Getty Images Actor Leonard Nimoy does the Vulcan salute as he presents his photography exhibition
Today would have been Leonard Nimoy’s 90th birthday. The iconic Star Trek actor was born in Boston’s West End on March 26th, 1931. Nimoy remained a Boston boy through and through until his death in 2015.
Nimoy started his acting career as a young boy in Boston. He attended the Elizabeth Peabody House and the West End Boy’s Club, youth development programs in Boston that offered classes and activities for the community’s children. Nimoy’s talent earned him scholarships to attend summer acting programs at Boston College.
Even after he left the city to pursue a career in Hollywood, Nimoy remained deeply committed to his hometown. He used part of his Star Trek fortune to fund cancer research, scientific research, and scholarships for the arts in Boston.
To honor Nimoy’s contributions to Boston, the city is doing some special things for his birthday this year.
Leonard Nimoy Day
As a special tribute to dad @TheRealNimoy life and legacy, the @CityOfBoston just announced that on his birthday, 3/26 will officially be #LeonardNimoyDay! Thank you Mayor @marty_walsh for supporting this proclamation! @nimoycopdfilm #COPD
Last week, Nimoy’s daughter Julie Nimoy announced on Twitter that Boston’s Mayor, Martin J. Walsh, had issued a proclamation declaring March 26th Leonard Nimoy day in Boston. She included an image of the official proclamation in the tweet.
It summarized Nimoy’s strong ties to Boston and the contributions he’d made to the community. The proclamation also stated that his Star Trek character, Spock, gave a voice to all the “outsiders” in the world, which was especially important to a city like Boston. As a city filled with immigrants and refugees, Spock made the “outsiders” of Boston feel welcome.
The proclamation ended with the words, “although he has passed, he will always be remembered as a valued constituent dedicated to both the arts and his community.”
So, every March 26th from this day forward will officially be Leonard Nimoy Day in Boston.
The Leonard Nimoy Memorial at Science Park
Happy #LeonardNimoyDay! The Museum of Science and @JulieNimoy and the family of Bostonian Leonard Nimoy are thrilled to announce the future home of the @TheRealNimoy memorial at Science Park! But we need your help to make it happen! t.co/FzoOphDgz2 #LLAP [1/6]
To celebrate the inaugural Leonard Nimoy Day, the Boston Museum of Science made a very special announcement. In a tweet from its official account, the museum staff revealed that Science Park was chosen as the location for an official memorial to the Star Trek actor. The tweet included a mockup of the memorial, a giant hand making the iconic Live Long and Prosper symbol.
The tweet also included a link to a page on the museum’s website, which told the story behind the memorial. Nimoy had been involved with the museum for years, even serving as the voice behind its Mugar Omni Theater preshow. Both Nimoy and his Star Trek character were advocates for scientific exploration, the pursuit of knowledge, and inclusion, which the museum staff wrote aligned with its own values. So, they felt that honoring Nimoy with a memorial at their location was a perfect tribute.
The museum’s staff has been working with Nimoy’s daughter to plan the memorial for quite some time. They’ve also been working with a Boston-based sculptor named David Phillips, whose sculpture “Scrolls” sits outside the New England Conservatory of Music.
The designer of the sculpture is Tom Stocker, another Boston-based artist, the Beacon Hill Times reported. Stocker worked closely with Nimoy’s daughter to finalize the design for the LLAP monument, which was inspired by Phillips’ work.
Currently, there’s no timeline for the construction of the sculpture. The Boston Museum of Science is running a fundraiser for the memorial, which will continue until the project is funded.
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