Leonard Nimoy (1931—2015)

Nimoy in 2011

... dead at age 83, of complications of COPD. He was Spock and a whole lot more; I can't think of a single public figure who lived a fuller life. Just look at that works list on Wikipedia! What comes next? I don't know, but Nimoy was still wishing people LLAP ("live long and prosper," a canonical Vulcan greeting) even near the end of his life. If that's possible, Nimoy is just the post-Vulcan soul to do it.

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AFTERWORD: Stella likes classic TV. I like Erle Stanley Gardner, in print or in Raymond Burr's fine realization of Gardner's character Perry Mason. Between the two of us, we watch a lot of Perry Mason, and I happened to be watching an episode on MeTV tonight, "The Case of the Shoplifter's Shoe." When the soon-to-be-revealed murderer took the stand, I thought I recognized the actor, but didn't believe my eyes. When the credits rolled at the end, my initial identification was confirmed: yes, it was a very young Leonard Nimoy! His long and prosperous career as Spock notwithstanding, Nimoy was capable of doing just about anything he set his mind to, including hardboiled detective fiction.