Live On and Prosper

Photo by Lito Velasco

Last Saturday, my friends and I attended a triple feature of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Star Trek III: The Search For Spock, and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home at the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica, CA. The night was a tribute to the late actor/director Leonard Nimoy and producer Harve Bennett, both of whom passed away in late February. Wrath of Khan director Nicholas Meyer and Nimoy's son Adam separately took the stage beforehand to introduce the films and reminisce about the departed.

The tears streamed as expected during Spock's iconic death scene at the end of Wrath of Khan, but the most emotional moments of the night unexpectedly came at the end of Nimoy's directorial debut, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. From McCoy's heartfelt confession to the unconscious Spock that he's missed him since his passing until the final image of the newly resurrected Vulcan raising his inquisitive eyebrow at the friend who had just risked his own life and career to save him, I was an emotional wreck. Never had the two films held so much meaning, and never was the comedic charm of The Voyage Home more welcome. It was almost as if Nimoy (who also directed the fourth installment) knew that this triple feature would one day come when he demanded that the film be a lighter tone than the previous two installments.

With Mr. Nimoy and his impact on my life very fresh in my thoughts, I wanted to post a tribute that I wrote on my Facebook page back in February on the morning of his passing. I thought it was worth sharing with more than just my friends and family.

From February 27, 2015:

Looking back, I always had the desire to write as a kid. I had many notebooks and word documents full of incomplete gibberish, and I wrote a couple derivative science fiction stories in fourth and fifth grade that featured myself as an astronaut, but I never had any particular destination in mind. It was just some foolish thing kids did like build rockets out of soda bottles. But when a dear friend introduced me to STAR TREK at the age of 12, I was transformed. Suddenly, I had this insatiable desire to tell stories.

The first screenplay I ever attempted and the first short stories I wrote with the foolish hope of being published were all set in the world of STAR TREK, and specifically focused on the complex Mr. Spock in particular. It's no wonder why I was drawn to the guy with the pointed ears. After all, I was never the handsome and smooth talking Captain Kirk, I was always the socially awkward guy who tended to stick out visually, and question people's actions and interests while remaining steadfast in my own, no matter how much my shipmates-- I mean classmates made fun of me. In Spock--an alien among humans who was often torn between his human and Vulcan heritage--I see myself. I think we all do when we watch him, which is why I seriously refer to him as the most brilliantly conceived character of all time.

The visionary Gene Roddenberry may have created him, but it was Leonard Nimoy who brought Spock to life, and who protected the character throughout the past 49 years.

I had the honor of meeting Mr. Nimoy twice. The first time was at a STAR TREK convention in Chicago when I was fourteen. We exchanged a few pleasant words in the brief seconds we had in an autograph line (He signed my hardcover copy of his autobiography "I Am Spock" and a Spock-shaped decanter from STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE in case you were wondering). I had gotten to see him play Spock on stage (not in costume) in a live reading of SPOCK VS. Q with John de Lancie the night before, but the highlight of the weekend came after the signing. Alone on stage, Mr. Nimoy told the packed auditorium the story of when he used to moonlight as a cab driver while trying to make it as an actor. One night, he ended up with a young unknown senator in his cab by the name of Jack Kennedy. A Boston native, Nimoy instantly recognized him, and the two future icons conversed about their shared home state. Kennedy eventually asked Nimoy what he did for a living when he wasn't driving a cab. Despite his embarrassment, Nimoy admitted, "I'm trying to be an actor."

"Don't worry," Kennedy said, "There's always room for one more good one."

Over a decade later, Mr. Nimoy wound up in my office one morning, and my co-workers were kind enough to let me escort him to the recording studio where his session was. In the 60 seconds we had together, I reminded him of the story he'd told back in Chicago about his meeting President Kennedy. It was amazing to see Mr. Spock's face light up with a smile in response to something you had said. I told him how that story always stuck with me, and that I was now living in Los Angeles, "trying to be a writer." He wished me the best with a genuine smile before being whisked away by the people he was meeting.

If we had had more time together, I'm sure I would've screwed things up. I'm sure I would've gone on and on about STAR TREK and my favorite episodes ("Amok Time," "City On the Edge of Forever," "This Side of Paradise," etc.), and WRATH OF KHAN, and how well he directed THE SEARCH FOR SPOCK and THE VOYAGE HOME. I'm sure I would've rambled about how his appearance in J.J. Abrams' first STAR TREK film was the most surreal moviegoing moment I'd ever had because my first unfinished screenplay was a far less clever attempt to bring Spock back into the fold. And I'm sure I even would've thrown in some references to THREE MEN AND A BABY, IN SEARCH OF, BECKER or NEVER FORGET too.

I was glad I hadn't mentioned STAR TREK or Spock simply because I could only imagine how often that happened to him. How tired it could get to be constantly reminded of it, despite the great honor of having done something that has inspired and touched so many. It was okay that I didn't get to mention it. Making Spock smile was enough.

But I don't remember if I had managed to fit a "Thank you" into that brief conversation we shared. I hope I did. A creative ambition was always within me, along with an obsessive fascination with film, television and storytelling, but it was STAR TREK and especially Leonard Nimoy's portrayal of Spock that directed my focus and centered my course. I hope I did, but if I didn't...

Thank you, Mr. Nimoy.