This is illogical.
Leonard Nimoy, age 83, has died. The director, writer, and legendary actor passed away Friday morning at his home in Bel Air, according to reports. Susan Bay Nimoy, Leonard”s wife of 26 years, confirmed the cause of death was end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Mr. Nimoy had made it no secret that he suffered from COPD. He blamed his condition on years of smoking, despite having kicked the habit three decades ago, and implored his fans not to ever smoke.
I quit smoking 30 yrs ago. Not soon enough. I have COPD. Grandpa says, quit now!! LLAP
– Leonard Nimoy (@TheRealNimoy) January 30, 2014
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The iconic “Star Trek” actor had been hospitalized earlier in the week after firefighters responded to a medical call at Nimoy”s home. By that Sunday, Nimoy posted what would be his final tweet to his over 1.1 million followers.
A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. LLAP
– Leonard Nimoy (@TheRealNimoy) February 23, 2015
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Widely recognized for his role as the earnest, stoic, logical half-Vulcan first officer on Gene Roddenberry”s “Star Trek,” Leonard Nimoy gave the better part of his professional life to the fandom that buoyed his career. From “The Original Series” and its subsequent films to cameos and comic-cons, Nimoy struggled with being a cultural touchstone before ultimately embracing the status. His two autobiographies captured this change of heart.
“I Am Not Spock,” written in 1975, spoke to the strange nether space inhabited only by actors who play characters fully embraced by pop culture; a place where the real person is eclipsed by the fictional one, leaving the actor struggling to inhabit other roles or even be seen a person and not an extension of their mythologicalized alter-ego. By 1995, however, when Nimoy published his second autobiography “I Am Spock”, he had found a way to live as both the man and the myth.
While most well-known for his role on the USS Enterprise, Nimoy was also an accomplished director, getting behind the camera for both “Star Trek III: The Search for Spock” and “Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.” Outside of Star Trek, his film “Three Men and A Baby” was widely successful.
In the last years of his life, Leonard Nimoy always signed off from social media with LLAP (Live Long and Prosper). And he did just that.