Leonard Nimoy passed away just one month shy of his 84th birthday.
Despite a long and varied career, Mr. Spock is still the first thing we think of when we hear his name.
Nimoy appeared in more than 135 TV series and movies – 70 of them before Star Trek ever launched the Enterprise into our consciousness.
He wrote, produced and even directed during his 60-year career. In fact, he was at the helm of the much-loved 1987 hit Three Men and a Baby.
But he couldn’t escape his alter-ego no matter how hard he tried.
Spock was the name that people shouted at him in the streets and led him to write the autobiography I Am Not Spock in 1975. For some time, it felt like an albatross around his neck, crowding his career.
But what a legacy. Despite being only half human and prone to strictly rational thought, Mr. Spock had a special place in our hearts.
Although he was not traditionally handsome by Hollywood standards, he had an attractive exotic quality.
Women wanted to warm his cool demeanour. Men liked his calm control.
And his systematic nature made science and technology fashionable to young minds of the time – although the doctors and tech-sperts in mini-skirts probably helped too.
Mr. Spock gave a unique perspective to every situation and cultural phenomenon that the Enterprise crew encountered.
And at a time when communities in the U.S. were experiencing the tensions and backlash of racial integration, Spock – the child of a Vulcan and a human – proved that while crossing those boundaries could be challenging at times, the result was worth it.
In the years that followed, Mr. Spock also influenced Hollywood’s creation of dozens of similar hybrid sci-fi characters that combined humanity and alien forms with kindness, honesty and a gentle dose of humour.
So it’s no wonder that Nimoy ultimately returned to shape the development of Spock in the movies. And 20 years after his first biography, he wrote his second: I Am Spock.
In theatres, Spock existed in the past, the present and the future. He was timeless because his honest, rational and fair approach to all was something that never fell out of style.
This creation is the legacy of Leonard Nimoy.
But it’s made me wonder … what kind of legacy are we going to leave?
I’ve been known as The Weather Lady, The Pet Lady, somebody’s daughter and someone else’s sister. Is that my legacy? Or is there more?
Most of us don’t have multi-million dollar movies or TV shows that are seen around the world.
Our words and actions will not have wide-spreading political repercussions.
Yet, with the growing influence and reach of social media, we do have more power than ever. So how are we going to use it?
Nimoy changed television and influenced generations with a sci-fi character on a silly little show that only ran three seasons almost 50 years ago.
Talk about “live long and prosper.”
