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Leonard Nimoy passed away today at the age of 83. It’s just impossible to overstate what a fantastic and enduring character he created in Mr. Spock. As Charlie Jane Anders writes today, before Spock, that kind of character-the emotionless alien-was a one-note character, but he managed to imbue him with a terrific range and depth, squeezing a tremendous amount out of a raised eyebrow or a single word (“fascinating”). The fact that everyone knows Mr. Spock, whether you’ve seen the original Star Trek or not, is a tribute to what he created. They don’t come any cooler than Leonard Nimoy.

Paul Waldman is a weekly columnist and senior writer for The American Prospect. He also writes for the Plum Line blog at The Washington Post and The Week and is the author of Being Right Is Not Enough: What Progressives Must Learn From Conservative Success. Follow @paulwaldman1