that old series.

  • I remember him for Sega's Seaman (Score:3)

    by Rolman ( 120909 ) on Sunday March 27, 2011 @03:17AM (#35628298)

    I never really liked the original Star Trek series. But I remember Leonard Nimoy fondly as the voice of Seaman.

    It was a really fun game, and his voice acting was pretty good and believable, even creepy at times. Too bad the sequel was never released in English.

  • Baffled! (Score:3)

    by FrootLoops ( 1817694 ) on Sunday March 27, 2011 @07:18AM (#35629006)
    Nimoy as a psychic race car driving detective: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068248/ [imdb.com]. A friend of mine bought it and (after we found a VCR) we enjoyed it. Nimoy does a good job no matter what, it seems.
  • "whom we all fondly remember as Spock?"

    It's a weird day when Leonard Nimoy has to be explained on slashdot.

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