William Shatner OC (born March 22, 1931) is a Canadian actor, author, producer, director, screenwriter and musician who appeared in Season 4's Mork, Mindy, and Mearth Meet M.I.L.T. as an un-named version of Captain Kirk.
Biography[]
Shatner was born in the Notre-Dame-de-Grâce neighbourhood of Montréal, Québec, Canada, to a Conservative Jewish household. His parents were Ann (née Garmaise) and Joseph Shatner, a clothing manufacturer. He has two sisters, Joy and Farla. His paternal grandfather, Wolf Schattner, anglicized the family name to "Shatner".[1]
All four of Shatner's grandparents were Jewish immigrants. They came from Austria-Hungary and the Russian Empire (present-day Ukraine and Lithuania).
Shatner attended two schools in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, Willingdon Elementary School and West Hill High School, and is an alumnus of the Montreal Children's Theatre. He studied Economics at the McGill University Faculty of Management in Montreal, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce degree in 1952.
After graduating from McGill University, Shatner became the business manager for the Mountain Playhouse in Montreal before joining the Canadian National Repertory Theatre in Ottawa, where he trained as a classical Shakespearean actor.
Shatner has been married four times, first to Canadian actress Gloria Rand (née Rabinowitz) on August 12, 1956. The marriage produced three daughters: Leslie (born 1958), Lisabeth (born 1961), and Melanie (born 1964). Shatner left Rand while acting in Star Trek: The Original Series, after which she divorced him in March 1969. Shatner's second marriage was to Marcy Lafferty, the daughter of producer Perry Lafferty, and lasted from 1973 to 1996. His third marriage was to Nerine Kidd, from 1997 until her death in 1999. On August 9, 1999, Shatner returned home around 10 p.m. to discover Nerine's body at the bottom of their backyard swimming pool. She was 40 years old. In 2001, Shatner married Elizabeth Anderson Martin. Shatner filed for divorce from Elizabeth in 2019. The divorce was finalized in January 2020.[1]
He is a longtime U.S. resident and has a green card.[2]
In 2011, McGill University awarded him an honorary Doctorate of Letters. Shatner was also awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters from New England Institute of Technology in May 2018
Career[]
Shatner began performing at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, Ontario, in 1954. The same year he was cast as Ranger Bob on The Canadian Howdy Doody Show. His film debut was in the Canadian film Butler's Night Off (1951). His first feature role came in the MGM film The Brothers Karamazov (1958) with Yul Brynner, in which he starred as the youngest of the Karamazov brothers, Alexei. In December 1958, he appeared opposite Ralph Bellamy, playing Roman tax collectors in Bethlehem on the day of Jesus' birth in a vignette of a Hallmark Hall of Fame live television production entitled The Christmas Tree. Shatner had a leading role in an Alfred Hitchcock Presents third-season (1957–58) episode titled "The Glass Eye", one of his first appearances on American television.
Television[]
| Year | Title | Episode(s) | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1954 | The Canadian Howdy Doody Show | Ranger Bob | |
| 1955 | Encounter | 2 episodes | Lucky / Billy Budd |
| 1957 | Studio One | 5 episodes | Dr. David Coleman / Kenneth Preston / Dr. Franck |
| 1957–60 | Alfred Hitchcock Presents | 2 episodes | John Crane / Jim Whitely |
| 1959 | Nero Wolfe | Count the Man Down" | Archie Goodwin |
| 1960 | One Step Beyond | The Promise | Carl Bremer |
| 1960–63 | The Twilight Zone | 2 episodes | Bob Wilson / Don Carter |
| 1961 | Thriller | 2 episodes | Paul Graves / Gil Thrasher |
| 1961–65 | The Defenders | Various | 5 episodes |
| 1962 | Naked City | 2 episodes | Maung Tun / Roger Barme |
| 1963 | Route 66 | Build Your Houses with Their Backs to the Sea | Menemsha Faxon |
| 1964 | The Outer Limits | Cold Hands, Warm Heart | Brig. Gen. Jeff Barton |
| 1964 | The Man from U.N.C.L.E. | The Project Strigas Affair | Michael Donfield |
| 1964 | Burke's Law | Who Killed Carrie Cornell? | Arthur Reynolds |
| 1965 | The Fugitive | Stranger in the Mirror | Tony Burrell |
| 1965 | For the People | 13 episodes | David Koster |
| 1965 | Twelve O'Clock High | I Am the Enemy | Major Kurt Brown |
| 1965–69 | The Virginian | 2 episodes | Henry Swann / Luke Milford |
