Leonard Nimoy Almost Replaced On Star Trek By Actor Who Returned 40 Years Later

The tale of Leonard Nimoy’s continuation as Spock is related by Edward Gross and Mark A. Altman in their book The 50-Year Mission: The First 25 Years. In the book, Trek historian Marc Cushman relates that Leonard Nimoy’s agent had asked Desilu, the series’ production company, for a raise, but NBC was already considering the series for cancellation because it was so expensive and they were not recouping their costs. In response, Nimoy’s agent replied that the actor would not be showing up for work.

Producer Gene L. Coon was on vacation during this time and returned to news from Gene Roddenberry, Star Trek’s creator, that Spock would be replaced by an almost identical Vulcan character. The new character, to be played by Montaine, was set to begin appearing in Star Trek‘s second season. Apparently, even the Great Bird of the Galaxy could not keep the fan-favorite character from being replaced by his eventual on-screen rival.