Leonard Nimoy, who played Spock in the “Star Trek” cult series from 1966 to 1969, died at age 83 in Los Angeles. He also directed the 1985 movie “Star Trek III: The Search for Spock” and played this character for three seasons on television. Nimoy also shot several episodes of “Mission Impossible” during 1969-1971.

His career will forever remain attached to his Mr. Spock character (created by series creator Gene Roddenberry), a half-human and half-Vulcan alien with pointed ears who cultivated a cold sense of logic. Dark skin, severe eyebrows and the bowl haircut were the character’s accouterments. No one ever doubted that Spock was the smartest guy in the room–no, scratch that, in the galaxy. Spock always questioned everything and was guided by a sense of logic inherited from his Vulcan lineage, the character providing the counterpoint to William Shatner’s ebullient James T. Kirk.

Nimoy had announced last year that he suffered from chronic lung disease, even after having quit smoking thirty years earlier.

His final tweet before being hospitalized this week was: “A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. LLAP.”