How ‘Star Trek’ Fans Try to Save Spock Before ‘Wrath of Khan’

It’s a bit surreal to think back to what everyday life was like in 1981. Way back then, there was no internet, no social media, and, thankfully, there were very few online message boards to pick apart every leak emerging from a closed movie set. If you wanted to know what was happening in the world or the scoop on your favorite TV show or movie, you had to wait for the daily newspaper to arrive on your front porch.

With that said, the story I’m about to relate concerns a news item that surfaced during the Fall of 1981, revealing that everyone’s favorite Vulcan, Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy), was in critical condition and reported to be near death. The rumor mill had been busy all summer. Word had leaked out that the pointy-eared hero who had survived so many battles was going to be killed off in the upcoming Star Trek movie.