Leonard Nimoy was one of the crucial beloved TV actors of the twentieth century, however he additionally admitted in interviews over time that –- regardless of rising up the Jewish son of Ukrainian immigrants –- he made his profession within the pre-“Star Trek” days enjoying Native American characters. Amongst different cases of “redface,” he performed a Comanche warrior within the TV present “Tate,” a personality named Chief Black Hawk within the movie “Outdated Overland Path,” and a mysterious Native who seeks justice for his murdered white buddy in an episode of the wildly well-liked present “Gunsmoke.”
Nimoy spoke fondly about his function on “Gunsmoke” in an interview with the Archive of American Tv again in 2000 (he handed away in 2015). The actor recalled having met the star of the long-running Western collection, James Arness, years earlier when the 2 had been in the identical performing troupe. Nimoy finally went into the navy, however stored in contact with Arness, who in the future instructed him he’d landed the lead function within the TV adaptation of a well-liked radio present –- “Gunsmoke.” Nimoy appeared a number of instances on the present over time, however it was his closing look in 1966 that was most memorable to him … and most controversial right this moment.
“A visitor starring function within the Gunsmoke present was the final job I did simply earlier than I began capturing ‘Star Trek,'” Nimoy defined within the retrospective interview. “I had already performed the ‘Star Trek’ pilot and I used to be employed for this story –- enjoying an Indian.” Particularly, Nimoy performed a person named John Strolling Fox, who bought his personal episode title in season 11: “The Treasure of John Strolling Fox.” Nimoy as soon as instructed PBS that he did the present whereas he was ready to listen to about whether or not or not “Star Trek” was going to lastly get picked up after failed pilots, and complimented the episode’s “intelligent” script by Clyde Ware. With many years of retrospect, although, the story does not sound intelligent a lot as misguided and responsible of racial stereotyping.
Nimoy performed mysterious Native American John Strolling Fox
“The story, as I recall, was about an Indian fur trapper, superb mates with a white man who additionally did the identical factor they usually usually went trapping collectively,” Nimoy instructed the TV Archive. The white man was finally killed in a confrontation with a dealer, and per the actor, “there was one thing about, there wasn’t going to be any justice for this buddy of John Strolling Fox.” The Indigenous character saved the day by paying for his buddy’s funeral in gold, finally orchestrating infighting among the many city’s criminals (together with his buddy’s killer) by pretending to have gold treasure. The killer was finally killed within the squabble over John’s treasure. “There is no such thing as a treasure, however he constructed this story,” Nimoy mentioned. “So it is type of a wry method of getting some social justice.”
Social justice is an ironic time period to make use of right here, as loads of Native American activists had been already preventing for recognition and fairness within the Nineteen Sixties, all whereas non-Native individuals had been enjoying cartoonish variations of them on TV. Nimoy instructed PBS that “the character [of John Walking Fox] was designed to be enigmatic,” and shared some qualities with “Star Trek” hero Spock. This, after all, performs into stereotypes of the mysterious, stoic Native that had been rampant throughout the Western style on the time (for extra on this and each different subject mentioned right here, watch the nice documentary “Reel Injun”). The John Strolling Fox episode is not significantly surprising, however the way in which Nimoy spoke about being typecast as a Native American type of is. “I had performed some Indians earlier than, however I feel that is crucial Indian function I had ever been given,” Nimoy instructed PBS within the 2010s. “Most of them weren’t fairly so consequential.”
The actor had a troubling method of discussing his Indigenous roles
You’d assume that many years of retrospect would have led Nimoy to higher perceive why talking about taking Native American roles as if he is looking for higher ethnic illustration on display could be deceptive, however it appears the actor by no means got here to that realization. In Abigail Pobegrin’s e-book “Stars of David,” Nimoy talked much more callously about being typecast in a racial function that did not match him (per The Atlantic). “Guys like me had been enjoying all of the ethnic roles, often the heavies — the dangerous Mexicans, the dangerous Italians,” Nimoy defined. “And people had been the roles that I took and was completely happy to get for a very long time. I performed Indians in Westerns many instances.”
Disturbingly, Nimoy even claimed within the e-book that the primary Native function he took was “a job {that a} Native Indian turned down as a result of the Indian character was so unredeemably dangerous.” However he wasn’t involved concerning the poor illustration as a result of, as he put it, “I used to be completely happy to get the work, thanks very a lot.” This can be a heartbreaking, infuriating story offered as one thing lighthearted. It is heartbreaking as a result of it sounds just like the writers behind the venture in query ignored the legitimate considerations of the Native actor they initially supplied the venture to, as a substitute opting to simply hold the script the identical and provides the job to a non-Native man. It is infuriating as a result of Nimoy additionally positioned the unnamed Native actor as ungrateful for what he had been given, somewhat than courageous for standing up in opposition to dangerous, reductive stereotypes that dominated the trade on the time. Primarily, this story is every little thing that was improper with twentieth century Native American portrayals in Hollywood in a nutshell.
Hollywood barely solid Native American actors for many years
I want there was a “however” on the finish of this story or some type of come-to-Jesus second that this deeply beloved and proficient actor had later in life during which he realized that he was actively blocking Native actors from getting roles. If there’s, it isn’t in any interview I’ve discovered; Nimoy was nonetheless talking positively about nabbing Native roles to PBS just some years earlier than his dying. The actor was culpable for his personal actions, however he was additionally one piece of a bigger racist system. In Arlene B. Hirschfelder and Martha Kreipe de Montaño’s 1998 e-book “The Native American Almanac: A Portrait of Native America At this time,” the authors embody an intensive but incomplete checklist of non-Native actors who took Native roles. “Certainly no group has ever been misrepresented in so many films for therefore lengthy,” they wrote. “Many Indians really feel that in casting, Native actors have occupied a single area of interest as a result of, till lately, Indians often weren’t solid to play Indians. Bankable non-Indian stars bought main Indian roles.”
Nimoy’s identify is, after all, on the checklist. However “Gunsmoke” appears to mark one of many final instances the actor performed a Native American on display. “Star Trek” took off quickly after and made him a family identify, and his behavior of taking up Indigenous roles with impunity turned a factor of the previous. In 2011, the actor joked to the Wall Road Journal that the transition from one pigeonholed function to the opposite made sense. He labored on Westerns, “more often than not enjoying Indians,” he instructed the outlet. “[So,] naturally, once I bought into science fiction, I needed to play an alien.” Yeesh.