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
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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, z"l, 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
A Catholic Could Never Be President?: The Political Atmosphere of Leonard Nimoy’s Childhood Home
2 minutes 43 seconds
Leonard Nimoy's Mameloshn: A Yiddish Story
9 minutes 53 seconds
Leonard Nimoy Remembers Boston's West End Neighborhood
7 minutes 10 seconds
Live Long and Prosper: The Jewish Story Behind Spock, Leonard Nimoy's Star Trek Character
5 minutes 27 seconds
Leonard Nimoy's Stint Working With Yiddish Theatre Director and Actor Maurice Schwartz
4 minutes
Leonard Nimoy Shares His Sense of Zaslav, His Parents’ Hometown
2 minutes 55 seconds
“This Is What I Have To Do With The Rest Of My Life”: Starting an Acting Career Outside the West End
5 minutes 57 seconds
An Encore Bar Mitzvah Performance: Leonard Nimoy Reflect on his Religious Exposure as a Child
2 minutes 41 seconds
Leonard Nimoy on the Search for A Heymish, Comfortable Jewish Community in California
2 minutes 19 seconds
Paying a Psychotherapist to Speak Yiddish With Me
1 minute 38 seconds
Leonard Nimoy Reflects On The Experience Of Playing Tevye In His Hometown
2 minutes 30 seconds
“Closing The Circle”: Leonard Nimoy On Meeting Nimoy Relatives in Zaslav
11 minutes 29 seconds
Leonard Nimoy Remembers His First Foray Into Yiddish Theater in Los Angeles
1 minute 57 secondsMore information about this oral history excerpt
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About the Wexler Oral History Project
Since 2010, the Yiddish Book Center’s Wexler Oral History Project has recorded more than 500 in-depth video interviews that provide a deeper understanding of the Jewish experience and the legacy and changing nature of Yiddish language and culture.
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