# Leonard Nimoy has died. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 27, 2015, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leonard-nimoy-has-died/713778 "2015-02-27T17:18:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2015, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leonard-nimoy-has-died/713778/181 "2015-03-01T14:41:46Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > šŸ˜• Idungetit. A tribute sounds nice, but why just those people in particular? (Okay, the inclusion of Shatner I do get.) The stars of the greatest Sci-Fi movie and television fandoms giving props to a fellow icon who passed away? Hamil as Luke Skywalker, Dullea as Dave Bowman ( 2001: a space odyssey) MacLachlin as Paul Atreides (Dune), and Boxleitner as Sheridan (Babaylon 5) ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2015, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leonard-nimoy-has-died/713778/182 "2015-03-01T15:50:22Z")
> [@outlierrn](#): > > So, I see that Westboro Baptist church is planning to protest the funeral. Thatā€™s one Iā€™d like to show up for the counter protest. My sign would be: > > Hate is illogical. Do they say why? I donā€™t get it. Nimoy wasnā€™t gay, was he? (I mean, IRL; not trying to spoil anyoneā€™s slashfic.) ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2015, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leonard-nimoy-has-died/713778/183 "2015-03-01T15:54:32Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Do they say why? I donā€™t get it. Nimoy wasnā€™t gay, was he? (I mean, IRL; not trying to spoil anyoneā€™s slashfic.) He associated with gays (Takei, Quinto) and people like Shatner (who ā€œhate Godā€). ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2015, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leonard-nimoy-has-died/713778/184 "2015-03-01T16:09:08Z")
Apropos: [![](http://i.pinimg.com/736x/e5/c6/18/e5c6184cce20a6cf081216d9fd8b8ba1.jpg) ](http://i.pinimg.com/736x/e5/c6/18/e5c6184cce20a6cf081216d9fd8b8ba1.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2015, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leonard-nimoy-has-died/713778/185 "2015-03-01T17:01:36Z")
Shatner has announced that he wonā€™t be at the funeral, because of a prior commitment to a charity event. Uh-huh. I suspect the densest man in Hā€™wood has finally clued that his presence isnā€™t wanted and would probably lead to other major figures finding excuses not to attend, which would be a crime. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2015, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leonard-nimoy-has-died/713778/186 "2015-03-01T17:10:26Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Shatner has announced that he wonā€™t be at the funeral, because of a prior commitment to a charity event. > > Uh-huh. I suspect the densest man in Hā€™wood has finally clued that his presence isnā€™t wanted and would probably lead to other major figures finding excuses not to attend, which would be a crime. I donā€™t see how Shatnerā€™s presence at the funeral wouldnā€™t have been wanted, as he and Nimoy were close friends, unlike say, James Doohan, George Takei, Walter Koenig, or Nichelle Nichols. I wonā€™t second-guess Shatnerā€™s inability to attend Nimoyā€™s funeral. Jean Stapleton was unable to attend Carrol Oā€™Connorā€™s funeral. Sometimes the timing just doesnā€™t work out. Either bail out on a charity commitment you made months in advance or miss the funeral of a friend who died within a day of the event. Damned if he does, damned if he doesnā€™t. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2015, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leonard-nimoy-has-died/713778/187 "2015-03-01T17:23:23Z")
Is it really any of our business who does or doesnā€™t go to his funeral? ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2015, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leonard-nimoy-has-died/713778/188 "2015-03-01T17:35:06Z")
Not mine. I just donā€™t get the irrational criticism of Shatner by some people every time his name is mentioned. Itā€™s almost as if every single one of them has had an unpleasant personal encounter with him. In Shatnerā€™s own words: ā€œGet a life.ā€ ---
