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We cover a lot of serious, wonky topics in this space, and we do so for a reason: By looking back at the RN&R‘s coverage of important issues in the past, we can examine how those same issues are affecting us today.
In May, we were especially serious: Our “From the Archives” topics concerned the pandemic; the increased importance, maybe, of this year’s lieutenant governor’s race; the never-ending Lear Theater mess; and Nevada’s crappy tax system.
For a change of pace, we’re going to start June by digging into our archives to share a piece from 29 years ago—that is simply a good read.
Did you know that Leonard Nimoy was, for decades, a part-time Lake Tahoe resident? That he directed Three Men and Baby? And that he was part of a Nevada City photographers’ guild? These are just a few tidbits from our May 28, 1997, cover story, “Spock Speaks: The News & Review Talks With Lake Tahoe Resident Leonard Nimoy,” penned by Annie Blachley.
The piece—published with a sidebar on the “Judeo-Vulcan ethic,” and a smaller sidebar (penned by RN&R calendar/events goddess Kelley Lang) on a local Star Trek fan club—is one of those magazine-style profiles in which the author inserts themselves a bit too much, in my humble opinion, but that’s a matter of preference. Undeniably, the piece has some nice details—and, as I mentioned above, it’s definitely a good read.
Here it is, in its entirety.
Gravelly.
That’s the only way to describe that voice-and from the very first word he says, there’s no mistaking it. Its roughness commands the ear to take note, not because of its harshness but, ultimately, because of the familiar integrity it imparts. He chooses his words carefully, for emphasis, but his manner is cooperative and open. I see none of the emotional barriers often raised by major celebrities as shields against the manipulation-and misquotes-sometimes aimed at them by the media.
The famed Lake Tahoe resident has just returned from five weeks on location in Morocco and is bound for New York. His assistant tells me he can only spare “a few minutes” for a brief interview—yet he graciously takes the time to elaborate, unhurried, on every question.
What’s going on here? Where is that that terse, guarded exterior, that coldly scientific, logic-obsessed demeanor as embodied in the popular character he created some 30 years ago? I quickly conclude that Leonard Nimoy, the consummate actor-director-producer-writer, projects none of the above. Rather, his words convey a warmth of spirit, and his persona, at age 65, appears to be mellowing like a fine cognac.
So it’s not really surprising, then, that this accomplished aesthete eschews the superficial glitz and fast-track trappings of Hollywood to savor the peace, quiet, and unobstructed views of Lake Tahoe. He describes his schedule as erratic, with much traveling and location work. But as often as he can, he returns to his lakefront home where, as he puts it, “as soon as I get here. I get a deep breath.”
I ask him what draws him back, what lures him to spend time here digging out from snowdrifts when he could be swimming and sunning in Southern California. He answers calmly, without missing a beat, “serenity.” He elaborates easily on the other attributes: “The slower pace. The visual beauty. The change of seasons. People who are friendly, welcoming and more accommodating.” He emphasizes that life at the lake provides a highly prized breather from Tinsel Town (translation: a lower stress level than he’s accustomed to living with in Los Angeles).
Nimoy first discovered the area years ago when visiting friends who lived in Homewood. Eventually, he bought a condo in Incline Village, then his house near Tahoe City. By 1987, he was spending at least two weeks here each summer, and now he averages about four months of each year at the lake. He sometimes works here, as when he was completing the editing on Three Men and a Baby, the box-office blockbuster he directed. Nimoy shipped up editing equipment from Hollywood, the Southern California-based editors jumped at the chance to work at the rented Tahoe office, and the film had its pre-release screening as a test preview at Incline Village’s Village Theatre.
The Voyage Home
Nimoy relates his experiences as Hollywood director and world-travelled performer with a self-effacing manner that belies the depth and breadth of a lifetime of major accomplishments.
He began paying his dues at age 18 as a struggling actor, when he left his native Boston for Hollywood to live in a rooming house, work at odd jobs, and take acting classes. A few years later, he landed a small part in his first feature film, Queen for a Day, then found steady work in episodic television shows such as Wagon Train, Perry Mason and The Man From U.N.C.L.E. in the late 1950s and early ’60s. More work followed in films and television, and Nimoy’s career seemed to be humming smoothly along the highway.
But fate, fortune, destiny—or whatever impels us along our respective routes in life—intervened. There are those of us who meander down the road, oblivious to the oblique signals popping up ahead like highway markers. Nimoy took a gamble by heeding the signal that appeared in his path in 1966: the offer of a groundbreaking part in an unproven science-fiction television series. His choice to take the role proved to be a fortuitous one: The series was Star Trek.
Nimoy’s portrayal of Spock, the pointy-eared, Vulcan-human alien hybrid. earned him three Emmy nominations, and a complex worldwide subculture has arisen from the ashes of the short-lived series (which seems to have found life eternal, airing in syndication). The original concept has spawned several spinoff series and eight feature films.
Nimoy has aligned himself closely with the Star Trek phenomena, racking up director credits on two Star Trek feature films: Star Trek III: The Search for Spock and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. His additional credits include story writer and executive producer on Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. He says he maintains close ties with Paramount Pictures, the home base for Star Trek productions, and is making appearances at conventions celebrating 30 years of Star Trek.
“I’m very proud of my connection with the show,” he says candidly. He adds that this connection has given him security as an actor, a rare distinction achieved by only a small percentage of performers. His association with the short-lived television show that went on to become an industry in itself has also opened doors to other opportunities.
