Baylor in Black & White: Mr. Spock Comes to Waco, October 1967
On October 2, 1967, Leonard Nimoy, or Mr. Spock as he was known in the hit television show, Star Trek, came to Waco, Texas, to participate in that city's annual Heart of Texas Fair and Rodeo. Upon his arrival at the Waco Municipal Airport, he was greeted by dozens of enthusiastic fans. A reporter and a photographer for Baylor University's campus newspaper, "The Baylor Lariat," were there to document his arrival for their next issue.
The images included in this Flickr album of Nimoy and the event have not been seen by the public until now. They are from the original 35mm film negatives from Baylor University Photography, held at The Texas Collection, Baylor University.
Below is the entire story that ran in "The Baylor Lariat" on October 04, 1967, reporting on the event:
"Leonard Nimoy Plays Role Seriously"
by ROWLAND STITELER Lariat Staff Writer, The Baylor Lariat (Waco, Texas), Vol. 69, No. 20, Wednesday, October 04, 1967
There were 300 screaming children at the Waco Municipal Airport Monday night. Red- coated Jaycees tried to keep the crowd back as reporters and camera-men to get near the star. In the midst of all the chaos, Leonard Nimoy stepped off of the plane. The crowd had come to see Mr. Spock. There were children with posters and balloons that read. “Welcome Mr. Spock.” In their black tennis shoes and Levi’s, they crowded around him, trying to get his autograph, trying to touch him and just trying to see him. Through this ordeal, Leonard Nimoy kept smiling and waving at his fans. When the noise finally quieted down to a muted roar, Nimoy spoke. “I’ve never been met by a crowd like this before,” he said. “I am really overwhelmed.” If Nimoy had anything else to say to the crowd, he didn’t get a chance. The crowd redoubled its efforts at pushing and screaming and Nimoy and his human escort struggled their way to a waiting car. Somehow, no one was trampled. A few of the smaller children were seen taking refuge in the airport phone booths during the height of the stampede. Nimoy taken away from the crowds and into the security of a waiting motel suite. There he spoke with Heart O’ Texas Fair and Rodeo Smile Girls and members of the press. Nimoy was asked if it wasn’t a little hard, to keep smiling all the time under the pressure of a mob of screaming fans. “I really haven’t had much experience with the type of situation we had at the airport,” he said. “Actually, I like it.” “I had heard all kinds of stories about mobs of fans tearing stars’ clothes and mobbing them,” Nimoy said. “It hasn’t been like that." “I have developed an attitude that it’s a very genuine type of expression. I don’t mind it at all. I’m really deeply touched by it all.” Though Nimoy is a spaceman on television's “Star Trek,” he won't feel out of place in the HOT Rodeo. “I’ve appeared at the State Fair of California in Sacramento,” he said, “but this is my first rodeo. I was doing western before anyone ever heard of ‘Star Trek,’ though.” “I've done anywhere from 50 to 60 westerns, so I think I’ll feel right at home.” Nimoy was asked how he felt about doing television games and series like “Star Trek” as opposed to doing the “serious theater”. “I am a serious actor,” he said. “I do Mr. Spock with the same amount of seriousness I would put forth in any other part.” “Spock is a warm, intelligent, sophisticated character. I try to play him that way.”