**Author:** ![Hermione](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/cdc98d/32.png) [@Hermione](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermione)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2015, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leonard-nimoy-has-died/713778/189 "2015-03-01T17:37:29Z")
I can understand Shatner not being able to bail out of a charity commitment. Besides, from what Iā€™ve been told recently, in Jewish culture itā€™s more important to attend the shiva (the eight-day ā€œwakeā€) than the actual funeral. (Jewish funerals are usually held as quickly as possible, within 24 hours if they can do so.) ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2015, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leonard-nimoy-has-died/713778/190 "2015-03-01T19:04:55Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > I just donā€™t get the irrational criticism of Shatner by some people every time his name is mentioned. Itā€™s almost as if every single one of them has had an unpleasant personal encounter with him. > > In Shatnerā€™s own words: ā€œGet a life.ā€ Heā€™s a third-rate talent (charitably speaking) with an ego that made Orson Welles look modest, and by a lifetime of behavior if not clinical diagnosis heā€™s up with most Aspies in social obliviousness. He managed to deeply alienate some of the nicest, most accommodating people in the industry - Takei, for chrissakes? - and that Nimoy called him a close friend speaks far more of him than the Shat. Read any of his books - he just has No Idea why anyone thinks he and the ST crew arenā€™t still the best of buddies, and natters absolutely clueless things about why one or another of them wouldnā€™t take his call this or that time. Iā€™m a huge ST fan from the days before it needed a subindexā€¦ and I think Shatner is one of the most unpleasant people Iā€™ve ever seen. The more so because he works so hard at being cheery and hail-fellow-well-met and in the end is less bearable than blowhards like Donald Trump, who works at being an ass. Letā€™s face it, the Red Cross would accept any of a dozen replacements for him so he could attend the funeral of ā€œhis close friend,ā€ industry partner for fifty years and cultural siamese twin. And even for Shatner, even more so for Nimoy, Iā€™d bet the list of super-celebs who would step in is long. No. He knows heā€™s not wanted there by anyone not in a box. And has finally clued up enough to know that if he attends, significant other people will not. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2015, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leonard-nimoy-has-died/713778/191 "2015-03-01T20:03:58Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Letā€™s face it, the Red Cross would accept any of a dozen replacements for him so he could attend the funeral of ā€œhis close friend,ā€ industry partner for fifty years and cultural siamese twin. And even for Shatner, even more so for Nimoy, Iā€™d bet the list of super-celebs who would step in is long. At the last minute? With only a few hoursā€™ notice to get contracts signed? Especially on a weekend? :dubious: As I said before, the criticism of Shatner is often irrational. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2015, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leonard-nimoy-has-died/713778/192 "2015-03-01T20:05:32Z")
isnā€™t that being a little over dramatic? ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2015, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leonard-nimoy-has-died/713778/193 "2015-03-01T20:36:03Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > My wife and I first bonded playing Star Trek trivia, long before you had to specify Original Series. > > When I get home tonight, weā€™ll sing the [Ballad of Bilbo Baggins](http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CCEQyCkwAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DAGF5ROpjRAU&ei=L7TwVLfVKs38ggSHg4Ng&usg=AFQjCNFBEzlxbVx7QhH_djA8q_mfqOqhqA&sig2=auI7rCwvgjgWKYkb6siIDA&bvm=bv.87269000,d.eXY) in his memory. I was dressed as Spock when I met my wife. Very sad news indeed. ---
**Author:** ![Cumberdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@Cumberdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cumberdale)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2015, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leonard-nimoy-has-died/713778/194 "2015-03-01T20:38:08Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > You mean the natural aging process? Humor. It is a difficult concept. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2015, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leonard-nimoy-has-died/713778/195 "2015-03-01T21:15:40Z")
> [@Hermione](#): > > I can understand Shatner not being able to bail out of a charity commitment. Besides, from what Iā€™ve been told recently, in Jewish culture itā€™s more important to attend the shiva (the eight-day ā€œwakeā€) than the actual funeral. (Jewish funerals are usually held as quickly as possible, within 24 hours if they can do so.) Yes, orthodox rule is that youā€™re in the ground by sundown of they day you die. I donā€™t know how observant Nimoy was, but that could be a factor here. Itā€™s nothing unusual in this day and age for the family and friends of observant Jews to miss the _burial_, happens all the time what with people being flung all over the place. Shiva is, in many ways, more important. Itā€™s easy to say ā€œcharter a planeā€ but there are other factors, like weather, to consider. Iā€™d rather Mr. Shatner arrive safely to give his condolences than come to grief trying to get there too fast. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2015, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leonard-nimoy-has-died/713778/196 "2015-03-01T21:30:55Z")