Besides directing Three Men and a Baby, Nimoy has directed the feature films The Good Mother, starring Diane Keaton and Liam Neeson, Funny About Love, with Gene Wilder, Christine Lahti and Mary Stuart Masterson, and Holy Matrimony, starring Patricia Arquette and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
Not content to operate exclusively in the world of film, Nimoy has appeared extensively on the stage, including The Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of Sherlock Holmes and Broadway’s Equus and Full Circle. He served as co-producer and performed as a survivor of the Holocaust who waged a successful court battle against “historic revisionists” in the cable TV production Never Forget. His son, Adam Nimoy, directed a recent Outer Limits TV series episode.
In addition to performing on stage, screen, and television, Nimoy has written three volumes of poetry and recorded 10 narrative albums, and teamed with legendary science fiction author Isaac Asimov on one story, which became the premise for a monthly comic book, PriMortals.
Search for Spock
Despite the varied distinctions of his performing career, Nimoy cannot avoid being associated with the character of Spock and Star Trek. I hesitate to bring up the subject—l ask him if he minds if I pose a question about the series, a subject he has discussed ad nauseam.
Nimoy answers, with no trace of annoyance, that he doesn’t mind. I phrase my question: How does he explain the eternal popularity of Star Trek?
“Science fiction has come light years—if you’ll pardon the expression—from what it once was,” Nimoy answers. He goes on to say that 30 or 40 years ago, science fiction was just a subgenre of fiction. In 1966, when the first Star Trek made its television debut, Nimoy remembers the show’s major competitor was Lost in Space, a show that “didn’t really have anything to do with mankind, or offering illumination into our lives,” he says.
He notes that Star Trek, on the other hand, “offers an ethical structure that’s appealing. The Federation of Planets (the fictional intergalactic alliance that sent the Enterprise on its ‘five-year mission’) is a meritocracy, made up of professionals who have done their research and are deserving of their jobs.”
A meritocracy? That’s a new one on me, but Nimoy is right on the mark with his personal assessment of the Star Trek future: My Webster’s defines meritocracy as an intellectual elite, based on academic achievement—or a system in which such an elite achieves special status, as in positions of leadership.
“Audiences are thrilled by the levels of values,” Nimoy says. “We’ve successfully touched on the human condition, to enlighten and entertain,” and to give us a sense of what humans can accomplish.
“The stories have endured. Even younger audiences can re-watch and find new levels of values,” he says.
No wonder the creator of Star Trek, the late Gene Roddenberry, referred to Nimoy as “the conscience of Star Trek.” In the context of Nimoy as guardian angel of the positive attributes of Star Trek, it makes perfect sense that as a story writer, he would be the major force behind Star Trek IV, the most successful film in the series, and the only one to address the possible extinction of humpback whales.
Nimoy hasn’t always been comfortable with his identity as Spock. In 1975, he wrote an autobiography titled I Am Not Spock and was hesitant about reprising his famous role for the first Star Trek film in 1979. Today, he has come to terms with his alter ego, as evidenced in the recently published sequel, I Am Spock.
Still immersed in the world of science fiction, he and partner John de Lancie have formed a new company, Alien Voices. Nimoy describes the venture, which produces science fiction classics for audio, as “audio theatre.” Fellow science fiction actors and writers appear in the productions, including de Lancie, best known for his recurring role as the omnipotent alien “Q” in Star Trek: The Next Generation and the current Star Trek: Voyager television series.
Besides his productions for audio, Nimoy’s latest film work took place in Morocco on a film in which he portrayed the prophet Samuel, who was sent by God to find the King of the Israelites, Saul. Produced as a television movie for the Turner Network, the production aired in March.
I ask what’s next on the horizon and he answers reflectively that he’s not actively seeking out work. “I’m being very selective with my time, rather than being pulled around by work,” he explains.
Then, as he talks about a subject obviously close to his heart, the lift in his voice is clearly audible. “I’m back into my old love: photography,” he says. He shoots only in black and white, using either a Minolta or a Nikon, and does his own film processing and printing. His approach: using the figure as landscape. He’s involved with a photographers’ guild in Nevada City, where a show of his photographs was presented last month. The next exhibit of his work will open at the Los Angeles Convention Center in June.
So Leonard Nimoy continues to express his talents, moving from one type of lens and lighting to another—not really such a stretch for a major feature film director.
Meanwhile, the franchise he helped create continues to live long and prosper. The Las Vegas Hilton plans to open Star Trek: The Experience, a $70 million ride and exhibit devoted to the series.
The ninth Star Trek movie opens in November of 1998. But, dammit Jim, Spock won’t be in that one.
Nimoy would remain a part-time Tahoe resident until 2014, when he sold his Tahoe City home.
According to a 2015 Sierra Sun piece, “The Nimoys were longtime supporters of the Lake Tahoe Music Festival and other nonprofits in the Lake Tahoe area, and they frequently attended high-end fundraisers and gala events, such as the inaugural ‘Art of All Things’ dinner and art auction Aug. 15, 2011, at the West Shore Café. The former actor was also an outspoken community member in the mid- to late-2000s regarding (the) controversy surrounding the Lake Forest Water Company, which came under fire for water quality and supply issues.”
Nimoy died at the age of 83 on Feb. 27, 2015.
—Jimmy Boegle
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