Eagle Feathers #270 – A Salute

By Bob (Monty) Doherty

Looking back, his roots dove deep. They navigated from the mythical deck of the USS Starship Enterprise to the shore of the Charles River Basin at Boston’s West End. For eighty-three years, he sailed on a literary ship from outer space back to his youth on the acting stage of the Elizabeth Peabody House.

Acting on this stage was a great training ground for young thespians. One former Peabody House stage student was Leonard Nimoy or as the world grew to know him, “Spock.” He began his star-trekking acting career at age eight. This was at the Peabody Playhouse performing the character of Hansel in Hansel and Gretel. He later followed with summer drama classes at Boston College, and this famous performer went on to prove that the sky is obviously not the limit.

In the late 1950s, the Elizabeth Peabody House, along with most of the West End of Boston, fell victim to urban renewal. Floating along with the large wave of West Enders who came to East Somerville to live, the Peabody House relocated here. For the last 60 years, it has been part of the ever-changing fabric of this city helping families and the needy.

When Nimoy came east, he fundraised for the Peabody House at Winter Hill and spoke for them at the Somerville Theatre.

Leonard Nimoy pursued his craft in many ways, through poetry, music, photography, teaching, directing, and most of all, acting. As world-wide fans would probably agree, he hit his bull’s-eye when he landed and helped create the role of Mr. Spock.

• In 2012, he received an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters at Boston University’s 139th commencement.
• He played in dozens of stage and movie roles and was an acting teacher in Los Angeles.
• Nimoy mentored a community of young actors. Some of them were the singer Bobby Vee, Fabian, and Somerville’s Alex Rocco, who portrayed Moe Green in the movie The Godfather.
• In 1985, he earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame located between Red Skelton and Nat King Cole.
• Boston honored him by celebrating March 26, 2021, as Leonard Nimoy Day.
• In his book, Leonard, William Shatner wrote about his fifty-year unrivaled friendship with Leonard.
• For decades, his famous voice has been the introduction film to the Mugar Omni Theatre events at the Museum of Science in Boston. A fundraising drive is now ongoing for the creation of a 20-foot sculpture of his famous “Vulcan salute” to be placed near the museum’s entrance at Science Park.

Even though the old West Boston is gone, her Charles River shore represents her history. This new Leonard Nimoy Memorial Sculpture will give added dimension to the list of some of the Charles River Basin’s monuments:

• “Music” – Arthur Fiedler’s bust and the Arthur Fiedler Footbridge
• “Freedom”- General George S. Patton’s Statue and the Fourth of July Pops concerts at the Hatch Memorial Shell.
• “Statesmanship”- Massachusetts Governor and Boston Mayor, Maurice Tobin’s statue and the Maurice J. Tobin Bridge.

Now a “Science Fiction” tribute to Leonard Nimoy will be represented in the Boston’s Science Museum’s salute … “Live Long and Prosper.”