Leonard Nimoy, actor and director, dies
Actor Leonard Nimoy, known for nearly half a century as the face and voice of Star Trek‘s Mr. Spock, dies at the age of 83, several days after news reports that he has been rushed to a hospital with severe chest pains. A busy actor and director on stage and screen for most of his career, Nimoy became forever associated with Star Trek, and in turn became the “face” of the unlikely hit show (despite the fact that he wasn’t the show’s nominal star). Nimoy was the only cast member to carry over from the 1964 pilot, The Cage, into the rest of Star Trek in the same role. He directed several movies, including the hit comedy Three Men And A Baby, Star Trek III and Star Trek IV, but turned down an invitation to direct Star Trek: Generations in 1994. At one point, he was attached as director to a 1990s TV movie revival of Doctor Who, though he had to pass on that project as well. Mr. Nimoy had revealed, months before his death, that he was suffering from COPD.