Updated at 1:16 p.m.
Actor Leonard Nimoy, best known for his role as Mr. Spock, the logical half-Vulcan, half-human in the original Star Trek series and several movies, has died at his home in Los Angeles, his granddaughter, Madeleine, told NPR. Nimoy was 83.
The cause was end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, she said.
NPR's Neda Ulaby, who is reporting on the story, tells our Newscast unit:
Nimoy reprised the role he is most famous for in the J.J. Abrams' reboot of the franchise. He told NPR's Guy Raz in 2009: "I know why they wanted me in this last film, which was to create a bridge between the original cast and the new. But that's been done. So I would suspect that there's no need for my presence again."
Actor Zachary Quinto, who took over as Mr. Spock in the reboot and its sequel, told NPR in 2013 that Nimoy "was very supportive from the beginning, and we became incredibly good friends."
Copyright 2015 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.