Monthly Archives: December 2019

Hi Everybody,

Sorry I haven’t posted in a while – this week I was knocked out with a stomach bug. Much better now, and here’s a nice little surprise of my recent winnings on eBay! And though these winnings I have figured out a couple of mysteries I had wondered about their origins!

First, do you recall that stunning portrait of Leonard from the 1950’s that popped up a couple of years ago? Yeah, that one. Well, I found out through an auction that this was one of Leonard’s official portraits for his agent’s company (The Barskin Agency, phone # included) You can see here how it was used in a directory of potential actors with stars in their eyes. Even more so, there’s the photo on the right of the ad which I’ve never seen before; would like to see the original of this too! If anyone has a better copy, let me know!

Second Mystery: There’s a photo I’ve seen off and on of Leonard in full Spock makeup sitting behind a desk with a microphone. Many puzzled, Is it…

1. A game show.
2. A panel discussion.
3. Just an interview off the Trek set.

Give yourself fist pump if you thought #3. Indeed, it is an interview from a local Los Angeles TV station KHJ- 9 (now known as KCAL), and the program was an afternoon talk show called Tempo that aired for 3 hours every afternoon. In late 1966, Leonard was a guest on one of the third hours which often featured celebrity interviews. Here, Leonard is being interviewed by hostess Maria Cole, who was the widow of the great Nat King Cole (Jazz vocalist, and mother of Natalie).

Finding this picture was a treasure, especially since we could finally see the entire set and hostess! The props define the era so well too; the wired microphones, the red telephone and of course the ash tray because almost everybody smoked! Now if only there’s a video available somewhere; I would have loved to seen what episode he was in the middle of shooting!