Whoopi Goldberg Honored With LLAP Pendant That Went Into Space; Another Up For Auction For Nimoy Memorial [UPDATED]

In 2021, Leonard Nimoy’s daughter and son-in-law, Julie Nimoy and David Knight, provided ten  “Live Long And Prosper” pendants to be sent into space on a Blue Origin rocket.  Since then they have been awarding these unique tributes to the Star Trek icon to a select few individuals for supporting Nimoy’s legacy. The latest honoree is Whoopi Goldberg, the EGOT winner who played Guinan in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Picard. Now one of the ten pendants is being made available for auction, all in support of the Leonard Nimoy LLAP Memorial sculpture at the Museum of Science in Boston and towards supporting COPD research.

Whoopi carries on Nimoy’s legacy

The Live Long and Prosper pendants are being awarded to individual for supporting and honoring Leonard Nimoy’s legacy. In a statement provided to TrekMovie, Julie Nimoy explained how they decided to honor Goldberg:

“We’re thrilled to include Whoopi Goldberg as one of our official inductees to receive the ‘LLAP Tribute Pennant.’ Whoopi’s participation in the ‘Breathe Boldly’ campaign was a huge factor in our decision. The campaign not only honored Leonard’s legacy, but created incredible awareness for COPD and what it’s like living with this terrible condition by demonstrating the straw challenge. Additionally, she has publicly recognized Leonard’s contribution in supporting women’s rights and equality which was so important to him. Of course, being part of the ‘Star Trek Family’ was a huge plus!”

Whoopi Goldberg shared the news of receiving her pendant over the weekend on her Instagram, saying: “I am honored to receive this ‘Live Long & Prosper’ Pendant from Leonard Nimoy’s daughter Julie and his son-in-law David Knight for my participation in the ‘Breathe Boldly’ campaign that helped raise awareness for COPD and prevention. Sadly, Leonard passed away from this disease in 2015.”

 

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Goldberg is the fifth individual to be awarded one of the space-flown pendants for supporting Leonard’s legacy. They have already been awarded to Mayim Bialik, Billie Jean King, Neil DeGrasse Tyson, and LeVar Burton.

Nimoy space pendant up for auction

For the first time ever, one of the pendants on the 2021 Blue Origin flight will be made available to the public as part of the Propstore Entertainment Memorabilia Live Auction, being held between November 14 – 17. The pendant is part of a series of lots from Leonard Nimoy’s personal collection. Proceeds from the auction of these rare items curated by Julie Nimoy and her husband David Knight will go towards the creation of the Leonard Nimoy LLAP Memorial sculpture at the Museum of Science in Boston and towards supporting COPD research being conducted by Dr. John Belperio and his team at UCLA Medical Center.

UPDATE: Interview with Julie Nimoy about the auction

Here is a short video about the auction from Propstore on Instagram:

 

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In addition to the pendant, four other items from Leonard Nimoy’s collection will be available for bidding on Sunday, November 17, day four of the live auction. Each lot is estimated at $1,250 – $2,500 USD (£1,000 – £2,000). Highlights include:

• A signed Simpsons animation cel featuring Leonard Nimoy, co-signed by Matt Groening, the cartoonist and animator behind The Simpsons.
• A collection of personally signed items including a signed photograph of Nimoy with his 1964 Buick Riviera on the set of Star Trek, an autographed headshot of Leonard, and ”Alien Voices” recordings, autographed by Leonard and Star Trek castmate John DeLancie.
• A collection of Star Trek-related memorabilia from Leonard Nimoy’s personal collection including a 2015 Hallmark Keepsake Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan “The Needs of the Many” Christmas ornament, a Mr. Spock prosperity box, USS Enterprise bobble ship, Mr. Spock collectible glass, and more.
• A collection of 200 2016 Spock limited edition commemorative postage stamp prints issued by the Canadian post office along with a special Collectors Box from Julie Nimoy’s personal collection.

Each item comes with a Certificate of Authenticity provided by Julie Nimoy. 100% of the proceeds from these sales will directly contribute to the creation of the Leonard Nimoy LLAP Memorial, a tribute to the beloved actor’s legacy in science fiction and popular culture, and to funding COPD research.

From the Nimoy auction

“My father’s legacy continues to inspire people around the world, and this auction is a special way to honor his memory. We’ve carefully curated these rare items to raise funds for the Leonard Nimoy LLAP Memorial sculpture and for COPD Research, which will be a meaningful tribute to his life and the values he stood for,” said Julie Nimoy in a statement. “We’re particularly excited to see the LLAP memorial take shape at the Museum of Science in Boston, Leonard’s hometown that he loved.”

First announced back in 2021, the Leonard Nimoy Memorial at the Boston Museum of Science still needs funds to start building the fitting tribute. The monument would be a 20-foot, illuminated, stainless steel monument shaped in the famous “live long and prosper” Vulcan salute developed by Nimoy for Star Trek. The sculpture designed by artist David Phillips will be located in front of the museum at Science Park. Nimoy himself was a big supporter of the museum and a native Bostonian.

Thanks to small donations and big ones (including from Android co-founder Rich Miner) over $390,000 has been pledged for the project, which is still short of the goal of $500,000. Those interested in donating to the memorial fund can visit mos.org/nimoy. For corporate or special donations, you can contact David Knight directly at rememberingleonardnimoy.org.

Artist rendering of Nimoy monument at Boston’s Science Museum

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