Star Trek Star Leonard Nimoy Dies at 83

Leonard Nimoy, the character actor most famous for playing Mr. Spock in the original Star Trektelevision series and feature films, has died, according to The New York Times. He was 83.

Nimoy, who was rushed to the hospital last week with chest pains, died in his Bel Air, Calif., home, his wife confirmed. The actor had been suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Born in Boston, Nimoy got his acting break with the 1952 film Kid Monk Baroni. He went on to have bit parts in Dragnet, Perry Mason and the film Get Smart before being cast as the half-Vulcan, half-human Spock, the role that launched him into stardom. Star Trek ran from 1966 to 1969 and Nimoy earned three Emmy nominations for the role. He later reprised the role in a number of Star Trek feature films. In 2009, J.J. Abrams directed a reboot with Zachary Quinto portraying Spock, but Nimoy made a cameo as an alternate version of the character.

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Nimoy also had a prolific career as a voice actor and narrator, and he also directed a handful of films, including Three Men and a Baby. More recently, Nimoy had a recurring role on the Fox series Fringe, which ended in 2013, and was heard as the voice of Spock on an episode of The Big Bang Theory. He also became a writer, publishing two autobiographies and books of poetry.

Nimoy is survived by his second wife Susan; his children, Adam and Julie; a stepson, Aaron,; six grandchildren; one great-grandchild and an older brother.

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