Leonard Simon Nimoy ( March 26, 1931 - February 27, 2015) RIP was an American actor, film director, poet, singer and photographer. Nimoy was best known for his role as Spock in the original Star Trek series (1966-69), and in multiple film, television and video game sequels.

Nimoy was born to Jewish migrant parents in Boston, Massachusetts. He began his career in his early twenties, teaching acting classes in Hollywood and making minor film and television appearances through the 1950s, as well as playing the title role in Kid Monk Baroni. Foreshadowing his fame as a semi-alien, he played Narab, one of three Martian invaders in the 1952 movie serial Zombies of the Stratosphere. In 1953, he served in the United States Army.

In 1965, he made his first appearance in the rejected Star Trek pilot The Cage, and went on to play the character of Mr. Spock until 1969, followed by eight feature films and guest slots in the various spin-off series. The character has had a significant cultural impact and garnered Nimoy three Emmy Award nominations; TV Guide named Spock one of the 50 greatest TV characters. After the original Star Trek series, Nimoy starred in Mission: Impossible for two seasons, hosted the documentary series In Search of..., and narrated Civilization IV, as well as making several well-received stage appearances. More recently, he also had a recurring role in the science fiction series Fringe.

Nimoy's fame as Spock was such that both of his autobiographies, I Am Not Spock (1975) and I Am Spock (1995), were written from the viewpoint of sharing his existence with the character.

He went on to reprise the Spock character in Star Trek: The Animated Series and two episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation. When a new Star Trek series was planned in the late 1970s, Nimoy was to be in only two out of eleven episodes, but when the show was elevated to a feature film, he agreed to reprise his role. The first six Star Trek movies feature the original Star Trek cast including Nimoy, who also directed two of the films. He played the elder Spock in the 2009 Star Trek movie and reprised the role in a brief appearance in the 2013 sequel, Star Trek Into Darkness, both directed by J. J. Abrams.

Spock's Vulcan salute became a recognized symbol of the show and was identified with him. Nimoy created the sign himself from his childhood memories of the way kohanim (Jewish priests) hold their hand when giving blessings. During an interview, he translated the priestly blessing from Numbers 6:24â "26 which accompanies the sign and described it during a public lecture:

In May 2009, he made an appearance as the mysterious Dr. William Bell in the season finale of Fringe, which explores the existence of a parallel universe. Nimoy returned as Dr. Bell in the autumn for an extended arc, and according to Roberto Orci, co-creator of Fringe, Bell will be "the beginning of the answers to even bigger questions."This choice led one reviewer to question if Fringe's plot might be a homage to the Star Trek episode "Mirror, Mirror", which featured an alternate reality "Mirror Universe" concept and an evil version of Spock distinguished by a goatee.

Nimoy authored two volumes of autobiography. The first was called I Am Not Spock (1975) and was controversial, as many fans incorrectly assumed that Nimoy was distancing himself from the Spock character. In the book, Nimoy conducts dialogues between himself and Spock. The contents of this first autobiography also touched on a self-proclaimed "identity crisis" that seemed to haunt Nimoy throughout his career. It also related to an apparent love/hate relationship with the character of Spock and the Trek franchise. The second volume, I Am Spock (1995), saw Nimoy communicating that he finally realized his years of portraying the Spock character had led to a much greater identification between the fictional character and himself.

During and following Star Trek, Nimoy also released five albums of musical vocal recordings on Dot Records. On his first album Mr. Spock's Music from Outer Space, and half of his second album Two Sides of Leonard Nimoy, science fiction-themed songs are featured where Nimoy sings as Spock. On his final three albums, he sings popular folk songs of the era and cover versions of popular songs, such as "Proud Mary" and Johnny Cash's "I Walk the Line". There are also several songs on the later albums that were written or co-written by Nimoy. He described how his recording career got started:

Nimoy had long been active in the Jewish community. He could speak and read Yiddish. Nimoy was married twice. In 1954, he married actress Sandra Zober (1927 - 2011), whom he divorced in 1987. On New Year's Day of 1989, he married actress Susan Bay, who is a cousin of director Michael Bay. Leonard Nimoy had a second cousin in voice actor Jeff Nimoy (once removed) and other cousins working in art, education, design, and health industries.  In a 2001 DVD,  Nimoy revealed that he became an alcoholic while working on Star Trek and ended up in rehab. William Shatner, in his 2008 book Up Till Now: The Autobiography, spoke about how later in their lives, Nimoy tried to help Shatner's alcoholic wife, Nerine Kidd.

At the time of his death, Nimoy still had the last pair of Spock's ears he wore on the series. He has said that the character of Spock, which he played twelve to fourteen hours a day, five days a week, influenced his personality in private life. Each weekend during the original run of the series, he would be in character throughout Saturday and into Sunday, behaving more like Spock than himself: more logical, more rational, more thoughtful, less emotional and finding a calm in every situation. It was only on Sunday in the early afternoon that Spock's influence on his behavior would fade off and he would feel more himself again, only to start the cycle over again, on Monday morning.

He remained good friends with co-star William Shatner (also of Ukrainian Jewish descent) and was best man at Shatner's third marriage in 1997. He also remained good friends with DeForest Kelley until Kelley's death in 1999.  Nimoy was a private pilot and had owned his own airplane. The Space Foundation named Nimoy as the recipient of the 2010 Douglas S. Morrow Public Outreach Award for creating a positive role model that inspired untold numbers of viewers to learn more about the universe.

In February 2014, Nimoy revealed that he had been diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). On Twitter, he said: "I quit smoking 30 yrs ago. Not soon enough. I have COPD. Grandpa says, quit now!! LLAP (Live Long and Prosper)."  Nimoy died on February 27, 2015 in his Bel Air home from final complications of COPD, according to his wife Susan. He was 83 years old, and is survived by Susan and his two children and six grandchildren from his first marriage.  Near death he reportably said, "LIVE LONG AND PROSPER."

