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Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner
Shatner and Nimoy co-starred as Captain James T. Kirk and Spock, respectively, in Star Trek: The Original Series, which aired for three seasons from 1966 to 1969. Though stories of clashing egos between the pair on set have been rife over the years, the two boasted a close friendship that spanned nearly five decades.
However, in his 2016 book, Leonard: My 50-Year Friendship with an Extraordinary Man, Shatner, 93, revealed that Nimoy had cut off all contact with Shatner for the last five years of his life (Nimoy died in 2015 at age 83).
“At first I thought it was a joke and I took it as a joke because sometimes he would pretend to be like, 'No, I wouldn't do that,' and then he'd say, 'Yes,' and I thought the same,” Shatner told The Hollywood Reporter in 2016. “But he really did mean it at the time. … I don't understand, and I'm sad, and I'll never go back. I don't know why he stopped speaking to me.”
While Shatner claims he doesn't know the reason for his falling out with Nimoy, one person says they do: Leonard's son, Adam Nimoy.
“I know why,” Adam, 67, told Page Six in June 2024, without elaborating, “but let's not wake sleeping dogs.”
“It's unfortunate and sad,” Adam said, adding that his father's relationship with Shatner was “very difficult,” but he confessed that they once “were just beautiful together.”
“They reconciled and it was great, but in the end they didn't reconcile. They couldn't sustain it. It's a shame,” Adam said.
“I don't own anything of Leonard's,” Shatner told THR in 2016. “I don't own any Star Trek memorabilia. I have pictures of him and me laughing in my office. There are echoes of the laughs we shared. But that's all I have.”
