A beloved alien, and an even more beloved human being;
Leonard Nimoy left Earth in 2015. These are the words he left behind in his final days.
Leonard Nimoy, the man who played Spock on the original Star Trek, inspired even more
real-life love from those around him than his stoic character did from the general public. In
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Captain Kirk declared Spock "the most human" out of all
the souls he'd met, and by all accounts, this was no exaggeration of Nimoy himself either.
During Nimoy's tenure on Star Trek, he became almost indistinguishable from Spock to the
general public, and he wrote about this problem in 1975's I Am Not Spock. That's not to say he
despised the character, but rather he disliked being typecast. Nimoy later came to not only
accept Spock but also embrace him, as described in the 1995 sequel to his original book, I Am Spock.
In retrospect, it's easy to see that Spock became beloved not because of
his often-cited logic or half-human status, but because of the warmth and
compassion — perhaps ironic for a Vulcan — imbued into him by Nimoy himself.
Nimoy's death in 2015 provoked a massive outpouring of love and admiration. Shortly
before that, Nimoy himself had wisdom to impart that was on par with Spock's own.
In his final days, Nimoy took to Twitter to deliver wise advice, saying,
"A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had,
but not preserved, except in memory. [Live Long and Prosper]."
Toward the end of his life, Nimoy doubtlessly peered at his own perfect moments before passing
on. One especially impactful moment for Trek fans and pop culture alike was his creation
of the famous Vulcan salute, symbolizing the common Vulcan greeting, "Live Long and Prosper."
For this, Nimoy looked back to his Jewish roots. He told the National Yiddish Book
Center that the "V" gesture is a symbol of the Hebrew letter "shin" — the first letter
in words like "Shaddai", one of God's names; "Shalom", meaning hello, goodbye, and peace;
and "Shekinah," or, quote, "the feminine aspect of God [...] created to live among humans."
When Nimoy was a child at synagogue, he saw rabbis making the gesture at a
ritual used to invoke Shekinah. During his Star Trek years,
he pitched the idea to the show's director as a way for Vulcans to shake hands, bow,
and generally greet one another. Nimoy also created the signature Vulcan neck-pinch because it
was a less "archaic" alternative to violence, and also much truer to the nature of science fiction.
"I said, this man's an alien. We don't know anything about aliens. We can say
anything we want. We can make the audience believe anything we want about an alien."
To understand the words that Leonard Nimoy wrote at the end of his life,
it helps to know more about his life before Star Trek. Leonard Simon Nimoy was born in
1931 in Boston to Jewish-Ukrainian immigrants. His artistic tendencies were on display from a
young age, and by age 8, he'd appeared in his first production: Hansel and Gretel.
From then all the way through adulthood, barring a two-year hiatus in the military,
Nimoy pursued his dream of acting. By 18, he'd moved to Los Angeles. By 20,
he'd landed his first lead role in Kid Monk Baroni, and from there, he continuously showed
up in a variety of shows, films, and theater productions. Star Trek was his break-out role.
Nimoy's interests weren't restricted to acting, however. He was a photographer
whose work is still being auctioned. He was also a musician and spoken-word artist who
released songs and narrative performances over a period of thirty years. Among these
were works related to his Jewish heritage, such as 1982's The Mysterious Golem and 1988's Jewish
Stories from the Old World to the New. Nimoy was also a skilled writer and poet.
Leonard Nimoy was married twice in his life, first to Sandra Zober from 1954 to 1987 and
then to Susan Bay from 1989 to the time of his death. Nimoy's divorce from Zober came
at an especially hard time in his life, as his father died that same year, and his mother six
months later. He also felt guilty about leaving his marriage, no matter that it had deteriorated.
Following his divorce, he hit a low point where he was drinking often. Unfortunately,
this would go on to negatively impact his relationship with his son, director Adam Nimoy.
Regarding his marriage to Susan Bay,
Nimoy's rabbi recounted their relationship at his funeral, saying,
"[He'd] never met a woman like her, never had he loved anyone so dearly and passionately,
that she'd saved his life and lifted him from darkness and
unhappiness in ways he never thought possible."
Bay was present when Nimoy died in 2015, as was his daughter, Julie.
"We were all there at 8:04 AM on February 27th when the nurse said, 'He's gone.'"
At the time, Nimoy was suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
caused by 30-plus years of smoking. He eventually said that his time had come
and asked nurses to euthanize him. In the days leading up to this request,
he asked to have one-on-one, private conversations with each family member.
Julie told the Mirror in 2018 that her father was
happy and felt complete before he died. He took her hands and said,
"Julie, I love you. I'm very proud of you. I just want you to be able
to let me go now. It's time for me, I can't do this any more."
Reactions to Nimoy's death were widespread,
with many coming from friends and those he'd worked with in the past.
George Takei, who played Lieutenant Sulu on the original Star Trek, said,
"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."
"But he was also someone I enjoyed conversations with on the set the most."
Nichelle Nichols, who played Lieutenant Uhura, said,
"He was a true force of strength and his character
was that of a champion. [...] His vision and heart are bigger than the universe."
And William Shatner, the man behind Captain Kirk, said,
"I loved him like a brother. We will all miss his humor, his talent and his capacity to love."
Zachary Quinto, who plays an alternate version of Spock in the newer Star Trek movies, said,
"My heart is broken. I love you profoundly my dear friend. And I
will miss you everyday. May flights of angels sing thee to thy rest."
And showing that Leonard Nimoy's influence spread far beyond the world of science fiction,
Space Foundation Chief Executive Officer Elliot Pulham said,
"Leonard Nimoy created a positive role model who
inspired untold numbers of viewers to learn more about the universe."