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Leonard Nimoy Dies At 83
Esther Schindler writes: According to the NY Times, Leonard Nimoy died on Friday morning at his home in the Bel Air section of Los Angeles. He was 83 years old. He was, and always shall be, our friend.
From the article:
His wife, Susan Bay Nimoy, confirmed his death, saying the cause was end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Mr. Nimoy announced last year that he had the disease, which he attributed to years of smoking, a habit he had given up three decades earlier. He had been hospitalized earlier in the week. His artistic pursuits — poetry, photography and music in addition to acting — ranged far beyond the United Federation of Planets, but it was as Mr. Spock that Mr. Nimoy became a folk hero, bringing to life one of the most indelible characters of the last half century: a cerebral, unflappable, pointy-eared Vulcan with a signature salute and blessing: “Live long and prosper” (from the Vulcan “Dif-tor heh smusma”).
Sad day.
I am truly sad. Is it time to launch the Genesis device?
"No matter where you go, there you are." -- Buckaroo Banzai
Leonard Nimoy @TheRealNimoy Feb 23
A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. LLAP
You will be sorely missed, friend...
You will be missed.
crazy dynamite monkey
Yeah, you didn't mention The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins.
Still, :(
We will miss you.
Damn.
Supporting World Peace Through Nuclear Pacification
So.
Farewell then, Leonard Nimoy.
You were Spock, and then you were not Spock. Or was it the other way round?
If I may be so bold
that
is illogical.
E.J.Thribb (17½)
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
I come to Slashdot for interesting news, not sad news. That said, I watched rerun after rerun of TOS growing up, and the vision expressed in Star Trek permanently impressed on me, with Leonard Nimoy excellent portrayal of Spock and the importance of logic and careful analysis playing a strong role in my career choice. I am confident in saying that I am hardly alone in that, but I'm also confident in saying that I think Mr. Nimoy was well aware of how he had shaped generations of young minds through the medium of acting. Thank you for what you did for all of us.
He had a 30 second part as Army enlisted in this classic.
Seriously - Leonard Nimoy's Mr. Spock probably inspired more people to enter science, engineering, and intellectualism in general than any other figure in pop culture. He turned anti-intellectualism on its ear by making being a "nerd" not just cool, but even sexy.
Look at any major technology or research company making the world a better place, and I guarantee it was built by people who grew up aspiring to be more like Spock.
No comment text.
Suborbital [spaceflight] is the special olympics of spaceflight. - Rei
Kelley, Doohan, now Nimoy...the inevitable march of time.
Remember: The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few!
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
A tear just left my eye.
I have mod points and I am not afraid to use them
Damn.
Solving Unix problems since 1989...
To express my grief at the passing of Leonard Nimoy, I'd like to quote William Shatner, whose words encapsulate my feelings concerning this news far better than I could myself:
"KHAAAAAAAAAAAAN!".
That is all. Rest in peace, Mr. Nimoy.
I told him NOT to wear a Red Shirt today! -- Dr. McCoy
"Cats are just autistic Dogs" -- Dr. Tony Attwood
Nimoy was one of the better actors in TOS with one of the best characters, and he seemed like a decent guy too in all the interviews I saw. So sad how they're all dying off. Goodbye another piece of my childhood.
Is the reason I became a tech nerd. RIP
He was 83. He lived a longer life than most, and if it wasn't this that got him it would have been something else.
\\_//
...
"Don't smoke. I did. Wish I never had. LLAP"
You're right, I wouldn't steal a car. But if it were possible, I sure as hell would download one!
Agreed, very sad. Most know him for Star Trek, as do I, but he was also a great voice actor as well. His narrations in Civilization 4 were the best the series has ever seen. He will be greatly missed.
Beware of bugs in the above code; I have only proved it correct, not tried it.
How good was that character? It's difficult for me to watch Leonard Nimoy in other shows/films because when he cracks a smile my brain is hardwired to reject the emotional display as impossible. I'd sooner believe a pig flying than Spock smiling.
Live long and prosper...
Of all the souls I have encountered in my travels, his was the most... human.
So many other logical characters function as the butt of the joke. They're always the ones who "don't get it", or "lack compassion", or seem "out of touch".
Mr. Nimoy, through Spock, showed how such characters can be more than just socially awkward, how through logic one can derive strong ethics, compassion, and integrity.
A literal inspiration.
"It's a crime how many people smoking kills."
Don't talk stupid - he was 83. Most people don't get that far even if they don't smoke.
Civ 4 was a great game, and part of it was his narrations. He really had a way of saying things beautifully. Maybe my tribute will be playing out a game this weekend.
What changed under Obama? Nothing Good
if it wasn't this that got him it would have been something else.
Yeah, 10 years from now...
