Leonard Nimoy, Spock from 'Star Trek,' Dies at 83

Leonard Nimoy, the actor best known for playing the emotionless, pointy-eared Spock on the "Star Trek" television series, died on Friday, according to published reports. He was 83.

The Associated Press, citing Nimoy's son, and the Los Angeles Times, citing his wife, reported the death.

As the half-human, half-alien chief science officer for the Starship Enterprise, Spock gave the world the indelible blessing "Live long and prosper" and his familiar split-fingered Vulcan salute. He was second in command to William Shatner's Captain James T. Kirk, his stoicism the perfect counter to Kirk's fiery personality.

But Nimoy's career boldly went beyond television. He was also a poet, a photographer, a director and a singer. And a decade after the series went off the air, he breathed new life into the brand by appearing in a series of blockbuster movies. 

Nimoy revealed a year ago that he had been diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. He said at the time that he had quit smoking 30 years ago, but not soon enough. 

He invoked his best-known line in his last tweet, posted Monday: "A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. LLAP."