Leonard Nimoy Dies; Family, Costars and Celebs Share Remembrances

Leonard Nimoy as Spock giving the Vulcan hand sign
CBS /Landov
Leonard Nimoy

Leonard Nimoy, best known as Star Trek’s pointy-eared Vulcan Mr. Spock, has reportedly died from pulmonary disease at age 83.

One of the best-known stars of the series, Nimoy debuted the role of half-human, half-Vulcan Spock when Star Trek premiered in 1966. As the logical, stalwart right-hand man to Captain Kirk, he made made Vulcan death grips and split-fingered salutes a permanent part of the pop culture world, and cemented “live long and prosper” as more than a catch phrase.

The New York Times paints a rich picture of Nimoy’s life beyond the iconic character. And on Twitter, his granddaughter Dani Schwartz posted a remembrance through Nimoy’s Twitter account:

Leonard Nimoy 1931-2015

Hi all, as you all know, my Grandpa passed away this morning at 8:40 from end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. He was an extraordinary man, husband, grandfather, brother, actor, author-the list goes on- and friend. Thank you for the warm condolences. May you all LLAP. – Dani

P.s. I will be putting special shirts up on our site, SHOPLLAP.com, where all of the proceeds will go to the COPD Foundation. I hope to hear from you all.

COPD is short for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, the illness that caused Nimoy’s death.

Around the Web, celebrities mourned the loss of one of their own:

my heart is broken. i love you profoundly my dear friend. and i will miss you everyday. may flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.

A photo posted by Zachary Quinto (@zacharyquinto) on

— Diana Oliveira contributed to this story.

MORE: Isaac Asimov’s 1967 essay on how Spock made smart sexy.