Sad day.
Indeed.
It honestly hadn't occurred to me that Spock COULD die. He was there on the grainy black and white TV where I first encountered Star Trek as a boy back in the 1960's. He's been ... a constant of the universe.
Other actors, yeah, you know they'll get old and they'll die. But somehow Nimoy seemed rather more immortal. Not because of the events of any of his characters, but just from the sheer icon nature of them.
We're here to mourn one of our fallen heroes. Fuck you for dragging this bullshit in! I will now count you in the same category as the Westboro Baptist Church.
"Be particularly skeptical when presented with evidence confirming what you already believe." -
He lliked to photograph large female nudes in a teastful, artistic way. Kind of like when Ruben painted them.
Though it can be viewed as sad news, he lived a long and "prosperous" life by any measure.
Think about his legacy.
He masterfully played a character who willfully disdained violence and used his massive intellect for the good of sentient beings everywhere.
A brilliant "avatar" for the future.
Leonard Nimoys legacy will live on and is probably the most iconic of all the Star Trek characters.
Spock is right up there with Gandalf and Yoda in the Nerd Trinity.
We play the game with the bravery of being out of range
Nonsense. Better than 50% of males "get that far". A male in the U.S. reaching age 65 today can statistically expect to live, on average, until age 84.3.
83 is neither unusually young, nor unusually old, to die.
(This can be his non-Spock roles too)
Mine is when he silences the loud music punker on the bus in whale movie.
Honestly, yes, he died of smoking.
But he was 83. What is the median age of death?
It's like the great lines from George Burns:
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
before he rises again.
- Zav - Imagine a Beowulf cluster of insensitive clods...
In an earlier era, Yul Brenner had a short video about not smoking and directed it be published after cigarettes killed him.
Suddenly, I feel old. For some reason, I always feel that way about the death of an actor who portrayed a revered character that inspired me in my childhood.
He offered a lot over his life. Really goddamned solid human.
Thanks for being an essential part of things that were very important to me, Mr. Nimoy. Warpspeed....
Well post that here then when you are 84 then to prove the point.
I didn't know he lives here in Boston :/
83 is pretty long
"but he was also a great voice actor as well”
He was also a good stage actor. I saw him do Sherlock Holmes at Playhouse Square in Cleveland when I was a teenager. A Spock-ish role to some degree, but he was very good. One big applause line: “why sir, it is simplylogical!” with a raised eyebrow to the audience.
Damn.
... you have the con.
RIP, Leonard. Godspeed.
That is all.
Even worse, how are we supposed to repair the timeline from this quasi-reboot now?!?!?
(-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
When a friend's facebook posting of a certain video caused me to suspect that LN may have left us, I immediately came here for confirmation, if this tragic news isn't important news for nerds then, frankly, I've no idea what is.
And Vincent, I saw that years ago on PBS. A monologue about Vincent Van Gogh from his brothers perspective.
Sorry, teleporters just kill you and then make a copy. A perfect, soul-less copy.
Star Trek Marathon incoming.
LLAP
Kirk: Bones, you've got to save Spock!
Bones: I'm dead, Jim.
There are other sides to the story. Perhaps you should look into them.
If you were in front of me right now I'd give you the Vulcan death grip.
But there's no such thing as a Vulcan Death Grip! -- Nurse Christine Chapel
If it weren't for deadlines, nothing would be late.
Vulcans live hundreds of years, but Leonard Nimoy will live forever in our hearts.
He lived long and prospered
http://www.shopllap.com/Defaul...
This one hits close to home.
As a child in the late 1960s I was inspired to my present technical life and career by two major influences: Project Apollo and Star Trek. I thought Spock had the coolest job in the universe. He played with techie stuff and figured stuff out. I wanted that sort of job too. And I got it.
...laura
"I didn't know he lives here in Boston"
He don't. He's dead Jim.
It'll be one of those moments I'll remember, like coming into work and being told about the Challenger disaster, or turning on the car radio and hearing the hushed voices of the announcers on 9/11. Like so many people I feel a connection to this wonderful man.
Of course he did more than play Spock; and in the early post-TOS years he was famously ambivalent about his association with the role. But he did something special with that role. It's easy in the fog of nostalgia to forget that man TOS scripts weren't all that great (although some of them were). The character of Spock might have become just an obscure bit of pop culture trivia; instead Nimoy turned Spock into a character that I feel sure actors in our grandchildren's generation will want to play and make their mark upon.
What Nimoy brought to that role is a dignity and authenticity, possibly rooted in his "alien" experience as the child of Ukrainian Jewish immigrants. In less sensitive hands the part might have been a joke, but I think what many of us took away from Nimoy's performance was something that became deeply influential in our world views. Nimoy's Spock taught us that there was something admirable in being different even when that is hard for others to understand; that winning the respect of others is just as rewarding as popularity. The world needs its oddballs and misfits, not to conform, but to be the very best version of themselves they can be. Authenticity is integrity.
