According to the Times, his wife Susan Bay Nimoy confirmed his death, saying the cause was end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Last year, Nimoy revealed he was suffering from lung disease, even though he quit smoking cigarettes three decades earlier.

Nimoy boiled his life story down to three sentences in his Twitter bio: "Born in Boston. Went to Hollywood at 18. 16 years later cast as Spock in Star Trek."