Leonard Nimoy needed to tell fans about his new movie, new play, new book of poetry, new cassette, and that, yes, he would be in the upcoming Star Trek: The Motion Picture.

Today, this would be done on Bluesky, Facebook, and Stephen Colbert’s The Late Show, but 50 years ago those updates came to fans in a stapled and folded newsletter from the Leonard Nimoy Association of Fans for $4 (US) per year.

The Spring 1978 newsletter was produced by LNAF president Louise Stange, and included a letter from Nimoy to his fans. Here is a scan, followed by the highlights. 

Collecting money for charity. Nimoy wanted his fan club to have a charitable component. The designated recipient had been UNICEF but this changed in 1975, following the 1973 death of Nimoy’s teenaged nephew from cystic fibrosis. Donations were then split between the Alan Nimoy Memorial Fund and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. This letter also details Nimoy’s fundraising for the Boston Children’s Hospital. 

Highlighting Invasion. The best movie featuring a Star Trek star prior to The Motion Picture in 1979 was the remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Nimoy tells readers that the producer, Rob Solo, is pleased with an early cut of the film. 

I don’t own the You and I cassette, but now I want to. Promotion was a main function of the fan clubs, and Nimoy wanted it known people could drop some money on his new cassette of poetry reading. That pitch probably worked then and it just worked now. I hit up eBay looking for one. No luck yet.

Burying the lede. The big news for fans in the spring of 1978 was that Nimoy had settled his dispute with Paramount and would indeed play Spock again — but that was stuck on the second page, following the important announcement that readers could see a preview of his play Vincent at the Sacramento Convention Center Theatre. 

Also, early eBay

These newsletters were also a vehicle for collectibles. There are a couple of pages of people looking to buy or sell. I love Ellie Ockert’s complete lack of negotiating skills when she exclaimed “WANTED DESPERATELY – NAME YOUR PRICE.”

I own a bunch of paper from the LNAF but, like this newsletter until just recently, I have barely glanced through the pile. I will try to share more of this 1970s fandom in the future.