Like geeks everywhere, we're saddened to learn of the passing of Leonard Nimoy.

February 27, 2015

2 Min Read
Light Reading Salutes Leonard Nimoy: He Lived Long & Prospered

Light Reading is sad to learn of the passing of Leonard Nimoy at the age of 83, as we suspect many of our readers will be.

Nimoy was best known as Mr. Spock in Star Trek, becoming a star -- albeit a sometimes conflicted one -- by playing an overly logical Vulcan, an analytical counter-weight to William Shatner's swashbuckingly campy Captain Kirk.

Like many of you, our first glimpse of the future possibilities of communications came not from a service provider or phone maker but was beamed at us over the TV in near-constant reruns of Gene Rodenberry's 60s sci-fi show. The show's communicator devices directly influenced the evolution of mobile communications. (See Many Happy Return Calls! and Martin Cooper - The Spectrum Avenger.)

Martin Cooper, the inventor of the cellphone, has said that he got the idea from watching Star Trek. Motorola's StarTAC, its first flip phone, which was introduced in 1996, was named in honor of the show and is a similar design to the communicator devices.

A quick poll of Light Reading staff found that many had been touched by Nimoy's greatness. Founder and CEO Stephen Saunders, seen below dressed as Spock, is a big Star Trek fan, obviously.

Figure 1: Saunders as Spock Saunders tells us that this shot was taken 24 years ago at a party, where he had rigged up a tape recorder to play the Star Trek theme in a loop. Endlessly. All night long. Saunders tells us that this shot was taken 24 years ago at a party, where he had rigged up a tape recorder to play the Star Trek theme in a loop. Endlessly. All night long.

Editor-in-chief Ray Le Maistre is partial to Nimoy's spooky turn in the 1978 remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

Mobile editor Dan Jones listened endlessly to Nimoy's cult hit "The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins" as a child.

West Coast Bureau Chief Mitch Wagner would never admit to getting a little misty-eyed over Spock's death scene at the end of Star Trek II.

Also a sentimental favorite: The funeral scene that follows.

The bagpipes get Mitch every time. Every. Single. Time.

Whichever flavor of Nimoy you prefer, we hope you'll join us in saying a fond farewell to a great actor, who lived long, and well, and prospered.

— The Staff, Light Reading

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