'Leonard' tracks lifetime friendship between Leonard Nimony and William Shatner

Leonard

My Fifty-Year Friendship With a Remarkable Man

nolead begins By William Shatner with David Fisher

Thomas Dunne. 278 pp. $25.99

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Reviewed by Jon Caroulis

nolead ends First, Leonard Nimoy wrote a book, I Am Not Spock. Then he wrote I Am Spock. So who was he? His Star Trek costar William Shatner tries to find out in his memoir, Leonard: My Fifty-Year Friendship With A Remarkable Man.

Writing in a conversational tone (with the help of David Fisher) about Nimoy, who died last year at 83, Shatner explores their insecurities as young actors with families to support, working together on the series, appearing at conventions and later in the movies, while being forever labeled as Kirk and Spock. That had its good points (fame, money, security) and bad points (typecasting, and fans who could sometimes be annoying).

Both were children of Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe, both grew up in modest circumstances (Shatner in Montreal, Nimoy in Boston), and both decided they wanted to be actors at an early age. Their acting styles couldn't have been more different. Nimoy was quiet, introspective; Shatner was high-energy, acting on his emotions.

Both guest-starred on a 1964 episode of The Man from U.N.C.L.E., but neither remembered meeting. They again met when Shatner was cast as Capt. James T. Kirk in the second pilot of Star Trek (network executives thought Jeffrey Hunter, the Enterprise's first captain, was too cerebral, and he left). Nimoy had already been cast as the Enterprise's science officer from the planet Vulcan, complete with devil-like ears that took hours to apply.

Nimoy's Spock was a singular character: Vulcans suppress their emotions in favor of logic. So how could Spock relate to the emotion-driven humans? That was Nimoy's challenge, and he was up to it. He created mannerisms - the raised eyebrow, for instance, and the often- used adjective fascinating. He was always exploring the depths of his character, and it was Nimoy who created the Vulcan greeting, "Live long and prosper" and the Vulcan nerve pinch, which logically incapacitated enemies without violence. After he brought the character to life, he had to live with Spock. He later told a journalist, "I became more rational, I became more logical. I became more thoughtful. I became less emotional."

What Shatner didn't know about Nimoy during the series' three-year run was that he wrote poetry and was interested in photography. He was a many-sided individual, and though Nimoy might have become typecast as Spock, the character allowed him to explore and profit from those interests. His first volume of poetry, You & I, sold more than 50,000 copies in hardback and 250,000 in paperback. Fans probably bought them thinking they were getting Spock's poetry, not Nimoy's. He was only a fair singer, but fans also bought Nimoy's records.

They were friendly while making the TV Star Trek, Shatner writes, but not close. At first, Shatner was jealous because Nimoy got more fan mail. "Unlike any other movie or TV show on which I've worked, where the end of the shoot invariably marked the end of many friendships, the end of the series after three seasons was just the beginning of a friendship that was to last a lifetime," he writes.

Star Trek did not end with the show's cancellation. The cast began appearing at fan conventions. It was at a 1975 convention that the two starting becoming close. Then came the six Star Trek movies, with Nimoy directing two of them and Shatner one. Nimoy also directed the megahit Three Men and a Baby.

I wish Shatner had explored why Spock became such a fascinating character in American culture (and around the world, for that matter) and held the public's imagination for decades. I also would have liked to have seen some of Nimoy's photos.

This is a book Star Trek fans will love. Nonfans will also find this work interesting, learning how actors work at their craft and find jobs - and how that life can cause family problems (Nimoy and his son were estranged for many years), but also how actors can live long and prosper.

Jon Caroulis is a writer from Jenkintown.