William Shatner is a Actor, Director, Scriptwriter, Producer, Theme Song Performance and Creator Canadien born on 22 march 1931 at Montreal (Canada)
William Shatner
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William "Bill" Shatner (born March 22, 1931) is a Canadian actor, singer, author, producer, director, spokesman, and comedian. He gained worldwide fame and became a cultural icon for his portrayal of James T. Kirk, Captain of the USS Enterprise, in the Star Trek franchise. He has written a series of books chronicling his experiences playing Captain Kirk and being a part of Star Trek, and has co-written several novels set in the Star Trek universe. He has also written a series of science fiction novels called TekWar which was adapted for television.
Shatner also played the eponymous veteran police sergeant in T. J. Hooker (1982–86). Afterwards, he hosted the reality-based television series Rescue 911 (1989–96), which won a People's Choice Award for Favorite New TV Dramatic Series. He has since worked as a musician, author, director and celebrity pitchman. He also memorably starred as attorney Denny Crane in the television dramas The Practice (2004) and its spin-off Boston Legal (2004–08), for which he won two Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Award. Biography
Shatner dislikes watching himself perform, and says that he has never watched any Star Trek or Boston Legal television episodes nor any of the Star Trek movies except the unedited footage from Star Trek V: The Final Frontier which he directed, although his book Star Trek Memories makes reference to his having re-watched episodes of Star Trek.
Family
Shatner has been married four times. His first marriage, to Gloria Rand (née Rabinowitz), produced three daughters: Leslie (b. 1958), Lisabeth (b. 1960), and Melanie (b. 1964). Rand was a Canadian actress. Rand and Shatner married on August 12, 1956, and their honeymoon was in Scotland. Shatner left Rand while he was acting in Star Trek: The Original Series, after which she filed for divorce. The divorce was finalized in 1969.
Shatner's second marriage to Marcy Lafferty (daughter of producer Perry Lafferty) lasted from 1973 to 1996. His third marriage was to Nerine Kidd Shatner, from 1997 until her death in 1999. On August 9, 1999, Shatner returned home around 10 pm to discover Nerine's body at the bottom of their backyard swimming pool. She was 40 years old. An autopsy detected alcohol and Valium in her blood, but the coroner ruled the cause of death as an accidental drowning. The LAPD ruled out foul play, and the case was closed. Speaking to the press shortly after his wife's death, a clearly shaken and emotional Shatner said that she "meant everything" to him, and called her his "beautiful soulmate." Shatner urged the public to support Friendly House, a non-profit organization that helps women re-establish themselves in the community after suffering from alcoholism and drug addiction. He later told Larry King in an interview that "... my wife, whom I loved dearly, and who loved me, was suffering with a disease that we don't like to talk about: alcoholism. And she met a tragic ending because of it." In his 2008 book Up Till Now: The Autobiography, Shatner discusses how Leonard Nimoy helped take Nerine to treatment for her alcoholism. Shatner writes in an excerpt from his book:
Leonard Nimoy's personal experience of alcoholism now came to play a central role in my life and it helped us bond together in a way I never could have imagined in the early days of Star Trek. After Nerine [Kidd] and I had been to dinner with Leonard and Susan Nimoy one evening, Leonard called and said: "Bill, you know she's an alcoholic?" I said I did. I married Nerine in 1997, against the advice of many and my own good sense. But I thought she would give up alcohol for me. We had a celebration in Pasadena, and Leonard was my best man. I woke up about eight o'clock the next morning and Nerine was drunk. She was in rehab for 30 days three different times. Twice she almost drank herself to death. Leonard took Nerine to Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, but she did not want to quit.
In 2000, a Reuters story reported that Shatner was planning to write and direct The Shiva Club, a dark comedy about the grieving process inspired by his wife's death. Shatner's 2004 album Has Been included a spoken word piece titled "What Have You Done" that describes his anguish upon discovering his wife's body in the pool.
Since 2001, Shatner has been married to Elizabeth Anderson Martin. In 2004, she co-wrote the song "Together" on Shatner's album Has Been.
Relationships with other actors
Shatner first appeared on screen with Leonard Nimoy in 1964, when both actors guest-starred in an episode of The Man from U.N.C.L.E. entitled "The Project Strigas Affair." However, Shatner states in his autobiography that he does not recall meeting Nimoy at that time. As co-stars on Star Trek, they interacted socially both on and off the set. After Star Trek 's cancellation in 1969, Shatner and Nimoy reunited in the production of Star Trek: The Animated Series, as well as The $20,000 Pyramid, where "Kirk vs. Spock" appeared on two different tables. Nimoy also guest-starred on T. J. Hooker for a few episodes. Shatner starred in the title role of the show.
The 1999 death of Shatner's third wife, Nerine, served to strengthen the friendship of Shatner and Nimoy, as Nimoy had mourned over the loss. Nimoy also appeared alongside Shatner at the TV Land Awards (hosted by John Ritter). Nimoy summarized his four-decade friendship with Shatner by remarking, "Bill's energy was good for my performance, 'cause Spock could be the cool individual, our chemistry was successful, right from the start." Nimoy has spoken about their mutual rivalry during the Star Trek years: "Very competitive, sibling rivalry up to here. After the show had been on the air a few weeks and they started getting so much mail for Spock, then the dictum came down from NBC: 'Give us more of that guy, they love that guy, you know?' Well, that can be... that can be a problem for the leading man who was hired as the star of the show; and suddenly, here's this guy with ears – 'What's this, you know?'" said Nimoy. Shatner has similarly described their Star Trek relationship, stating that they only became close friends while attending fan conventions together. On an episode of the A&E series Biography, Nimoy remarked, "Bill Shatner hogging the stage? No. Not the Bill Shatner I know." When Leonard Nimoy died in 2015, Shatner stated "I loved him like a brother. We will all miss his humor, his talent, and his capacity to love." Although Shatner was unable to attend Leonard Nimoy's funeral due to other commitments, Shatner's daughters attended in his place, and Shatner had his own online memorial for Nimoy.