> [@Enola\_Straight](#): > > The stars of the greatest Sci-Fi movie and television fandoms giving props to a fellow icon who passed away? > > Hamil as Luke Skywalker, Dullea as Dave Bowman ( 2001: a space odyssey) MacLachlin as Paul Atreides (Dune), and Boxleitner as Sheridan (Babaylon 5) Oh, okay, I see your point about the greatest fandoms but your identification of ā€œtheā€ stars of them sounds weirdly selective. Why wouldnā€™t, say, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford for Star Wars and Mira Furlan for Babylon 5 also be part of such a tribute? Did they have some kind of issues with Nimoy? (Iā€™m inclined to doubt it just because itā€™s hard for me to imagine anybody not liking Nimoy!) ---
**Author:** ![Hermione](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/cdc98d/32.png) [@Hermione](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermione)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2015, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leonard-nimoy-has-died/713778/197 "2015-03-01T22:15:58Z")
Iā€™ve got Fiddler on the Roof on TCM right now. Apparently, from what Iā€™ve heard, Leonard did a well-received stint as Tevye. I wish I could find a recording of him somewhere, or a YouTube clip, or something, but so far no dice. It kind of makes sense to have a _skinny_ Tevye, doesnā€™t it? Nearly everyone whoā€™s played Tevye has been quite plump, but isnā€™t this supposed to be a poor man who hardly knows where his next meal is coming from? ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2015, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leonard-nimoy-has-died/713778/198 "2015-03-01T22:36:00Z")
Some Tevyes are just more assiduous at finding their next meal than others, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2015, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leonard-nimoy-has-died/713778/199 "2015-03-01T22:51:25Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Heā€™s a third-rate talent (charitably speaking) with an ego that made Orson Welles look modest, and by a lifetime of behavior if not clinical diagnosis heā€™s up with most Aspies in social obliviousness. Letā€™s make William Shatner his own thread if you wish to continue talking about him. This one is about Leonard Nimoy. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2015, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leonard-nimoy-has-died/713778/200 "2015-03-01T23:07:53Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Heā€™s a third-rate talent (charitably speaking) with an ego that made Orson Welles look modest, and by a lifetime of behavior if not clinical diagnosis heā€™s up with most Aspies in social obliviousness. He managed to deeply alienate some of the nicest, most accommodating people in the industry - Takei, for chrissakes? - and that Nimoy called him a close friend speaks far more of him than the Shat. Read any of his books - he just has No Idea why anyone thinks he and the ST crew arenā€™t still the best of buddies, and natters absolutely clueless things about why one or another of them wouldnā€™t take his call this or that time. > > Iā€™m a huge ST fan from the days before it needed a subindexā€¦ and I think Shatner is one of the most unpleasant people Iā€™ve ever seen. The more so because he works so hard at being cheery and hail-fellow-well-met and in the end is less bearable than blowhards like Donald Trump, who works at being an ass. > > Letā€™s face it, the Red Cross would accept any of a dozen replacements for him so he could attend the funeral of ā€œhis close friend,ā€ industry partner for fifty years and cultural siamese twin. And even for Shatner, even more so for Nimoy, Iā€™d bet the list of super-celebs who would step in is long. > > No. He knows heā€™s not wanted there by anyone not in a box. And has finally clued up enough to know that if he attends, significant other people will not. Classy. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leonard-nimoy-has-died/713778.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leonard-nimoy-has-died/713778.md?page=11)