| 1966 | The Big Valley | A Time to Kill | Brett Skyler |
| 1966 | Gunsmoke | Quaker Girl | Fred Bateman |
| 1966 | Dr. Kildare | 6 episodes | Dr. Carl Noyes / Toby Cunningham, M.D. |
| 1966–69 | Star Trek | 3 seasons | James T. Kirk |
| 1969 | Medical Center | The Combatants | Dr. Eli Neily |
| 1970 | Sole Survivor | Antennae of Death | Artie |
| 1970–74 | Ironside | Bill Parkins / Don Brand / Marty Jessup | 4 episodes |
| 1971–72 | Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law | 2 episodes | Gary / District Attorney Dave Blankenship |
| 1971–72 | Mission: Impossible | 2 episodes | Joe Conrad / Tommy Kroll |
| 1972 | Hawaii Five-O | You Don't Have to Kill to Get Rich, but It Helps | Sam Tolliver |
| 1972 | The Sixth Sense | Can a Dead Man Strike from the Grave? | Edwin Danbury |
| 1973 | Barnaby Jones | To Catch a Dead Man | Phil Carlyle / Fred Williams |
| 1973 | Mannix | Search For a Whisper | Adam Langer |
| 1974 | The Six Million Dollar Man | Burning Bright | Josh Lang |
| 1974 | Flick Flack | Host | |
| 1974 | Kung Fu | 2 episodes | Captain Brandywine Gage |
| 1975–76 | Barbary Coast | 14 episodes | Jeff Cable |
| 1976-94 | Columbo | Fade in to Murder
Butterfly Shades of Grey |
Ward Fowler / Detective Lucerne
Fielding Chase |
| 1977 | The Oregon Trail | The Scarlet Ribbon | Master Sgt. Buford Cole |
| 1978 | How the West Was Won | Miniseries | Captain Harrison |
| 1978 | Little Women | Pilot | Professor Friedrich Bhaer |
| 1982 | Mork & Mindy | Mork, Mindy and Mearth meet M.I.L.T. | Captain Kirk |
| 1982 | Police Squad! | Revenge and Remorse (The Guilty Alibi) | Poisoned Man |
| 1982–86 | T. J. Hooker | 5 seasons | Sergeant Thomas Jefferson "T. J." Hooker |
| 1985 | The Ray Bradbury Theater | The Playground | Charles Underhill |
| 1989–1996 | Rescue 911 | 7 seasons & 2 specials | Host |
| 1992 | The Larry Sanders Show | The Promise | Himself |
| 1993 | SeaQuest DSV | Hide and Seek | President Milos Teslo |
| 1994–1996 | TekWar | 18 episodes | Walter H. Bascom |
| 1996 | Star Trek: Deep Space Nine | Trials and Tribble-ations | Captain James T. Kirk |
| 1996 | The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air | Eye, Tooth | Himself |
| 1997 | Perversions of Science | Boxed In | Adm. Kornfeld |
| 1997 | Cosby | The Pilot (Not the Pilot) | Jack |
| 1999-2000 | 3rd Rock from the Sun | 5 episodes | The Big Giant Head |
| 2001 | Bob Patterson | Awards Bob | Warren Wellman |
| 2004-08 | Boston Legal | 101 episodes | Denny Crane |
| 2004 | Denny Crane | 5 Episodes | Denny Crane |
| 2004 | Chilly Beach | Dale to the Chief | The President |
| 2005 | Star Trek: Enterprise | These Are the Voyages... | James T. Kirk |
| 2007 | Everest '82 | Miniseries | Norman Kelly |
| 2010-11 | $#*! My Dad Says | 18 Episodes | Dr. Edison "Ed" Milford Goodson |
| 2011–2012 | Psych | Frank O'Hara | 2 episodes |
| 2012 | Rookie Blue | The First Day of the Rest of Your Life" | Henry McLeod |
| 2013 | Hot in Cleveland | It's Alive | Sally |
| 2013 | Kelly Clarkson's Cautionary Christmas Music Tale | Special | NBC Television Executive |
| 2015 | Murdoch Mysteries | Marked Twain | Mark Twain |
| 2015 | Haven | 4 Episodes | Croatoan |
| 2017 | The Indian Detective | 4 Episodes | David Marlowe |
| 2017-19 | Private Eyes | The P.I. Code
Glazed and Confused |
Norm Glinski |
| 2019 | The Big Bang Theory | The D&D Vortex | Himself |
| 2019 | Star Trek: Short Treks | Eraphim and Dot | James T. Kirk |
| 2021 | My Life Is Murder | Sleep No More | Barton Wallwork |
| Year | TV Movie | Role | |
| 1970 | Sole Survivor | Lt. Col. Josef Gronke | |
| 1970 | The Andersonville Trial | Colonel Chipman | |
| 1972 | The Hound of the Baskervilles | George Stapleton | |
| 1972 | The People | Dr. Curtis | |
| 1973 | Incident on a Dark Street | Deaver G. Wallace | |
| 1973 | The Horror at 37,000 Feet | Paul Kovalik | |
| 1973 | Go Ask Alice | Sam | |
| 1974 | Pray for the Wildcats | Warren Summerfield | |
| 1974 | Indict and Convict | Sam Belden | |
| 1976 | The Tenth Level | Professor Stephen Turner | |
| 1977 | Testimony of Two Men | Adrian Ferrier | |
| 1978 | The Bastard | Paul Revere | |
| 1978 | Crash | Carl Tobias | |
| 1979 | Riel | The Barker | |
| 1979 | Disaster on the Coastliner | Stuart Peters | |
| 1980 | The Babysitter | Dr. Jeff Benedict | |
| 1984 | Secrets of a Married Man | Chris Jordan | |
| 1988 | Broken Angel | Chuck Coburn | |
| 1993 | Family of Strangers | Earl | |
