The acting bug bit Nimoy early on, and he was just eight years old when he appeared in his first play. He performed throughout his teen years at Boston's English High School, and after his graduation in 1949, he attended Boston College. leonard nimoy fringeyoung leonard nimoyleonard nimoy 2009leonard nimoy photographyleonard nimoy spockleonard nimoy star trek.
While playing the role of Ralphie in a collegiate production of Clifford Odets' "Awake and Sing," Nimoy noticed that another Odets play was making a professional, pre-Broadway debut in Boston. After seeking career advice from one of the play's established cast members, Nimoy submitted an application to California's Pasadena Playhouse. He made his way out to the West Coast using money he earned by selling vacuum cleaners.
By the early 1950s, Nimoy was appearing in bit parts in feature films, and his first title role came with 1952s boxing-themed Kid Monk Baroni. After a two-year stretch in the U.S. Army Reserve beginning in 1953, and marrying Sandra Zober in 1954, Nimoy resumed his acting career in 1955. He began studying with Jeff Corey, a highly respected acting coach, and continued to land bit parts on television series and B-movies. During this time, he became a father of two; daughter Julie was born in 1955 and son Adam followed in 1956.
After carving out a niche with day-player roles on the likes of "Dragnet," "The Rough Riders," "Sea Hunt," "Bonanza," "The Twilight Zone," "Dr. Kildaire" and "Perry Mason," Nimoy's featured role on a 1965 episode of "The Lieutenant" earned the attention of producer and writer Gene Roddenberry. At the time, Roddenberry was casting for the upcoming sci-fi series
"Star Trek," and thought Nimoy would be ideal for the role of the stoic, logical, and brilliant science officer known as Dr. Spock. Roddenberry even allowed Nimoy to contribute his own elements to the character. Nimoy developed both the pacifistic Vulcan Nerve Pinch and the two-fingered Vulcan salute; the latter is reportedly based on a Jewish blessing.
"Star Trek" premiered in 1966, and turned both Nimoy and co-star William Shatner into legitimate stars. The groundbreaking show garnered a steady following (and earned Nimoy three Emmy nominations), but forged an active rivalry between its two competitive leading men. "The truth is, every good actor has an ego," Shatner said in his book, Up Till Now: An Autobiography. "I was supposed to be the star, but Leonard was getting more attention than I was. It bothered me." Despite the show's cult popularity, "Star Trek" closed down production and was taken off the air by 1969.
