William Shatner

William Shatner (lahir 22 Mac 1931) ialah seorang pelakon, pemuzik, pengarang buku serta penerbit dan pengarah filem dari Kanada.
Beliau menjadi dikenali melalui pemeranan watak Kapten James Tiberius Kirk iaitu antara watak utama siri televisyen cereka sins Star Trek dari 1966 ke 1969 serta tujuh filem susulannya. Shatner telah mengarang siri buku yang membabadkan pengalamannya melakonkan watak James T. Kirk serta peranannya dalam Star Trek. Dia juga berlakon sebagai T.J. Hooker dari 1982 ke 1986. Beliau turut mememangi Anugerah Emmy dan Anugerah Golden Globe melalu lakonannya dalam drama televisyen, Boston Legal.
Shatner dilahirkan di Montreal, Kanada. Beliau anak kepada kepada Joseph Shatner, seorang pengilang baju, dan Anna Garmaise. Semua empat datuk dan nenek Shatner adalah keturunan Yahudi Eropah Barat; his paternal grandfather, Wolf Schattner, shortened the family name to "Shatner". He attended Willingdon Elementary School, in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce in Montreal, Quebec, and earned in 1952 a Bachelor's degree in commerce from Montreal's McGill University, the Student Union building of which was renamed The Shatner Building in 1993 following a referendum by the Student Union. Although used by many students, the name is not officially recognized by the university, which still refers to the building as University Centre.
Trained as a classical Shakespearean actor, Shatner performed at the Shakespearean Stratford Festival of Canada in Stratford, Ontario. He played a range of Shakespearean roles at the Stratford Festival in productions that included Shakespeare's Henry V and Marlowe's Tamburlaine the Great. Shatner made his Broadway debut in the latter. In 1954, he was cast as "Ranger Bill" on the Canadian version of the Howdy Doody Show.
Though his official movie debut was in the 1951 Canadian film entitled The Butler's Night Off, Shatner's first feature role came in the 1958 MGM film The Brothers Karamazov with Yul Brynner, in which he starred as the youngest of the Karamazov brothers, Alexei. In 1959, he received decent reviews when he took on the role of Robert Lomax in the Broadway production of The World of Suzie Wong. In 1961 he starred in the Broadway play "A Shot in the Dark" opposite Julie Harris and directed by Harold Clurman. Walter Matthau and Gene Saks were also featured in this play (in which there was no Inspector Clouseau character).
In 1962 he starred in Roger Corman's award-winning movie The Intruder. He also appeared in the Stanley Kramer film Judgment at Nuremberg and two episodes of the acclaimed science fiction anthology series The Twilight Zone. There was also an episode for The Outer Limits. Shatner guest-starred in The Man from U.N.C.L.E. in an episode that also featured Leonard Nimoy, with whom Shatner later would be paired in Star Trek. Shatner also starred in the 1965 Gothic horror film Incubus, the second feature-length movie ever made with all dialogue spoken in the constructed language Esperanto.
Shatner yang pertamanya dipilih sebagai Captain James Tiberius Kirk untuk rintis kedua Star Trek, bertajuk "Where No Man Has Gone Before". Dia kemudiannya mengikat kontrak untuk memainkan Kirk untuk siri Star Trek dan memegangkan lakonan dari 1966 ke 1969. Di episod Operation Annihilate dia bermain mayat George Samuel Kirk (abang James T. Kirk) yang sekarang dibunuh.
Pada 1973, Shatner returned to the role of Captain Kirk, albeit only in voice, in the animated Star Trek series. He was slated to reprise the role of Kirk for Star Trek: Phase II, a follow-up series chronicling the second five-year mission of the Enterprise, but Star Trek: Phase II was cancelled in pre-production and expanded into Star Trek: The Motion Picture.
