Who Knew?
No, it wasn’t Gene Roddenberry’s idea. No, it wasn't Roddenberry's assistant, Dorothy Fontana, who came up with the idea. No, it wasn't the casting director, Joe D’Agosta. In a 1982 interview with writer Marc Cushman, Roddenberry gave credit to someone else. In an exclusive interview with Cushman, Fontana gave credit to someone else, and in an exclusive interview with Cushman, D'Agosta also gave credit to someone else. So who was it?
Try this guy:
Try this guy:
Yeah, that guy.
Gary Lockwood told writer Marc Cushman: “After The Lieutenant was off the air, Roddenberry invited me to his house for a meal. We were standing out on his terrace overlooking the city of L.A., both sort of drunk, and, out of nowhere, he started telling me about Star Trek®. He says, ‘Hey, I wanted to ask you a question. I got this character and I think he’s going to be named Spock, and he’s an alien traveling with this group of Earth guys in this ship, going through the universe. I’m gonna have him be very intelligent and relaxed and cool, and maybe green or something. Do you have any advice as to who I should get to play that guy?’ And I said, ‘So he’s kind of a strange looking dude and he’s going to be a little different than others? Well, you know, there was a guy in one of our shows, a Jewish guy, and he was really good, but he had kind of a strange face, and he had one of those names -- the kind that Jewish guys get teased about because their mother named them a funny name, like... Leonard.’ And Roddenberry knew immediately -- the way he looked and sounded when he said, ‘Nimoy.’ And I said, ‘Yeah, that’s the guy. That guy. He would be great as your character.’”
Hear Gary Lockwood reminisce like you never have before … about starring in The Lieutenant, about acting in Where No Man Has Gone Before, about Gene Roddenberry, and about that guy named Nimoy ... in the Star Trek® book to end all Star Trek® books … These are the Voyages – TOS, Season One, due this July from Jacobs/Brown Press.
Gary Lockwood told writer Marc Cushman: “After The Lieutenant was off the air, Roddenberry invited me to his house for a meal. We were standing out on his terrace overlooking the city of L.A., both sort of drunk, and, out of nowhere, he started telling me about Star Trek®. He says, ‘Hey, I wanted to ask you a question. I got this character and I think he’s going to be named Spock, and he’s an alien traveling with this group of Earth guys in this ship, going through the universe. I’m gonna have him be very intelligent and relaxed and cool, and maybe green or something. Do you have any advice as to who I should get to play that guy?’ And I said, ‘So he’s kind of a strange looking dude and he’s going to be a little different than others? Well, you know, there was a guy in one of our shows, a Jewish guy, and he was really good, but he had kind of a strange face, and he had one of those names -- the kind that Jewish guys get teased about because their mother named them a funny name, like... Leonard.’ And Roddenberry knew immediately -- the way he looked and sounded when he said, ‘Nimoy.’ And I said, ‘Yeah, that’s the guy. That guy. He would be great as your character.’”
Hear Gary Lockwood reminisce like you never have before … about starring in The Lieutenant, about acting in Where No Man Has Gone Before, about Gene Roddenberry, and about that guy named Nimoy ... in the Star Trek® book to end all Star Trek® books … These are the Voyages – TOS, Season One, due this July from Jacobs/Brown Press.
Watch for These are the Voyages — TOS, Seasons Two and Three, set for publication by Jacobs/Brown Press later in 2013.
