President Barack Obama: ‘I Loved Spock’

2 minute read
By Olivia B. Waxman
Updated: | Originally published: ;

The spirit of Spock will live long and prosper. #RIPLeonardNimoy #LLAP pic.twitter.com/WyqQgTNDod

— White House Archived (@ObamaWhiteHouse) February 27, 2015

President Barack Obama, whose affect has often earned him comparisons to Leonard Nimoy’s Spock, paid tribute to the Star Trek star, who died Friday morning at age 83.

Long before being nerdy was cool, there was Leonard Nimoy. Leonard was a lifelong lover of the arts and humanities, a supporter of the sciences, generous with his talent and his time. And of course, Leonard was Spock. Cool, logical, big-eared and level-headed, the center of Star Trek’s optimistic, inclusive vision of humanity’s future.

I loved Spock.

In 2007, I had the chance to meet Leonard in person. It was only logical to greet him with the Vulcan salute, the universal sign for “Live long and prosper.” And after 83 years on this planet — and on his visits to many others — it’s clear Leonard Nimoy did just that. Michelle and I join his family, friends, and countless fans who miss him so dearly today.

Read next: This Is How the New Spock Said Goodbye to the Old Spock

See Leonard Nimoy's Long and Prosperous Life in Photos

LEONARD NIMOY;MARIANNA HILL
Leonard Nimoy in The Outer Limits in 1964.ABC/Getty Images
Leonard Nimoy
Leonard Nimoy with wife Sandra Zober attend an event in Los Angeles,Calif. in 1966.Michael Ochs Archives—Getty Images
Leonard Nimoy
Leonard Nimoy, circa 1968.Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images
Star Trek
Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock and William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk in season 3 of Star Trek in 1968.CBS/Getty Images
Mission: Impossible
Leonard Nimoy as Paris and Lee Meriwether as Tracey in Mission Impossible in 1969.CBS/Getty Images
Catlow
Leonard Nimoy in Catlow, 1971.Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images
THE ALPHA CAPER, (from left): Henry Fonda, Leonard Nimoy, 1973.
Leonard Nimoy in The Alpha Caper in 1973Everett
NASA's space shuttle Enterprise rolled out of the Palmdale manufacturing facilities and was greeted by NASA officials and cast members from Star Trek in 1976. From left: NASA Administrator Dr. James D. Fletcher; DeForest Kelley, who portrayed Dr. "Bones" McCoy on the series; George Takei (Mr. Sulu); James Doohan (Chief Engineer Montgomery "Scotty" Scott); Nichelle Nichols (Lt. Uhura); Leonard Nimoy (Mr. Spock); series creator Gene Roddenberry; an unnamed NASA official; and, Walter Koenig (Ensign Pavel Chekov).NASA
THE UNEXPLAINED, (from left): host Leonard Nimoy, Travis Walter (who claims to have spent 5 days abo
Leonard Nimoy hosts The Unexplained in 1976.Everett
STAR TREK III: THE SEARCH FOR SPOCK, Leonard Nimoy, 1984, (c)Paramount/courtesy Everett Collection
Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock in 1984.Paramount/Everett
The Big Bang Theory
Leonard Nimoy guest stars in The Big Bang Theory.CBS/Getty Images
Leonard Nimoy guest stars on FringeFox
5th Annual TV Land Awards - Show
Leonard Nimoy and Luke Wilson, presenters during 5th Annual TV Land Awards - Show at Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, Calif. in 2007.Chris Polk—FilmMagic/Getty Images
Leonard Nimoy guest stars as Mr. Spock in Star Trek in 2009.Paramount

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Write to Olivia B. Waxman at olivia.waxman@time.com