Barack Obama on Leonard Nimoy: 'I Loved Spock'

US President Barack Obama on Friday paid tribute to late "Star Trek" actor Leonard Nimoy, lauding his portrayal of the logical Mr Spock as well as his contributions to the arts and sciences.

"Long before being nerdy was cool, there was Leonard Nimoy," Obama said in a statement, after the actor's death at his Los Angeles home at age 83.

The US president praised the Boston-born star as a "lifelong lover of the arts and humanities, a supporter of the sciences, generous with his talent and his time."

"And of course, Leonard was Spock, Cool, logical, big-eared and level-headed, the center of Star Trek's optimistic, inclusive vision of humanity's future," he said.

"I loved Spock."

Obama recounted meeting Nimoy in 2007 and said it was "only logical to greet him with the Vulcan salute, the universal sign for 'Live long and prosper'."

"After 83 years on this planet, and on his visits to many others, it's clear Leonard Nimoy did just that," Obama said, adding he and his wife Michelle joined fans in mourning the actor.