It's customary to say things in remembrances like "you will be missed", but that falls short. Leonard Nimoy, you will live on in the lives of all us you have touched.
Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
He inspired a lot of nerdy kids who are now engineers or scientist. Including this one. Rest in peace.
I had a record by him, in the '60s he was a singer too.
"I'm not much interested in interoperability. I want substitutability. I want to be able to throw your software out."
Seaman wouldn't have been the same without him marking the milestones:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
I've seen a lot of recipes over the years; the one that comes the closest to the effects of the "real" thing is equal parts Everclear, Bacardi 151, and Blue Curacao. It kind of tastes like gasoline but that's part of the appeal, along with pretending it was smuggled across the neutral zone after you've consumed too much of it.... ;)
I want peace on earth and goodwill toward man.
We are the United States Government! We don't do that sort of thing.
Sad day. But an inevitable day. Lucky thing is, he has a real life Genesis device in the form of all the VHS, DVD and Blue-Ray Star Trek episodes and movies we've all got. Live Long and Proser, Spock!
I will never forget him, in his iconic white and gold uniform.
Seriously, though, terrible day. I feel like I knew him.
dinner: it's what's for beer
Of course by that time, none of the kids knew who that bald guy was.
#naabhaprzrag, #sverubfr-000, #agi-fcbafberq, negvpyr[pynff*=' negvpyr-ary-'] { qvfcynl: abar !vzcbegnag; }
The original cast is getting slim.
Kirk (Character Died in Star Trek Generation, you can probably use the fact that he was in the Nexus as a plot hole to use him again) ,
Spock (Actor Deceased) ,
McCoy(Actor Deceased),
Scott (Actor Deceased)
So we have the following left.
Sulu,
Uhura,
Chekov
My bet is on Chekov, he can use his telepathy powers and his tie ins with the PsyCorps to fix the problem.
Hey NASA Folks - Here's a suggestion - Name a space vehicle after him... "Nimoy"
I woke up this morning thinking about my wonderful mother who passed away on Friday, February 27, 2009.
Now I learn that Leonard Nimoy has passed away. My family helped me grow up in so many ways. Leonard NImoy and Star Trek also had a significant positive influence.
I can't think of anything more to say other than I miss Leonard Nimoy as much as I can -- which is quite a bit.
"Beer is proof God loves us and wants us to be happy." -- B. Franklin
Nimoy did many things. In addition to his memorable outings as Spock in ST:TOS and many of the ST movies, I recall him also in Brave New World and many where he was just a voice.
I have the same album. Singer usually implies a vocal range more than 3 notes wide. It was, alas, one of the things he did not do well.
...show or probably another character that was so instrumental in the direction of so many young minds. Really, how many of us "Geeks", "Nerds" or whatever you may consider yourself can't say that Star Trek or more to the point, Mr Spock didn't in fact influence our decision to pursue the sciences??? I'm a Network Admin and have been in I.T. for 26 years. Being born in '68 I may have grown up on TOS reruns, but I cut my teeth on the franchise and to me, Mr Spock more than any other character represents the franchise and one of the primary reasons I became interested in the sciences and technology. I was completely fascinated with the hand-held communicators and thought how freaking cool it would be to be able to carry this little device around and be able to talk with essentially anyone I wanted at any time or how even so far away plus how the Enterprise computer systems would be able to communicate with Starfleet and internally work with the other systems. When I was a kid, "warp theory", transporters and all that were just too far out there for me to understand but the communicators and computer systems I was able to grasp.
I quite honestly believe that technology in our society wouldn't be where it is today without Star Trek and probably even Mr Spock as portrayed by Leonard Nimoy. This begs the question how popular the character or even the franchise would be if Deforest Kelley had accepted the role before it was offered to Nimoy...
Rest in peace Mr. Nimoy.
Being sad is so illogical. But I'm not vulcan unfortunately. Rest In Peace
That reminds me of singer Leonard Cohen, who last September turned 80 and celebrated by resuming smoking after quitting for thirty years. I guess Nimoy couldn't smoke in his old age because of his COPD, but now at least he won't crave cigarettes any more.
Have you read my blog lately?
Let's not forget his career as a singer:
...Ok, never mind. Let's forget his career as a singer....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
HA! I just wasted some of your bandwidth with a frivolous sig!
I find it gratifying to see that Mr. Nimoy is being remembered on every website and feed that I've visited today. And not merely remembered, but remembered by more people than I've ever seen pay tribute at the same time. Even the passing of Robin Williams wasn't marked with as many posts and comments.
