Leonard Nimoy portrays the Vuclan "Spock" on the science fiction adventure Star Trek. The son of Jewish immigrants from the U.S.S.R., Nimoy was born in Boston. His first stage appearance was in Hansel and Gretel at age eight. After a short stint at Boston College, he came to California in search of an acting career. In 1954 he married Sandi Zober, an actress. Then Nimoy spent eighteen months serving in the Army. He wrote, narrated and emceed GI shows for the Army's Special Services branch. During that time he directed and played "Stanley" in the Atlanta Theater Guild's production of A Streetcar Named Desire.
After his discharge from the Army, Nimoy enrolled in the Pasadena Playhouse in California. He worked as a soda jerk, movie usher and cab driver to pay the bills while he studied acting. Eventually he left the playhouse, his sights on a film career, rather than theater. Nimoy ran a drama studio in North Hollywood for three years and taught for a year at Synanon.
Nimoy's film debut was in the movie, Queen for a Day, in 1951, which was followed by Rhubarb, Kid Monk Baroni, Francis Goes to West Point, Zombies of the Stratosphere and Old Overland Trail.
In the '60s, Nimoy began to break into television. He made guest appearances on many series, including, Rawhide, The Virginian, Profiles in Courage, Dr. Kildare, and Outer Limits, with a recurring role on Sea Hunt. Nimoy's first meeting with Gene Roddenberry came when he guest starred in an episode of The Lieutenant.
Finally came his big break in 1966 when he began his role as the Vulcan officer Spock on Star Trek. His first promotional trip for that show was when he was Grand Marshall of Medford, Oregon's annual Pear Blossom Festival. It was the first sign that he'd finally made it. This idea was confirmed after the Pear Blossom Parade when Nimoy signed autographs for a crowd of fans so large officials had to "rescue" him from the well-meaning autograph seekers. Then, when TV Guide featured his picture and article in their March 4, 1967 issue, he was sure of it.
Given this new popularity, Nimoy won roles in several stage roles, Monserrat, Visit to a Small Planet, and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.
Trying another talent, in 1967 Nimoy released his first record album, based on the Star Trek character of Mr. Spock, which produced a hit single, "Visit to a Sad Planet." Four more albums followed, along with five narrative albums.
When Star Trek ended in 1969, Nimoy joined the Mission: Impossible team as a regular for two years, replacing Martin Landau. In 1975, Nimoy returned to college and earned a master's degree in education at Antioch College. From 1978-1981 he toured the country in his one-man play, Vincent.
Nimoy's directing credits include Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, Three Men and a Baby, The Good Mother and Funny About Love. In 1991, Nimoy starred in and produced the film, Never Forget, for the Turner Network, which deals with a true case of a Holocaust survivor suing a neo-Nazi organization who claimed the extermination of Jews in World War II was a myth.
One of his hobbies is black and white photography. Utilizing this talent, Nimoy published several volumes of poetry, illustrated with his photos. The first of these books was called, Why Not You and I?
Leonard has renewed his interest in photography in recent years and still continues to attend conventions and narrate for various projects.