About the character:
Spock is born in the year 2230 as the son of Sarek
and Amanda, he a vulcan and she a human. As half human and half
vulcan Spock is to chose how he will live his life: As a logical
vulcan or as an unlogical human. Spock leans to the first mentioned,
which becomes to the benefit of USS Enterprise NCC-1701, where his
logic is put to use saving great many situations during the exploration
of the universe. Spock eventually becomes first officer aboard the
Enterprise.
His best friends is captain James
Tiberius Kirk and chief medical officer Leonard
McCoy. Spock's logic gives more than once an opportunity for
intense discussions with the last mentioned, who finds logic a rigid
fixed point in life.
Several years after his arrival on USS Enterprise NCC-1701 Spock
saves the space ship from destruction but by that he is exposing
himself to a deadly dose of radiation (Star
Trek II: The Wrath of Khan). Spock is put in a capsule and shot
away from Enterprise and it lands on a planet exposed to the experiment
"Genesis" (terra forming - to create a planet from lifelessness
to life). Spock's dead body is then regenerated and Spock is just
in time rescued by James T. Kirk, shortly before the planets own
annihilation (Star Trek III: The
Search for Spock).
Years after, when the friends James T. Kirk and Leonard McCoy
is long gone dead (vulcans can be several hundred years old), Spock
becomes ambassador for Vulcan with the intention of getting the
sister nation, the romulans, once again to be united with the vulcans
("Star Trek: The Next Generation"-episoden "Unification" (107/108)).
It is during his stay on Romulos, his father dies and they have
never been reconciled.
About the actor:
Leonard Nimoy, whose parents are jewish immigrants from what then
was the Soviet Union, is born 26 March 1931 in Boston. As a young
man he travels to California, where he makes efforts to establish
a career as an actor. He gets his movie debut with "Queen for a
Day" in 1951 and he continues to appeare in other movies.
At the age of 23 in 1954 he marries the actress Sandi Zober and
is then going to serve his military service the next 18 months in
Georgia on Fort McPhearson. In the service he involves himself with
various of acting and continues with his learned skills after his
service is done. That takes place at Pasadene Playhouse in California
and while studying the art of the acting he amongst other things
works as a taxi driver and doorkeeper. Eventually Leonard Nimoy
has no doubt, that it is not theatre as movies he wants to do.
He becomes the executive of a studio in the northern Hollywood
but continues to improve his talent. In that period his wife Sandi
gives birth to the children Adam and Julie.
In the beginning of the 1960s Leonard Nimoy starts to make guest
appearances on popular TV series like "Bonanza" and "Rawhide", but
it is as the vulcan Spock in "Star Trek" he makes his breakthrough.
Soon Leonard Nimoy is the most popular actor on the set, and in
1967 he tries something completely different: Releasing an album.
It gets the title "Mr. Spock's Music from Outer Space" and sells
so well that he feels like recording another. The next album gets
the title "The Two Sides of Leonard Nimoy", on which Leonard Nimoy
is Spock on one side and himself on the other. He releases other
albums but it is mainly his acting career he tends to.
When NBC in 1969 after only three seasons cancels the production
of "Star Trek", Leonard Nimoy lands a role on the series "Mission:
Impossible", from 1969 to 1971.
The very same year, after an eminent guest appearance on the
TV series "Columbo" in the episode "A Stitch in Crime"
(15), Leonard Nimoy is voicing his character Spock in "Star Trek:
The Animated Series" (1973-1974). The studio Filmation, who is to
produce the TV series, does not want George Takei (helmsman Hikaru
Sulu) and Nichelle Nichols (communications officer Nyota Uhura)
aboard but when Leonard Nimoy (Spock) learns that he makes it clear
for them, either they are on or he is not. So they are on, though
with the exception of Walter Koenig (weapons officer Pavel Chekov),
as the budget only allows a limited number of stars on the production.
Instead he draws attention to himself by writing the story for the
episode "The Infinite Vulcan" (7).
In the end of the 1970s he makes something clear to Gene Roddenberry
and Paramount, who wants him to play his character in a continuation
of Star Trek: Leonard Nimoy does not want to play Spock in another
TV series but does not decline, when he later on is presented a
movie. The movie is called "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" and it
is released 7 December 1979.
In 1982 "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" follows and in 1984
"Star Trek III: The Search for Spock". The movie is landmark in
tradition existing today: Letting actors direct. Leonard Nimoy makes
it so well he also directs the next movie: "Star Trek IV: The Voyage
Home " (1986). The same year he gets divorced from his wife of 32
years.
Two more Star Trek movies is produced, "Star Trek V: The Final
Frontier" (1989) and "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country" (1991),
but then it is the end of it.
In the fall of 1991, 1 month before "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered
Country" is released, Leonard Nimoy makes a guest appearance as
Spock on the TV series "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (taking
place nearly a century into the future than "Star Trek"), in which
Spock in the two part episode "Unification" (107/108) in his capacity
as the ambassador of Vulcan tries to get the vulcans unified with
their sister nation, the romulans. The episode also is a tribute
to Gene Roddenberry, who have
died a month prior.
Leonard Nimoy and his colleagues are for what they are concerned
to shoot the last Star Trek movie, "Star Trek: Generations", but
a conflict with William Shatner and a much too small part of the
movie in favour of Spock makes him to reject to appeare. Not even
the chance of directing the movie can change his mind, because he
is not allowed to make changes to the script. |
Star Trek
"Star
Trek III: The Search for Spock"