Tag: Leonard Nimoy

Leonard Nimoy didn’t know why the creators of the recent Star Trek-based Audi commercial had asked him to sing a few bars of his hilariously campy song from 1967, “The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins.” “I said, if you want me to do it, I’ll do it. I don’t know why it’s in the spot.” Nimoy, who created the role of Spock in the 1967-1969 series Star Trek, told me in a telephone interview that the response to song “was a complete surprise to me.”

Leonard Nimoy, who originated the role of science officer Spock in Star Trek back in 1966, hasn’t become as popular to modern audiences as co-stars William Shatner, the self-parodying Internet sensation, or George Takei, the Facebook tastemaker. But if he continues to make video shorts for Audi’s YouTube page like the one below (along with the current Spock, actor Zachary Quinto), he will be well on his way to wresting the title of Internet champ away from them both.

When Leonard Nimoy dies (hopefully in the very far distant future), he’ll have the words “I Was Spock,” written on his grave. That’s because he’s known worldwide and beyond as the logical pointy-eared Vulcan from Star Trek. But even his many fans, some of whom can tell you that Spock’s blood type is T-Negative, might not know much about the actor who plays him.