Leonard Nimoy was born March 26, 1931 in Boston, Massachusetts. His parents were Orthodox Jewish immigrants from what is now known as the Ukraine. Nimoy began acting at the age of eight in children's and neighborhood theater. Though his parents wanted him to puirsue a more traditional career, it was his grandfather who sided with his choice of acting as a career.
Leonard Nimoy was a veteran having served as a Sergeant in the U.S. Army just after the Korean War from 1953 to 1955.
Live Long and Prosper
His famous Vulcan Salute, or symbol, where often he said "Live Long and Prosper" was actually based upon an Orthodox Blessing he witnessed as a child when his grandfather took him to an Orthodox synagogue. The memory of that event stuck with him for the rest of his life.
Interesting side note, The symbol has become so well-known that in June 2014 it was added to version 7 of the Unicode standard as U+1F596.
The death of Leonard Nimoy
Nimoy revealed that he has 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)].
On February 19, 2015, Nimoy was rushed to UCLA Medical Center for severe chest pains after a call to 911. According to accounts, he had been in and out of hospitals for the "past several months."
Nimoy died on February 27, 2015 in his Bel Air home from final complications from COPD, according to his wife Susan. He was 83 years old.
#LeonardNimoy
#LiveLongAndProsper
#Spock
#StarTrek
