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01
Shortly after the original Star Trek 1966 series was canceled, his wife Gloria Rand left him and took a lot of money. With very little money and low acting prospects, he lived in a pickup truck camper until bit parts led to higher-paying roles.
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02
He recorded a special message for NASA’s Space Shuttle Discovery mission STS-133 that woke up the crew at 3:23 a.m. EST on March 7, 2011, including the Star Trek theme and his narration about the shuttle’s 30-year mission.
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03
He auctioned a kidney stone to GoldenPalace.com for $75,000, donating the money to Habitat for Humanity.
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04
In 2001, he married Elizabeth Anderson Martin, a horse trainer 30 years his junior; shared grief her husband died in 1997, Shatner was a widower and love of horses brought them together. They reside in Southern California and Kentucky.
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05
He is an expert equestrian, which was used in Star Trek: Generations 1994; he helped teach co-star Sir Patrick Stewart to ride, advising him to wear pantyhose under pants to reduce chafing.
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06
He performed most of his own stunts for Star Trek III: The Search for Spock 1984, though he had a stuntman, John Meier, for the more difficult ones.
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07
According to Debra Hill, a Halloween mask in Shatner’s likeness was painted white and used as the mask of Michael Myers in the original Halloween 1978.
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08
He speaks English and French fluently from his bilingual upbringing in Montreal, Quebec.
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09
He has not fully recovered from depression caused by the 1967 death of his father, Joseph Shatner. Gene Roddenberry postponed shooting scenes with Leonard Nimoy so Shatner could attend the funeral.
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10
At first he believed that as the star of Star Trek 1966 he should outshine others, but later appreciated the merits of an ensemble cast.
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11
During filming of Star Trek III: The Search for Spock 1984, a fire broke out on the lot threatening the Genesis Planet sets; Shatner helped put it out with a fire hose.
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12
His daughter Melanie Shatner had a small role in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier 1989, which was directed by her father.
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13
He remained friends with Leonard Nimoy during and after Star Trek 1966.
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14
His delivery is called Shatnerian.
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15
He became the oldest person to fly in space on October 13, 2021 at age 90, and the first Star Trek actor to go to space.
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16
He suffers from tinnitus, along with Leonard Nimoy; Nimoy’s right ear and Shatner’s left ear are affected, damaged during filming of the episode Arena 1967 when they were too close to an explosion.
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17
He expressed sadness at not being asked to reprise Captain Kirk for the 2009 Star Trek remake; in response, he wrote the novel Star Trek: Academy Collision Course with Judith and Garfield Reeves.
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18
With the death of Grace Lee Whitney on May 1, 2015, he became the oldest living cast member of the original Star Trek 1966 series.
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19
He remained friends with Heather Locklear after T.J. Hooker 1982.
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20
His Priceline commercials reunited him with Leonard Nimoy and paired him with Robert Pine, father of Chris Pine who succeeded him as Kirk.
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21
He has written several Star Trek novels, including The Ashes of Eden 1995, The Return 1996, and Avenger 1997.
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22
His version of Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds was voted the worst massacre of a Beatles song ever.
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23
He overcame his greatest phobia of falling while directing Yosemite National Park scenes for Star Trek V: The Final Frontier 1989.
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24
His paternal grandparents were Volf Schattner and Fruma Freyda Lecker, Jewish emigrants from Kuty, Ukraine and Bukovina; his father Joseph was born in Bukovina. His maternal grandparents were Yaakov Garmaise and Yetta Kahn, Jewish emigrants from Vilkaviskis, Lithuania.
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25
He runs SPLATT ATTACK!, a paintball recreation center in the United States, and sometimes participates in competitions.
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26
Two of his daughters, Melanie and Lisabeth Shatner, appeared in uncredited roles in the Star Trek episode Miri 1966.
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27
He has appeared in episodes of five different series with Leonard Nimoy: The Man from U.N.C.L.E. 1964, Star Trek 1966, Star Trek: The Animated Series 1973, T.J. Hooker 1982, and Futurama 1999.
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28
In an early performance, he had to play piano off-camera then pull a weapon from a drawer; the only weapon available was a corkscrew, and he carried on, saying I screwed him to death!
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29
He was the understudy of Christopher Plummer in a stage production of Shakespeare’s Henry V in Canada.
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30
Nearly ten years after Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home 1986, whose plot involved rescuing humpback whales, he narrated a documentary about endangered species and wept.
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31
He had worries about appearing in the Futurama episode Where No Fan Has Gone Before 2002 but after speaking with Billy West, he agreed to continue.
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32
He breeds and shows American saddlebreds and quarter-horses.
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33
He once worked as a camp counselor at Camp B’nai Brith in the Laurentian Mountains of Quebec.
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34
On August 9, 1999, his third wife Nerine Kidd drowned in their swimming pool in Studio City, California; the tragedy was ruled an accident.
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35
His fondness for motorcycle riding in the 1950s and 1960s influenced the same for young James T. Kirk in the 2009 Star Trek remake.
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36
He produces and hosts the annual Hollywood Charity Horse Show founded in 1990, raising over $1.25 million for children’s charities.
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37
He wielded a lightsaber towards the ending of Invasion Iowa 2005; George Lucas was flattered and invited him to speak and sing My Way for his Lifetime Achievement ceremony in 2005.
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38
He wrote the TekWar 1994 series of science fiction books, unrelated to Star Trek, which were turned into made-for-TV movies and a short-lived series; Shatner co-starred and directed several episodes.
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39
He was reunited with ex-T.J. Hooker 1982 co-star Heather Locklear on one episode of Boston Legal 2004.
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40
He is among a few actors who have directed themselves in performances that won Razzie Awards for Worst Actor, joining Sylvester Stallone, Prince, Kevin Costner, Roberto Benigni, and Tom Green.
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41
He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Television at 6901 Hollywood Boulevard on May 19, 1983.
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42
On the June 17, 2009 episode of The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien, he revealed he cannot perform the Vulcan salute hand gesture.
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43
He received his Bachelor of Commerce from McGill University; its student university center is named after him.
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44
He was the first person to appear in the Celebrity Secrets sketch on Late Night with Conan O’Brien, which later featured Harrison Ford, Tom Hanks, and his fellow Star Trek captains.
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45
He once performed in Incubus 1966, a movie whose entire dialogue was in Esperanto.
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46
Captain Kirk is the only lyric identical in both English and German mixes of the song 99 Red Balloons.
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47
Money from his father’s Laval, Quebec hardware and furniture business supported him during his job hunt in the United States.
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48
A prior charity commitment prevented him from attending Leonard Nimoy’s funeral; he sent one of his daughters to represent him. Nimoy was best man at Shatner’s wedding to Nerine Kidd.
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49
He is among the few Hollywood actors who worked into their 80s and 90s without retiring.
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50
He jogged for charity from 1976 to 1980, supporting the Montreal Olympics and Terry Fox’s Marathon of Hope.
