Mr. Spockโs visage graces a pro-vaccination billboard in Los Angeles. (Julie Nimoy via Twitter)
Itโs been almost seven years since Leonard Nimoy, the actor who created the role of Mr. Spock on โStar Trek,โ passed away due to respiratory disease โ but his character may be coming soon to a billboard near you, as part of a widening campaign to encourage COVID-19 vaccination.
The first round of the campaign, organized by Nimoyโs family and L.A. Care Health Plan with the blessing of ViacomCBS, has been in the works in Los Angeles since last May. One billboard design features Nimoy in his Mr. Spock role, giving the split-fingered Vulcan salute with the headline โSave Humanity: Get Vaccinated! Itโs the Logical Thing to Do.โ The other design shows mask-wearing humans in a Star Trek glow and takes full advantage of Spockโs โLive Long and Prosperโ catchline.
โThe phrase โLive Long and Prosperโ spreads a message that my dad strongly believed in โ not only for a long and healthy life, but it also represents peace, tolerance, diversity and unity,โ Julie Nimoy, the actorโs daughter, said in a news release. โThis project really is a continuation of his mission on lung health.โ
Julie Nimoyโs husband, David Knight, told GeekWire in an email that the โL.A. campaign is only the first stop.โ
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โNew billboards in N.Y., Boston, Chicago, D.C., Seattle and Miami are already being discussed,โ Knight wrote. โIn addition, weโre currently speaking with the World Health Organization about additional billboards specifically on vaccine equity in major cities across the world.โ
Knight and his wife are in charge of the Nimoy Knight Foundation, a nonprofit that aims to heighten awareness about lung disease and prevention as a tribute to Leonard Nimoy. The foundation is also working to get a Vulcan-salute statue built outside Bostonโs Museum of Science.
Last month, Julie Nimoy lent a sterling silver โLive Long and Prosperโ necklace to Jeff Bezosโ Blue Origin space venture for a suborbital trip to space, as a follow-up to Star Trek captain William Shatnerโs spaceflight in October.
posted by pod_feeder