Shatner said of his friend "I loved him like a brother...We will all miss his humor, his talent, and his capacity to love."  Zachary Quinto, who portrayed the younger "Spock" character in films Star Trek and Star Trek Into Darkness, commented on Nimoy's death: "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." George Takei stated: "The word extraordinary is often overused, but I think it's really appropriate for Leonard. He was an extraordinarily talented man, but he was also a very decent human being. His talent embraced directing as well as acting and photography. He was a very sensitive man. And we feel his passing very much. He had been ill for a long, long time, and we miss him very much."

FULL MONEY BACK GUARANTEE!

Sell Communications offers a FULL MONEY BACK, LIFETIME AUTHENTICITY GUARANTEE on all of our AUTOGRAPHED ITEMS. Ebay has sought out qualified experts in the autograph field who will evaluate an autograph and will offer their opinion on it's authenticity. Sell Communications uses these Ebay recommended services of JSA and BECKETT Authentication Services. If this autograph is declared not to be authentic, we may ask the purchaser to supply the full written opinion of one competent authority acceptable to us. We will refund the purchase price after documentation has been submitted. The buyer's only remedy under this guarantee is the cancellation of the sale and the refund of the purchase price. Please contact us before returning any item(s). If a signed item from Sell Communications is found not to be authentic and original by JSA and/or BECKETT Authentication Services, we will issue you, the original purchaser, a FULL REFUND for your Original Purchase Price.

HERE'S JUST A SAMPLE OF WHAT SOME OF OUR EBAY BUYERS HAVE TO SAY ABOUT US:

btbandabbermake3s PRAISE: "Fantastic items, 30 Star Movie Maker!"

18442 PRAISE: "Great item!! SUPERFAST INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING!!!!!!! Highly recommended seller!!"

heimdell51 "PRAISE: "Great guy; very prompt & efficient service & exc. packaging; got a free bonus too!"

btbandabbermake3s PRAISE: "Fantastic items, 30 stars, bid with utmost confidence asset to ebay. Thanx Jack"

momosroswell PRAISE: "Wonderful item! Thanks for a smooth, quick transaction. Great communication!"

docfsk100 PRAISE: "Excellent, Danke"

austinpowheinybeer PRAISE: "GREAT GREAT GREAT!! Makes ebay great place to shop!!"

toothfella PRAISE: "Thanks for the super helmet Jack! Hope to do business again."

jimsoden PRAISE:"Great packing, good emails, very generous with his time and effort, class act!!!"

circus10 PRAISE: Fabulous costume, vintage RBBB. Great transaction! Thank you, Jack."

belfast PRAISE: "Wonderful Ebayer (& with genuine COA's too!) A+++"

erfmaster500 PRAISE: Good seller. Quick Shipping. Easy to deal with...MAKES FUN MOVIES, TOO!!"

AND, Ada wrote us this nice email when she received her autograph order:

"I GOT IT!!!!! Jack, I am just THRILLED with this. It is the most professional-quality work I've ever seen, absolutely worth every penny. I can't thank you enough for helping me to realize my dream of being able to hold in my hand something that was actually a part of this movie. (I even cried a little when I touched the prop for the first time. Sheesh...) Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I hope to do business with you again some day!" Ada

AND, peggie701 wrote us this nice letter:

"JACK, GOT YOUR PACKAGE TODAY! I WAS VERY IMPRESSED AT THE WAY YOU PUT ALL THE PROPS TOGETHER. I'VE ORDERED MANY THINGS ON EBAY AND I MUST SAY YOURS WAS THE BEST! THANKS AGAIN FOR YOUR FAST SHIPPING, GIFTS & GREAT PROPS. I PUT YOU IN ONE OF MY FAVORITES!" PEGGY.

AND, THANKS TO THE OTHER 10,000 GREAT EBAYERS WE'VE HAD THE HONOR OF WORKING WITH FOR OVER 25 YEARS....WE LOOK FORWARD TO MEETING MANY MORE GREAT EBAYERS IN THE FUTURE FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD!

This is a Great "Star Trek" Collection that includes TWO very RARE Signed authentic AUTOGRAPHS by WILLIAM SHATNER as Captain Kirk & LEONARD NIMOY as Mr. Spock...these 2 Autographs are mounted in Gold Frames with engraved plaques, Franklin Mint 3-D Tridimensional Vintage PROP Sterling Silver & 24K Plated CHESS SET Collection that includes all the pieces, game board, instructions + Styrofoam storage BOX...you also receive the 3 original COA's...this entire set is guaranteed for life by UACC Registered Dealer #228...

A GREAT piece of American TELEVISION history....a real "One of a Kind" Collection & Conversation Pieces....Movie & Television Props & Autographs could make for a good investment as well!

Check out our EBAY STORE for more great movie & television show PROPS, AUTOGRAPHS & COSTUMES + more great "STAR TREK" TOYS, Props, AUTOGRAPH COLLECTION, COMIC ART & other Television & Movie Displays!

A GREAT GIFT!

Imagine giving this great ultimate STAR TREK collection to the CAPTAIN KIRK & MR. SPOCK Fan in your family or just keeping it for yourself for what could be a good investment!

A GREAT TELEVISION COLLECTION from the classic 1960 series, "STAR TREK."

VERY RARE & VALUABLE ONE OF A KIND COLLECTION!!! 

This would look great displayed in your Home, Museum or Office...Great Fun to play, too!

FREE U.S. SHIP!  Fasssst SHIPPING WORLDWIDE...

Godspeed Leonard, you will be missed, but never forgotten...