The Yiddish Book Center's

Wexler Oral History Project

A growing collection of in-depth interviews with people of all ages and backgrounds, whose stories about the legacy and changing nature of Yiddish language and culture offer a rich and complex chronicle of Jewish identity.

A Catholic Could Never Be President?: The Political Atmosphere of Leonard Nimoy’s Childhood Home

Watch now:

Leonard Nimoy, Jewish actor most well-known for his role as Spock on the Star Trek science fiction series, shares his memories of the political discussions he listened in on as a boy, including early expressions of confusion and fear for the fate of Europe's Jews and debates over whether or not Franklin Delano Roosevelt would improve conditions for American Jews.

This is an excerpt from an oral history with Leonard Nimoy.

This excerpt is in English.

Leonard Nimoy was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1931. Leonard died in 2015.

This interview is part of the Yiddish and the Arts: musicians, actors, and artists series.

Other video highlights from this oral history

An Encore Bar Mitzvah Performance: Leonard Nimoy Reflect on his Religious Exposure as a Child

2 min 41 sec

Leonard Nimoy on the Search for A Heymish, Comfortable Jewish Community in California

2 min 19 sec

Paying a Psychotherapist to Speak Yiddish With Me

1 min 38 sec

Leonard Nimoy Reflects On The Experience Of Playing Tevye In His Hometown

2 min 30 sec

“Closing The Circle”: Leonard Nimoy On Meeting Nimoy Relatives in Zaslav

11 min 29 sec

Leonard Nimoy Remembers His First Foray Into Yiddish Theater in Los Angeles

1 min 57 sec

Reciting Itzik Manger’s Poem, “Afn Veg Shteyt a Boym (By the Road Stands a Tree)”

2 min 17 sec

Leonard Nimoy's Mameloshn: A Yiddish Story

9 min 53 sec

Leonard Nimoy Remembers Boston's West End Neighborhood

7 min 10 sec

Live Long and Prosper: The Jewish Story Behind Spock, Leonard Nimoy's Star Trek Character

5 min 27 sec

Leonard Nimoy's Stint Working With Yiddish Theatre Director and Actor Maurice Schwartz

4 min

Leonard Nimoy Shares His Sense of Zaslav, His Parents’ Hometown

2 min 55 sec

“This Is What I Have To Do With The Rest Of My Life”: Starting an Acting Career Outside the West End

5 min 57 sec

More information about this oral history excerpt

Themes: