Private footage of the stars of Star Trek sees Commander Spock having a cigarette break in never before seen clips released on Friday.
The low-budget 1960s sci-fi series ran for seventy-nine episodes over three years and now previously unreleased clips have given a further insight into the series.
Scenes from backstage shows actors including Leonard Nimoy, who played the Vulcan, and William Shatner as Captain Kirk as they lark around between takes.
William is filmed dancing as he plays up to the camera while Leonard wraps up in a trench coat with his full costume underneath.
Leonard played Mr Spock in the sci-fi franchise for 47 years and passed away aged 83 in 2015 following a long battle with lung disease.
The actor, who was first cast in the role in 1966, suffered from COPD – chronic obstructive pulmonary disease – and was rushed to the UCLA Medical Center after a 911 call.
Private footage of the stars of Star Trek sees Commander Spock having a cigarette break in never before seen clips released on Friday
Scenes from backstage shows actors including Leonard Nimoy, who played the Vulcan, and William Shatner as Captain Kirk as they lark around between takes
He stopped attending Star Trek conventions in 2011 and in February 2014, Nimoy made public that he had been diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). He needed an oxygen tank to help him breathe.
For thirty years, he had smoked two packs of cigarettes a day.
Leonard played Spock one last time in the reboot of Star Trek: Into Darkness in 2013. It was his final film role.
William paid an emotional tribute to former Star Trek co-star and friend Leonard, saying he ‘loved him like a brother’ after hearing news of his tragic death.
The pair became best of friends. It was a friendship that endured for fifty years – until a bitter falling out.
Over the years they went through marriages and divorces together, they fought the movie studio together and got tinnitus together standing too close to explosions on a Star Trek set.
Their friendship was shattered in the last few years of Leonard’s life over a small incident and they never spoke again.
‘It is something I will wonder about and regret forever. He was my closest friend in the world,’ William wrote in his book, Leonard, My Fifty-Year Friendship With A Remarkable Man.
The low-budget 1960s sci-fi series ran for seventy-nine episodes over three years and now previously unreleased clips have given a further insight into the series
William is filmed dancing as he plays up to the camera while Leonard wraps up in a trench coat with his full costume underneath
Leonard played Mr Spock in the franchise for 47 years and passed away in 2015 following a long battle with lung disease (Leonard as Mr. Spock and William as Captain Kirk in 1968)
In July it was reported that William has used a groundbreaking program to immortalize both his experiences and personality for future generations.
StoryFile, an innovative AI company, has developed lifelike, interactive 3D avatars that allow people to ‘live on’ after death, sharing memories and answering questions in the same natural and conversational manner of a real person.
William, 94, as well as philanthropist Michael Staenberg, 71, have both used StoryFile to immortalize both their experiences and personalities.
The technology captures video interviews, transforming them into hologram-style avatars that use generative AI, similar to ChatGPT, to respond dynamically to questions.
StoryFile’s avatars have been employed in museums since 2021 to preserve the voices of historical figures like WWII veterans and Holocaust survivors, and by terminally ill individuals to connect with family after death.
Until now, the company has offered a premium service costing tens of thousands of dollars, but a new, affordable app launching this summer will allow everyday people to record their own AI avatars for less than the cost of a monthly cellphone plan.
