What Happened to Nimoy's Voice?

[urbandefault]

Nimoy's voice changed because he got old, just like his face and hair color changed. It happens to all of us eventually, if we're lucky.

TMP was only ten years after the third season of TOS, which is not a huge amount of time, not a quantity of time that should result in large vocal changes. Mr. Nimoy was only 48 at the time of TMP, which is not old at all. Sure, his voice sounds old in the reboot movies, but he was 78 by 2009. There's a big difference between 48 and 78.

Ten years can make a world of difference, especially as you approach middle age. The years start to take even more of a toll after 50. Check out the changes in Shatner's voice from TOS through the movies, on to Boston Legal and today.

The rest is ... wait for it ... acting.

 

[Christopher]

TMP was only ten years after the third season of TOS, which is not a huge amount of time, not a quantity of time that should result in large vocal changes. Mr. Nimoy was only 48 at the time of TMP, which is not old at all.

But that's just about when the voice does start to change noticeably in a lot of people, the mid-40s or thereabouts. Shatner's voice is noticeably fuller and deeper in TMP than it was in TOS, and even more so in TWOK three years later.

 

[The Old Mixer]

You know, I actually saw a music video from the 70's, where Nimoy is "singing" about Frodo and Lord of the Rings, with a couple of cheerleader-looking cuties making these odd moves and little dances, between stanzas.

That was 1967--Nimoy's wearing his TOS Spock hair in the video.

Check out the changes in Shatner's voice from TOS through the movies, on to Boston Legal and today.

Not to mention the changes in his toupee....

 

[Maurice]

Lets also not forget that the sound quality in movies changed a lot after Star Wars, so we may also be hearing the voices in a way the older movies (pre-Dolby & THX) and TV didn't exhibit.

 

[Therin of Andor]

TMP was only ten years after the third season of TOS, which is not a huge amount of time, not a quantity of time that should result in large vocal changes.

You haven't met many lifetime smokers, have you? Changes to the larynx and voice quality can happen very quickly, and are often permanent. Sometimes the voice can normalize after the smoker gives them up.

 

[scotpens]

It's strange that his singing voice is so non-musical, given how lovely his speaking voice was during the TOS era.

Not really strange at all -- a pleasant speaking voice doesn't necessarily correlate with a good sense of pitch or the ability to carry a tune.

 

[iguana_tonante]

He evolved the character.

I don't know how Nimoy's increasingly worse portrayal of the Spock character qualifies as "evolution." After STAR TREK II, Nimoy stopped putting any real effort into his performances.

I couldn't disagree more. Nimoy's interpretation of the character changed by both the experiences he had during the movies and the natural changes brought on by age. Old Spock is at peace and in control, having united both of his halves, valuing both logic and emotion but a slave to neither. Finally whole.

Also, like most elderly people, he just doesn't give a shit anymore about what other people think of him.

 

[Hober Mallow]

At least Spock never sounded like this.

 

[2takesfrakes]

I suspect that Elderly, or Prime, Spock is played like Lenny acting as himself, because he's been trying to Pass the Torch on the character, as it were. By just saying the lines and not worrying about characterization, he's not stepping on Zachary's toes ... who, after all, is now the "real" Spock to most audiences.

 

[Therin of Andor]

By just saying the lines and not worrying about characterization

No. Please read some of Nimoy's own writings. Even "I Am Spock", written long before JJ started his films. Nimoy is always on top of his game with Spock, always worried about characterization.