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The City Of Boston Declares March 26 To Be Leonard Nimoy Day

leonard nimoy day
By Hoai-Tran Bui/

Honestly, we should be thankful every day that Leonard Nimoy existed and brought to life an iconic (beautiful, wonderful, magnificent, handsome) character like Spock. But the city of Boston is going one step further and dedicating a whole day to the Star Trek actor, declaring March 26 to be Leonard Nimoy Day.

The Boston Globe reports that outgoing Mayor Martin J. Walsh has designated March 26 to be Leonard Nimoy Day in Boston "to honor the West End native's contribution to the arts in roles like Mr. Spock on Star Trek, as well as his dedication to the community." This coming March 26 would have been the late actor's 90th birthday.

Nimoy was born and raised in Boston, and "nurtured his acting talent" at the Elizabeth Peabody House and West End Boys Club, according to the proclamation. He received a summer scholarship for acting lessons at Boston College when he was a teenager, and later took an honorary degree from Boston University.

He would get his acting start in 1951, collecting many television credits through the '50s and '60s before he would land the role that would make him an icon: Spock on the sci-fi TV series Star Trek, the half-human, half-Vulcan fan-favorite of the show that would become a cultural phenomenon. Nimoy played Spock across multiple Star Trek shows and movies, including J.J. Abram's recent reboot films that saw Zachary Quinto taking on the role of a younger Spock. Nimoy also had a rich career outside of Star Trek, lending his voice to projects like Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Kingdom Hearts, and Transformers: Dark of the Moon, and carving out a career as a director as well, helming two Star Trek movies and films like Three Men and a Baby.

But enough can't be said about how much of a cultural impact Nimoy's portrayal of Spock has had, or how much dedication he showed to a role that could have easily been written off as a silly sci-fi goof. Nimoy sadly passed away in 2015 at the age of 83, but he lives on via the ongoing Star Trek franchise and his children have made the documentaries For the Love of Spock and Remembering Leonard Nimoy to celebrate his life. The character he portrayed and helped craft is still thriving, with Ethan Peck playing the character in the Paramount+ series Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.

"Leonard Nimoy brought honor upon his native city with his accomplishments as an actor, writer, producer, director, poet, photographer, and philanthropist," the proclamation says, referencing some of Nimoy's charitable causes, and adding, "Leonard Nimoy, through his fictional character, Mr. Spock — half human, half Vulcan — gave the immigrant, the refugee, and the oppressed, a hero for 'the Outsider.'"

Nimoy's daughter, Julie Nimoy, tweeted out a copy of the proclamation last week in an early celebration of Leonard Nimoy Day.

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