The range of characters that Leonard Nimoy has played in his time is staggering – there was Spock in Star Trek.
And Spock in Star Trek: The Motion Picture. And, um… oh, you know, all those other characters that IMDb says he played. Like Narab in 1952’s Zombies Of The Stratosphere. And Uncredited Young Ball Player in 1951’s Rhubarb. And the narrator in the videogame Civilisation IV. All of them iconic and all of them indelible, except for the ones that weren’t Spock, because we just had to look those ones up on the internet.
Those roles all need to be cherished because, at the age of 79, Leonard Nimoy has announced that he is to retire from acting. Although the profession has given him plenty of wonderful moments, he feels that now is the time to let Zachary Quinto get mercilessly hounded by legions of friendless, bad-smelling geeks all the bloody time.
Leonard Nimoy has decided to retire from acting and, despite our sniffy headline – and all three of the subsequent opening paragraphs – we’re actually quite sad about it. He may not have ever really reached William Shatner‘s level of cultural transcendence, nor has he ever been paid to eat slices of kangaroo bum on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here like George Takei – but if Leonard Nimoy had never played Spock on Star Trek all those years ago, then we would have missed out on some of his most golden moments.
We would have never got his 1977 book I Am Not Spock, for instance. Or his 1995 book I Am Spock. We would have never been exposed to his side-career as a photographer, and would therefore have seen far fewer naked women in our time. We would have never heard his exhausted country musical version of Put A Little Love In Your Heart, or his nightmarish song about Bilbo Baggins. And someone else would have directed Three Men And A Baby, preventing the world from shouting “Leonard NIMOY?” during the opening credits every time it gets shown on TV.
And now, at the age of 79, Leonard Nimoy has decided to jack it all in. The New York Post reports:
“I’ve been doing this professionally for 60 years,” Nimoy told the Toronto Sun. “I love the idea of going out on a positive note. I’ve had a great time… I want to get off stage,” he said. From now on, Nimoy intends to concentrate on his photography. (His specialty is unusual nude portraits.) People were skeptical about his photos, “but I’ve built credibility now in the art world,” he said.
We’re sad to see Leonard Nimoy go but his retirement has taught us several valuable lessons. Firstly, to always try new things. Secondly, to always remain as calm and authoritative as possible no matter the situation. And thirdly – and most importantly – to learn photography a few years before you retire, so that you can spend the last few years of your life gawping at minges, Spock would have been proud.
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Iain says
I know this sounds like I’m going to make some awful awful comment, but I really love Leonard Nimoy. He’s completely brilliant. What a lovely man.
gilbert wham says
Indeed. And we can all learn something from his exit strategy.