Star Trek's Leonard Nimoy Played 8 Characters On A Classic Adventure Series

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The 1950s and '60s was a golden age for classic Western TV shows and sci-fi series. But there was another reliably popular genre at the time: adventure stories. Before "Gilligan's Island," Alan Hale Jr. found himself on one such example when he played a bizarro version of the Skipper on "Adventures in Paradise." Similarly, before "Star Trek," Leonard Nimoy appeared in the now forgotten but formerly popular series "Sea Hunt." Unlike Hale, however, Nimoy did not play an alternate version of his best-known character. Instead, he played eight different roles.

"Sea Hunt" followed Lloyd Bridges' Mike Nelson, a former Navy frogman who makes a living carrying out dangerous diving jobs that require an expert. Between 1958 and 1961 the show ran in syndication for four seasons of 155 episodes, becoming a hit and somewhat of a comeback for Bridges, who'd been blacklisted by the House Un-American Activities Committee earlier in the 1950s. As author Tim Brooks writes in "The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows," "Viewers made 'Sea Hunt' a major hit during its four years of original production, and watched countless reruns throughout the 1960s." Unsurprisingly, Bridges was said to have "thoroughly enjoyed" making the show, which allowed him to "escape Los Angeles smog" — an apt metaphor for escaping the blacklisting that threatened his career just a few years prior.

Today, "Sea Hunt" is barely remembered. That said, "Star Trek" fans who saw the original series upon its 1966 debut may recall having seen Spock on "Sea Hunt" due to the fact it provided Nimoy with more guest spots than any other series in his career.

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Before "Star Trek" Leonard Nimoy played three different characters on "Broken Arrow" and four different characters on "Wagon Train" and "Gunsmoke." He was also a prolific guest star on other Western shows of the era. Nimoy appeared in an episode of Clint Eastwood's "Rawhide" and did battle with Robert Horton's "Man Called Shenandoah." But no Western series gave the "Star Trek" legend as many guest spots as "Sea Hunt."

Nimoy began his career in the early 1950s and by 1958 was building a solid career as a character actor. He first joined up with Lloyd Bridges' Mike Nelson in the 1958 "Sea Hunt" episode "The Shipwreck." This was the 30th episode of the show, and saw Nimoy and Nancy Hale play husband and wife Vince and Nancy, who alongside Nelson and Vince's boss Ed (Russ Conway) become stranded in the ocean after their boat capsizes. Stuck on a life raft and being blown further out to sea, the foursome seem to be done for — until a merciful change in the wind sees their fortunes change. It was a decent little survival story, and marked the first of many appearances by Nimoy. When he returned to "Sea Hunt" three episodes later, however, he was no longer playing Vince.

Season 1, Episode 33, "Dead Man's Cove" features Nimoy as Robert Tyler, the husband of a woman who drowned in a tragic accident. Or did she? Mike Nelson is sent in to investigate and finds there's more to the story. It all culminates in Nimoy going toe-to-toe with Nelson, who takes the fight to the water where the winner would be "the man who could hold his breath the longest." Naturally, Nelson triumphs.

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In "Sea Hunt" Season 2 Leonard Nimoy returned from his duel with Mike Nelson to play four more characters, two of which were uncredited roles as a student and explosives thief. The other two were fully credited roles. In the Season 2 premiere, Nimoy played one of three brothers who ask Nelson to teach them how to dive while hiding an ulterior motive. Season 2, Episode 15, "Nerve Gas" saw Nimoy return once again, this time playing an amateur diver who goes berserk after encountering a submerged Japanese submarine.

This wasn't the actor's last time on the show, either. Nimoy came back to play a member of a group who rig a shipwreck to blow in the Season 3 episode "Time Fuse." He then made his final appearance on "Sea Hunt" in Season 3, Episode 30, "The Invader." Here, Nimoy plays Indio Ramirez, one of two trainee frogmen who accompany Mike Nelson on a mission to rescue the president of a Latin American country. It's a nice way to round out his time on "Sea Hunt," as "The Invader" ultimately sees Nimoy and Lloyd Bridges teaming up to pull off a mission after one of their teammates betrays them.

"The Invader" aired in July 1960, by which time Nimoy — who passed away in 2015 — was busy guesting on pretty much every major Western show of the era. That same year he appeared on "Bonanza," "Tate," and "The Rebel," and the following year would show up in "Gunsmoke." Meanwhile, "Sea Hunt" wrapped up after its fourth season in 1961, with Bridges having firmly re-established himself. According to the Washington Post, Mike Nelson was "the TV role that changed his career," and Nimoy's own breakthrough role wasn't far off.