| 1994 | TekWar: TekJustice | Walter H. Bascom | |
| 1994 | Janek: The Silent Betrayal | Bodosh | |
| 1996 | Prisoner of Zenda, Inc. | Michael Gatewick | |
| 1996 | Dead Man's Island | Chase Prescott | |
| 2001 | Falcon Down | Maj. Robert Carson | |
| 2001 | The Kid | Professor | |
| 2003 | A Carol Christmas | Dr. Bob / Ghost of Christmas Present | |
| 2005 | Last Laugh '05 | Lucifer | |
| 2008 | Gotta Catch Santa Claus | Santa Claus | |
| 2016 | Range 15 | Richard Chindler |
Film[]
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1951 | The Butler's Night Off | Crook |
| 1957 | Oedipus the King | Chorus |
| 1958 | The Brothers Karamazov | Alexey Karamazov |
| 1961 | The Explosive Generation | Peter Gifford |
| 1961 | Judgment at Nuremberg | Captain Harrison Byers |
| 1962 | The Intruder | Adam Cramer |
| 1963 | Alexander the Great | Alexander the Great |
| 1964 | The Outrage | Preacher |
| 1965 | Incubus | Marc |
| 1968 | White Comanche | Johnny Moon / Notah |
| 1971 | Vanished | Dave Paulick |
| 1973 | Pioneer Woman | Johnny Sergeant |
| 1974 | Impulse | Matt Stone |
| 1974 | Big Bad Mama | William J. Baxter |
| 1975 | The Devil's Rain | Mark Preston |
| 1976 | A Whale of a Tale | Dr. Jack Fredericks |
| 1977 | Kingdom of the Spiders | Rack Hansen |
| 1978 | Land of No Return | Curt Bunell |
| 1978 | The Third Walker | Munro Maclean |
| 1979 | Star Trek: The Motion Picture | James T. Kirk |
| 1980 | The Kidnapping of the President | Jerry O'Connor |
| 1982 | Visiting Hours | Gary Baylor |
| 1982 | Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan | James T. Kirk |
| 1982 | Airplane II: The Sequel | Commander Buck Murdock |
| 1984 | Star Trek III: The Search for Spock | James T. Kirk |
| 1986 | Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home | James T. Kirk |
| 1989 | Star Trek V: The Final Frontier | James T. Kirk |
| 1991 | Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country | James T. Kirk |
| 1993 | Loaded Weapon 1 | General Mortars |
| 1994 | Star Trek Generations | James T. Kirk |
| 1995 | Trinity and Beyond | Narrator |
| 1998 | Land of the Free | Aidan Carvell |
| 1998 | Free Enterprise | Bill |
| 2000 | Miss Congeniality | Stan Fields |
| 2001 | Osmosis Jones | Mayor Phlegmming |
| 2002 | Shoot or Be Shot | Harvey Wilkes |
| 2002 | Showtime | Himself |
| 2002 | American Psycho 2 | Starkman |
| 2002 | Groom Lake | John Gossner |
| 2004 | DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story | Dodgeball Chancellor |
| 2005 | Lil' Pimp | Tony Gold |
| 2005 | Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous | Stan Fields |
| 2006 | Stalking Santa | Narrator |
| 2015 | A Christmas Horror Story | Dangerous Dan |
| 2015 | A Sunday Horse | Kenneth Roubidoux |
| 2018 | Aliens Ate My Homework | Phil the Plant |
| 2019 | Creators: The Past | Lord Ogmha |
| 2019 | Devil's Revenge | Hayes |
| 2021 | Senior Moment | Victor Martin |
| TBA | Keeper of the Cup |
Along with over 480 appearances as himself[2] across to TV Specials like A Celebration of Horses: The American Saddlebred (1993) and Invasion Iowa (2005) along with a range of guest shows and duties as the 'Host' on a number of reality shows. He also let his voice as a narrator to documentaries such as the Mysteries of the Gods (1977) The Vegetarian World (1982) and series like A Twist in the Tale (1998). He also done voice over work on a large number of animated projects starting with Star Trek: The Animated Series (1973-74) and on to shows and movies like Eek! The Cat (1993-1995) ; Hercules: Animated Series (1998); Futurama (2000); Atomic Betty (2005); My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (2017); Over the Hedge (2006); The Wild (2006); The True History of Puss 'N Boots (2009); Quantum Quest: A Cassini Space Odyssey (2010); Escape from Planet Earth (2013); The Steam Engines of Oz (2016); Batman vs. Two-Face (2017); To Your Last Death (2019) and Fireheart (2022);
Mork & Mindy[]
William Shatner, though billed as himself, appeared as an un-named Captain Kirk, accidentally beaming in on the forever malfunctioning H28 beam after a cross beam takes him to the apartment rather than to the hot tub he was planning to enjoy with a young lady. Mork and Mearth having beamed in earlier from Ork, not with their science project materials, but 'Kirk's' champagne and glasses for his escapade, the 'Captain' arriving after them with their project materials, and promptly swapping them before asking Orson to 'beam him out'.