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Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Nimoy spent much time in live theater, and appeared as a guest star in many television shows. One of his better-known roles was that of Tevye the dairyman, in the musical Fiddler on the Roof, based on the series of short stories by Yiddish author Sholom Aleichem.
Nimoy's most famous role is the half-Vulcan named Spock from the original Star Trek television series (1966-1969). He earned three Emmy nominations for playing this character. Nimoy went on to reprise Spock's character in a voice-over role in Star Trek: The Animated Series, in two episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and in six Star Trek motion pictures featuring the original cast.
Following the cancellation of the original Trek, Nimoy played a spy called Paris in the hit television series Mission Impossible from 1969-1971. In the late 1970s he hosted and narrated the television series In Search Of, which investigated paranormal or unexplained events or subjects.
After directing a few television show episodes, Nimoy broke into film directing in 1984 with the successful third installment of the Star Trek film series (Star Trek III: The Search for Spock). Nimoy would go on to direct Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) and move beyond the Trek universe with Three Men and a Baby in 1987.
Nimoy has written two autobiographies, the first one called I Am Not Spock (1977). The title of this book was controversial, as many fans incorrectly assumed that Nimoy was distancing himself from the Spock character; however, Nimoy's stated intention was merely to remind the public at large that Spock and Nimoy were not one and the same.
His second autobiography was entitled I Am Spock (1995), and this title was meant to communicate to the readership that after many years, he realized that his years of portraying the Spock character led to a much greater identification between the fictional character and the real person. Over the years Nimoy has had much input into how Spock would act in certain situations, and, conversely, Nimoy's contemplation of how Spock acted in various stories gave him cause to think about things in a way that he never would have thought if he had not portrayed this character. As such, in this autobiography Nimoy maintains that in some meaningful sense, he really is now Spock, and Spock is him, while at the same time maintaining the distance between fact and fiction.
Nimoy has also written several volumes of poetry, some published along with a number of his photographs. His latest poetry book, released May 2002, is entitled A Lifetime of Love: Poems on the Passages of Life (Blue Mountain Press).
During and following the Star Trek years, Nimoy also released several albums of vocal recordings, including Trek-related songs and cover versions of popular tunes.
Nimoy has long been active in the Jewish community, and is an adherent of Reform Judaism. In 1997 he narrated the documentary A Life Apart: Hasidism in America, about the various sects of Hasidic Orthodox Jews. In October 2002 Nimoy published Shekhina, a photographic study of women intended to visualize the feminine aspect of God's presence, inspired by Kabbalah (esoteric Jewish mysticism.)
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Trivia
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