But Nimoy wasn't only an actor. He also wrote poetry, publishing five books with Blue Mountain Arts, a Boulder-based company specializing in greeting cards that served as the de facto launching pad for the political career of Jared Polis, a U.S. Representative from Boulder.
Polis took Nimoy's death hard, offering up so many Twitter tributes that the conservative blog Colorado Peak Politics published an item entitled "REST IN PEACE SPOCK: As Soon As Jared Polis Stops Tweeting About You."
But that hasn't dissuaded Polis or his parents, Blue Mountain Arts founders Susan Polis Schutz and Stephen Schutz, from sharing their memories of a Nimoy few people knew. Meanwhile, the books he wrote for the company have become valuable collector's items, with some copies going for more than $2,000.
Here's the first tweet about Nimoy shared by Jared....
Rest in Peace
Actor, artist, poet
Leonard Nimoy 1931-2015 pic.twitter.com/6G11LxUEyu
— Jared Polis (@jaredpolis) February 27, 2015
...and a followup in which he offers the live-long-and-prosper salute:On the House floor when I heard the news
He lived long, and prospered pic.twitter.com/1rwjx9gkQS
— Jared Polis (@jaredpolis) February 27, 2015
Jared, who we first profiled in "Who Wants to Be a Billionaire?" back in 1999, when he was still going by the name Jared Schutz, also tweeted about Nimoy's books for Blue Mountain Arts — and the company itself is offering more details."Many fans of his acting don't know that Leonard Nimoy was also an inspired poet and photographer," notes Susan Polis Schutz in a BMA release. "We were honored to publish his poetry on greeting cards and in several books and anthologies."
"In his several visits to Boulder, he loved hiking with us up Mt. Sanitas and often commented on how inspiring the Boulder area was, " adds Stephen Schutz, her husband (and Jared's dad). "While Leonard's groundbreaking role of Spock in Star Trek is perhaps his greatest legacy, I know he would also want to be remembered as a poet, photographer and creative artist."
Here's one poem Nimoy published with Blue Mountain Arts:
Rocket shipsIf you'd like to get an original copy of such works, however, you'd better have a thick wallet — because judging by their individual listings on Amazon, the books have become much-sought-after collector's items. Here's a listing for a paperback copy of 1977's We Are All Children Searching for Love. The price: just $201.37. For a paperback.
Are exciting
But so are roses
On a birthday
Computers are exciting
But so is a sunset
And logic
Will never replace
Love
Sometimes I wonder
Where I belong
In the future
Or
In the past
I guess I’m just
An old-fashioned
Space-man
Come Be With Me, from 1978, can be had for less — just $80 for a paperback edition. But a new one goes for $287.39 and a collectible version will cost $319.
The two copies of These Words Are For You, a 1981 effort, available on Amazon begin at $299.99....
By comparison, 1983's Warmed By Love is a relative bargain, with hardcovers starting at $44.99 — although a collectible version is priced at $319.
Finally, 2002's A Lifetime of Love: Poems on the Passages of Life is the real budget buster: The two new copies start at $2,420.43.
We don't know if the Lifetime of Love sellers will live long, but they seem destined to prosper.
Send your story tips to the author, Michael Roberts.