Shatner is notable for having participated in the first kiss in a U.S. television drama series between fictional interracial characters, with Nichelle Nichols, in the 1968 Star Trek episode "Plato's Stepchildren". The scene provoked controversy and was seen as groundbreaking, even though the kiss was portrayed as having been forced by telekinesis; it is also frequently misremembered as "the first interracial kiss on US TV" even though it took place after Sammy Davis, Jr. and Nancy Sinatra had openly kissed on the variety program Movin' With Nancy in December 1967. The episode was not telecast in some Southern cities for fear of protest in those states; nevertheless, most viewer reaction was positive. Shatner has claimed in his memoirs that no one on the set felt the kiss to be very important until a network executive raised fears of a Southern boycott and the kiss was almost written out of the script. Gene Roddenberry supposedly made a deal that the scene would be shot both with the kiss and with a cut-away shot which merely implied a kiss, and then a subsequent decision would be made about which scene to televise. The footage of the actual kiss was eventually used. Some cast members have written that this was because Shatner deliberately ruined the take for the implied-kiss footage by looking into the camera and crossing his eyes to force the real kiss to be used.
For years Shatner was accused of being difficult to work with by some of his Star Trek co-stars, most notably James Doohan, and George Takei, who professed that he despised Shatner for being an arrogant, egotistical, line-stealing showboater who tried to keep his co-stars in the background. In the 2004 Star Trek DVD sets, Shatner seemed to have buried the hatchet with Takei, but the gulf between Shatner and Doohan was more difficult. In the 1990s, Shatner made numerous attempts to patch things up with Doohan, but was unsuccessful for some time; however, an Associated Press article published at the time of Doohan's final convention appearance in late August 2004 stated that Doohan had forgiven his fellow Canadian Shatner and they had mended their relationship. It's possible that their renewed friendship was the result of Shatner caring for Doohan, who had fallen ill and died of Alzheimer's on July 20, 2005.
Between 1979 and 1991, William Shatner played Captain Kirk in the first six Star Trek films, and directed the fifth. In 1994, he returned to the role of Captain Kirk in Star Trek Generations—his character's final appearance in the movie series. 1997 marked his final appearance as Captain Kirk in the movie sequences of Starfleet Academy, although he recently reprised this role briefly for a Trek-parody DirecTV advertisement which began airing in late summer 2006.
In the summer of 2004, rumors circulated that the producers of Star Trek: Enterprise were considering bringing William Shatner back into the Trek fold. Reports in the media indicated that the idea was given serious thought, with series producer Manny Coto indicating in Star Trek Communicator magazine's October 2004 issue that he was preparing a three-episode story arc for Shatner. Shortly thereafter, Enterprise was cancelled, likely ending all hope that Shatner would return to Star Trek.
Shatner was an occasional celebrity guest on The $20,000 Pyramid in the 1970s, once appearing opposite Nimoy in a matchup billed as "Kirk vs. Spock". His appearances became far less frequent after a 1977 appearance, in which, after giving an illegal clue at the top of the pyramid ($200) which deprived the contestant of a big money win, he threw his chair out of the Winner's Circle. He appeared on the Match Game, though he was never a regular on this program.
Shatner had a long dry spell in the decade between the original Star Trek series and the first Trek film, which he believes was due to his being typecast as Captain Kirk, making it difficult to find other work. Moreover, his wife Gloria Rand left him. With very little money and acting prospects, he lived in a truck bed camper in the San Fernando Valley until acting bit-parts turned into higher paying roles. Shatner refers to this part of his life as "that period," a humbling one in which he would take any odd job, including small party appearances, to support his family. Perhaps the nadir was his role in Big Bad Mama, prized by Shatnerites for his nude scene with Angie Dickinson. He did however land a starring role in the western-themed secret agent series Barbary Coast during 1975 and 1976, as well as a major role in the horror film The Devil's Rain. He also made guest appearances on many 1970s television series such as The Six Million Dollar Man, Columbo, The Rookies, and Mission: Impossible. The dry spell ended for Shatner (and the other Star Trek cast members) when Paramount produced Star Trek: The Motion Picture in 1979, under pressure from loyal fans of the series. Its success re-established Shatner as an actor, and Captain Kirk — now promoted to Admiral — as a cult icon.
While continuing to film the successful series of Star Trek movies, he returned to television in the 1980s, starring as a police officer in the T.J. Hooker series from 1982 to 1986. He then hosted the popular dramatic reenactment series Rescue 911 from 1989 to 1996. During the 1980s, Shatner also began dabbling in film and television directing, directing numerous episodes of T.J. Hooker and the feature film Star Trek V: The Final Frontier.
