Happy Birthday, William Shatner

Today is the birthday of William Shatner, best known, of course, for being the lucky person chosen to portray Captain James T. Kirk in the semi-autobiographical series, Star Trek. Truly he was blessed.

Happy Birthday, Bill!

William Shatner is Not Slowing Down

CNN has a great article about William Shatner.

Why did William Shatner cross the road? Why has he ever? To get to the other side. To see what's out there. To find out stuff and inhale the universe in his singular Shatnerian way. It's the story of his life -- and the lives of the characters he has breathed, spoken and shouted into existence over a 50-year performing career.

It's the story of "Boston Legal" bombast Denny Crane, racing to experience all life's pleasures before Alzheimer's drags him not-so-gentle into that good night. It's the story of the Priceline Negotiator, that discount-travel maniac who barnstorms across the planet to get us better deals on hotels and flights. It's the story of James T. Kirk, the wise and womanizing starship captain who led a crew of 23rd-century explorers across interstellar backroads.

And it's the story of Shatner himself -- a man governed by his passions and interests, a man who crosses new roads every day, gleefully ignoring those who dismiss him and conquering frontiers he never dreamed possible. A cultural phenomenon who, despite tales of his galactic ego, seems strikingly down to Earth as he shapes and basks in the third golden age of his career.

Say what you will about the man, but you can't call him dull.

William Shatner's Ego

I suppose I can somewhat understand because he was graced with the opportunity to play the coolest freakin' guy EVAR, but still, sometimes it gets a bit old, like, I don't know, complaining about having sex with fans of Star Trek.

In his new autobiography, Up Till Now, Shatner explains how women would pretend they were being "beamed up" by the Starship Enterprise commander, shrieking: "So, this is what it's like to be in bed with Captain Kirk!"
He writes: "You can't imagine how much of a downer that is in every sense of the word."

Life's tough, eh, Bill?