Shatner has been a friend of actress Heather Locklear since 1982, when Locklear began co-starring with him on T. J. Hooker as Officer Stacy Sheridan. As she was also appearing in a semi-regular role in another Aaron Spelling production, Dynasty, at the same time, Locklear was asked by Entertainment Tonight whether this schedule was difficult. She replied "...I'd get really nervous and want to be prepared..." for Shatner and for the experienced cast of Dynasty. After Hooker ended Shatner helped Locklear get other roles. Locklear supported a grieving Shatner in 1999 when he was mourning the death of his wife, Nerine. In 2005, Locklear appeared in two episodes of Shatner's Boston Legal as Kelly Nolan, an attractive, youthful woman being tried for killing her much older, wealthy husband. Shatner plays Denny Crane, a founding partner of a large law firm, and a legendary litigator. Crane is attracted to Nolan and tries to insert himself into her defense. He is about the same age as Nolan's deceased husband, so Crane courts death by pursuing her. Locklear was asked how she came to appear on Boston Legal. She explained "I love the show, it's my favorite show; and I sorta kind of said, 'Shouldn't I be William Shatner's illegitimate daughter, or his love interest?'"
I was a lot more worried about working with Walter Koenig and Jimmy Doohan, two men who have made it clear on any number of occasions that my name is generally near the top of their shit lists.
—Shatner, on having to work again with two of his Star Trek co-stars in the 1994 movie, Star Trek Generations
For years, Shatner was accused of being difficult to work with by some of his Star Trek co-stars, most notably George Takei, Walter Koenig and James Doohan, the difficult relationship with the latter two Shatner himself acknowledged in his autobiography Star Trek Movie Memories. In the 2004 Star Trek DVD sets, Shatner seemed to have made up with Takei, but their differences continue to resurface, erupting in full force again in 2014. In the 1990s, Shatner made numerous attempts to reconcile with Doohan, but was unsuccessful for some time, Doohan being the only former Star Trek co-star steadfastly refusing to be interviewed by Shatner for his 1993 memoir Star Trek Memories and its 1994 follow-up, Star Trek Movie Memories; however, an Associated Press article published at the time of Doohan's final convention appearance in late August 2004 stated that Doohan, already suffering from severe health problems, had forgiven Shatner and they had mended their relationship at a convention directly preceding Doohan's last one, as that convention's head, Sky Conway, attested to, "At our show: 'The Great Bird of the Galaxy' in El Paso Texas in November 2003, a celebration of Gene Roddenberry and Star Trek, Bill and Jimmy went on stage together. Behind the scenes and before they went on stage, they hugged each other, apologized and expressed their love and admiration for each other. Bill specifically asked me to get them together so he could make amends and clear the air between the two of them before it was too late."
Health problems
Shatner suffers from tinnitus, which he has speculated might be the result of an accident on the set (pyrotechnics) while shooting the Star Trek episode "Arena" – though he didn't begin to suffer from tinnitus until the early 1990s, more than twenty years later. Shatner is involved in the American Tinnitus Association. His treatment for this condition involved wearing a small electronic device that generated a low-level, broadband sound (white noise) that "helped his brain put the tinnitus in the background" – a process known as habituation. His friend, Leonard Nimoy, also suffered the same condition as a result of the same accident. They suffered the condition in opposite ears.
Hobbies and charity work
In 2006, Shatner sold his kidney stone for US$25,000 to GoldenPalace.com. In an appearance on The View on May 16, 2006, Shatner said the $25,000 and an additional $20,000 raised from the cast and crew of Boston Legal paid for the building of a house by Habitat for Humanity.
In his spare time, Shatner enjoys breeding and showing American Saddlebreds and Quarter Horses. Shatner rode one of his own horses, a mare named Great Belles of Fire, in his role as James T. Kirk in Star Trek Generations. Shatner has a 360-acre (150 ha) farm near Versailles, Kentucky, named Belle Reve (from the French beau rève, "Beautiful Dream"—Belle Reve was the name of Blanche Dubois and her sister Stella's family home in A Streetcar Named Desire), where he raises American Saddlebreds including three named Call Me Ringo, Revival, and Sultan's Great Day. The farm's activities help benefit the Central Kentucky Riding for Hope "Horses For Heroes" program. Shatner also plays on the World Poker Tour in the Hollywood Home Games, where celebrities play for their favorite charities. Since 1990, he has been a leading force behind the Hollywood Charity Horse Show, which raises money for children's charities.
Public appearances
In 2014, Shatner was one of the Grand Marshals for the 102nd Calgary Stampede as he is an avid equestrian.
In 2017, Shatner will host as 'captain' of the maiden voyage of a Star Trek-themed cruise entitled "Star Trek: The Cruise". The cruise is the first licensed by CBS Productions to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the show.
Best films
(2006)
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(1986)
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(1994)
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(1982)
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(1984)
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