As the unwilling central figure of a widespread geek-culture of Trekkies, Shatner is often humorously critical of the sometimes "annoying" fans of Star Trek. He also has found an outlet in spoofing the cavalier, almost superhuman character persona of Captain Kirk, in films such as Airplane II: The Sequel (1982), National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon (1993) and Saturday Night Live, in which he advised Star Trek fans to "Get a life", repeating a popular catch-phrase. Shatner also appeared in the film Free Enterprise in 1998, in which he played himself and tried to dispel the Kirk image of himself from the view of the film's two lead characters.
Shatner has enjoyed success with a series of science fiction novels published under his name, though most were written by uncredited co-writers like Ron Goulart. The first — published in 1990 — was TekWar. This popular series of books led to a Marvel Comics series, to a number of television movies, in which Shatner played a role, and to a short-lived television series in which Shatner made several appearances; he also directed some episodes. In 1995, a first-person shooter game named William Shatner's TekWar was released, and was the first game to use the Build engine.
In the 1990s, Shatner appeared in several plays on National Public Radio, written and directed by Norman Corwin. Shatner was cast as "The Big Giant Head," a womanizing party-animal and high-ranking officer from the same alien planet as the show's protagonists in several episodes of the television series 3rd Rock from the Sun. The role earned Shatner a nomination for an Emmy. In 2003, Shatner appeared in Brad Paisley's Celebrity country music video along with Little Jimmy Dickens, Jason Alexander, and Trista Rehn.
In 2004, Shatner was cast as the eccentric but highly capable attorney Denny Crane for the final season of the legal drama The Practice, for which he was awarded an Emmy, and then its subsequent spin-off, Boston Legal, for which he won a Golden Globe, an Emmy in 2005 and nominated again in 2006. With the 2005 Emmy win, Shatner became one of the few actors along with co-star James Spader as Alan Shore, to win an Emmy award while playing the same character in two different series. Even rarer, Shatner and Spader each won a second consecutive Emmy while playing the same character in two different series.
Also in 2004, Shatner became a "Celebrity Photographer" for Playboy's Cyber Club.
In 2005, Shatner executive-produced and starred in the Spike TV reality miniseries Invasion Iowa. On October 19, 2005, while working on the set of Boston Legal, Shatner was taken to the emergency room for lower back pain. He eventually passed a kidney stone, but recovered and soon returned to work.
In 2006 Shatner sold his kidney stone for US$75,000 to GoldenPalace.com. In an appearance on The View on Tuesday, May 16, 2006, Shatner said US$75,000, with an additional US$20,000 raised from the cast and crew of Boston Legal, paid for the building of a house by Habitat for Humanity.
Shatner also plays on the World Poker Tour in the Hollywood Home games. He plays for the Wells Fargo Hollywood Charity Horse Show. Shatner has appeared in priceline.com commercials both online and on TV, as the "Chief Negotiating Officer." Shatner is also the CEO of the Toronto, Ontario-based C.O.R.E. Digital Pictures, which provided the special effects for the 1996 film Fly Away Home.
On August 20, 2006, Shatner was featured on Comedy Central's Roast of William Shatner. Jason Alexander acted as roastmaster with (in alphabetical order) Andy Dick, Farrah Fawcett, Greg Giraldo, Lisa Lampanelli, Artie Lange, Nichelle Nichols, Patton Oswalt, Kevin Pollak, Jeffrey Ross, George Takei, Betty White, and Fred Willard performing the roasting duties. Special, pre-taped, guest appearances were made by Leonard Nimoy, Sandra Bullock, Ben Stiller, Sarah Silverman, Jimmy Kimmel, and Clint Howard.
In October 2006, Shatner accepted to host the new ABC game show Show Me the Money, which began in November 2006. The show was cancelled in December 2006 due to low ratings. It was Shatner's first unsuccessful attempt at a series since Barbary Coast in 1976. Shatner continues to co-star on Boston Legal. On March 22, 2007, Shatner was announced as the inductor of legendary professional wrestler/broadcaster Jerry "The King" Lawler at the 2007 WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony, set to occur on March 31, 2007 at the Fox Theater in Detroit, Michigan. Shatner was chosen because of a memorable 1995 appearance on WWF Monday Night Raw in which Shatner, promoting the TekWar TV series, pushed Lawler to the ring canvas during an interview segment. Shatner later managed fellow Canadian Bret "Hit Man" Hart in a match against Jeff Jarrett, managed by Lawler. Shatner briefly reprised his role as James T. Kirk for a recent 2006 DirecTV advertisement featuring footage from Star Trek VI. Shatner has starred in a series of Kellogg's All-Bran cereal commercials in the UK and Canada.