RIP, Leonard.
I do not fail; I succeed at finding out what does not work.
I loved his acting as much as anyone, but I disagree that it was necessarily a sad day. He was, after all, 83 years old. He beat the average life expectancy in this country by a wide margin. He made an impact on a huge number of people, as well. He was ready to check out and move on. Really, what could you reasonably expect an 83 year old man to do beyond this point anyways? I'm happy for him and all he's done.
HA! I just wasted some of your bandwidth with a frivolous sig!
/. should add a '+1 Logical' category for mods.... /andrewa
RIP Long and Prosper
Did you ever wake up in the morning, with a Zombie Woof behind your eyes? -- FZ
Comment removed based on user account deletion
Goodbye Spock
Goodbye McCoy
Goodbye Scotty
which is what I think made him a perfect voice actor/narrator. he didnt have range, but he had consistency.
have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
Anyone join me in a virtual toast? My glass has an old Scotch in it. We'll raise and clink glasses, and echo Kirk's toast.. all those years ago.. 1984, wasn't it?
To Absent Friends.
The "Civilized World" jumped the shark ca. 1973.
In the US the male life expectancy of a 65 year old is about 18 years. Nimoy was wealthy, so add a bit to that. Statistically, he died prematurely. Medically, since he had advanced COPD, he surely did. COPD also sucks, so chances are his last decade or two weren't as nice as they should have been.
Kudos for a great, generations-inspiring life, he will be welcomed by a cheering crowd out there. Condolences to all family, friends and fans. In the meantime I could not but look into the way the universe is opening to us and exclaim "fascinating."
Thanks for everything Leonard. I was just thinking about Time magazine's choice for most influential person of the 20th century. They chose Einstein, but I think it was easily tied.
Thank you Leonard for all you have done for us!
Most Respectfully Yours Mark Allyn Bellingham, Washington
In Search Of... consolation...
For all intensive purposes, "whom" is no longer a word. That begs the question, "who cares"?
I'm seeing a parallel here with modern day medicine.
:|
Commercials are overflowing with " Ask your Doctor if X is right for you !!! "
Fast forward ten years.
Commercials are overflowing with " Did you or a love one take X that resulted in Death, a third limb, cancer, speaking in tongues or the desire to abuse Nuns ? If so, call the law offices of Y as you may be entitled to a cash compensation !!! "
Wise man say: The experts don't always know what's best for you.
If they buried Mr. Nimoy in a Mark VII Photon Torpedo casing.
Beep... Beep... Beep...
I still have more fans than freaks. WTF is wrong with you people?
There's 311 posts so far and no mention of Nimoy's role as himself on Futurama.
Get free satoshi (Bitcoin) and Dogecoins
Please go here and propose Leonard Nimoy:
http://elitedangerous.com/name...
Shatner is not getting slim. HTH. HAND.
If you are not allowed to question your government then the government has answered your question.
Thank you for unique legacy.
I didn't know you, but I felt I did.
When I was a kid my bed time was marked by the TV schedule, I had to go to bed at the end of Star Trek. I used to hope each episode would go on longer. The whole thing brings back happy memories of childhood. I especially enjoyed the episodes where some presumably sensitive and complex circuit board under the main console in the bridge had to be repaired by Spock using some kind of crude welding process
going off at a tangent, isn't Spock proof of god's existence (leaving aside the nit that Spock is fictional) ? There's no way evolution could account for the breeding compatibility of an earth woman and a vulcan man
Nullius in verba
Very sad day. Watched Amok Time this evening with tears in my eyes. ST:TOS was the best of them all, and now one by one the crew is passing...
Why is all the good stuff already modded 5, when I have mod points?
Where's a genesis torpedo when you really need one?
Goodbye, Aquaman.
Leonard Nimoy was famous for his character Spock, and his relationship with Captain Kirk. However, Nimoy and Shatner acted together two years earlier in an early episode of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. - The Project Strigas Affair in 1964, along with William Klemperer and the usual cast of the TMFU. Check out the episode if can, it is worth it.
KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE!!!!!
[shakes fist at sky]
Best character in all of Trek. :'(
(Sorry, Bill, but he was)
From a lonely outsider who took to Star Trek and who was fascinated by the possibilties of computing, even though I'd never seen one in the 60s.
You'll be missed, but never forgotten.
Waiting on the next episode. They'll certainly do something.
I mourn both the lives lost through abortion, *and* those lost through other means as well. A consistent respect for human life demands nothing less.
Nonaggression works!
Nimoy had a tweet in January that talked about how he wished he never started smoking, and discussion ensued.
Also, come on, now. Do we need swearing and internet-rawr at what is his funeral on this part of the internet?
-