In January 2007, Shatner launched a series of daily vlogs on his life called ShatnerVision on the LiveUniverse.com website. Along with his daughter Lisabeth; they provide a unique and unparalleled look into Shatner's private life and adventures in life.
Shatner also appeared in the ABC reality television series Fast Cars and Superstars: The Gillette Young Guns Celebrity Race, featuring a dozen celebrities in a stock car racing competition. In the first round of competition, Shatner matched up against former NFL coach Bill Cowher and former volleyball superstar Gabrielle Reece. Shatner was disqualified in the episode for repeatedly crossing a safety line on the track. As of 2007, Shatner is the first Canadian actor to star in three successful TV series on 3 different networks (NBC, CBS and ABC).
Shatner has a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (for Television work) at 6901 Hollywood Blvd. He also has a star on the Canadian Walk of Fame.
On November 20, 2007 William Shatner was featured as part of the "What's Your Game?" national television commercial series for World of Warcraft along with Mr T. and Verne Troyer.
Shatner has been married four times: to Gloria Rand from 1956 to 1969, Marcy Lafferty from 1973 to 1994, Nerine Kidd from 1997 to 1999, and his current wife Elizabeth Martin whom he married in 2001. Shatner has three daughters, Leslie Carol (b. 1958), Lisabeth Mary (b. 1960), and Melanie (b. 1964), from his marriage to Rand. Melanie had a brief career as an actress and is now the proprietor of Dari, an upscale women's clothing boutique. In his spare time, Shatner enjoys breeding and showing American Saddlebreds and Quarter Horses. Shatner has a 360-acre (1.5 km²) horse farm in Kentucky named Bellreve, where he raises the winning horses.
He is Joel Gretsch's father-in-law; Gretsch is married to Shatner's daughter, Melanie Shatner and father of his two granddaughters, Kaya and Willow.
On August 9, 1999, Shatner returned home around 10 p.m. to discover the body of his wife Nerine at the bottom of their back yard swimming pool. Alcohol and Valium were detected in an autopsy, and a coroner ruled the death an accidental drowning. The LAPD ruled out foul play and the case has been long 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 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. The project is still in pre-production. Shatner's 2004 album Has Been produced with Ben Folds included a spoken word piece titled "What Have You Done" which describes his anguish upon discovering his wife's body in the pool.
Shatner has had a much-mocked musical career, starting with the 1968 album The Transformed Man. Delivered with orchestral backings with the odd "psychedelic" flourish, his exaggerated, interpretive recitations of "Mr. Tambourine Man" and "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" became instant camp classics. Shatner would eventually parody his own musical style several times in the 1990s, including during an episode of Futurama, in which he performed a spoken word version of the rap hit song "The Real Slim Shady."
Shatner performed a reading of the Elton John song "Rocket Man" during the Science Fiction Film Awards, televised in 1978. Dressed in tuxedo ruffles with a hand-rolled cigarette in hand, he spoke with Kirk-like delivery against a synthesizer-laden backdrop of the song.
Shatner provided vocals for "In Love" by Ben Folds on his Fear of Pop album. He would later provide vocals for an alternate version of Folds' song "Rockin' the Suburbs" which was contributed to the Over the Hedge soundtrack in 2006.
A creative friendship blossomed that led to Folds producing and co-writing Shatner's well-received second studio album, Has Been, in 2004. The album centers around Shatner's often melancholy and regretful autobiographical ruminations, and features a number of prestigious guest artists such as Aimee Mann, Lemon Jelly, Henry Rollins, Brad Paisley and Joe Jackson. Notably, Has Been features the single "Common People", a cover version of the song by Pulp.
He appears on the piece "'64 - Go" by Lemon Jelly, featured on their CD entitled '64 - '95, and in Brad Paisley's music video for "Celebrity" and "Online." Shatner also appears as a studio producer in the music video for "Landed" by Ben Folds.
In 2007 a ballet called Common People, set to Has Been, was created by Margo Sappington (of Oh! Calcutta! fame) and performed by the Milwaukee Ballet. Shatner attended the premiere and filmed the event. The filmed footage eventually turned into a feature film called Gonzo Ballet, due out in 2008.
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