Matthew's Star Trek Page

William Shatner- Capt. Kirk

The Canadian-born actor attended McGill University where he was active in theater productions on campus. During his summers through college, Shatner performed in the Royal Mount Theater Company. When he graduated in 1952 with a B.A., Shatner began work at the National Repertory Theater of Ottawa. He eventually won co-starring roles in plays such as "The Merchant of Venice" and "Henry V", as well as the Most Promising Actor award. After a run in New York in the play, 'Tamburlaine," Shatner was signed to a seven-year contract by 20th Century Fox. He married a Canadian actress, Gloria Rand and honeymooned in Scotland. It was something of a working honeymoon, however, as Shatner had a role in the Edinburgh Festival production of "Henry V".

After his honeymoon, Shatner returned to New York where he guest starred on numerous series, including "Goodyear Playhouse", "Circle Theater", "Philco Playhouse", "Studio One" and "The Defenders". Then came his movie debut, "The Brothers Karamazov", with Richard Basehart. Not wanting to miss out on the Western genre that was so prominent in Hollywood, Shatner learned to ride a horse and rope.

Next, Shatner landed the starring role in the two-year Broadway run of "The Secret Life of Suzie Wong." This was followed by "A Shot in the Dark" with Julie Harris and then "L'Idiote," all on Broadway.

In 1961, Shatner landed two films, "The Intruder," where he plays a rabble-rouser traveling from one Southern town to another, getting people to riot against court-ordered school integration. It was later released under the titles, "I Hate Your Guts!" and "Shame." Shatner also appeared in "Judgment at Nuremberg."

Then came the role for which he is undoubtedly best known; Captain James T. Kirk on Star Trek. Unfortunately, during the three years that series ran, Shatner not only separated from his wife, but lost his father, as well.

After the original series ended in 1969, Shatner went on to star in the first seven Star Trek feature films. He also made such films as "Sole Survivor," and the Sherlock Holmes classic, "Hound of the Baskervilles." Guest appearances on series like, The Sixth Sense, Barnaby Jones, and Hawaii 5-0 kept him in the public eye.

In 1970 Shatner played the brilliant prosecutor in "The Andersonville Trial," which was a fine film and garnered him good reviews. During the shooting of that film, Shatner met Marcy Lafferty, who would become his second wife. Then, in 1974 Shatner, along with his fellow starship colleagues, embarked on 18 episodes of an animated Saturday morning cartoon based on Star Trek. In 1979 "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" was released and Shatner was firmly back in command as James T. Kirk. When "Star Trek V" was shot, it was Shatner at the director's helm.

In 1982, Shatner starred in a cop series, T.J. Hooker which lasted four years. Following Hooker, Shatner went to the series which he currently hosts, Rescue 911. In 1994, Universal made a television series, TekWar based on the series of books written by Shatner and Ron Goulart. While Shatner did not star in the series, he did make appearances and directed several of the episodes. He is also the author of several books of a biographical nature, including "Star Trek Memories" and "Star Trek Movie Memories," relating the making of "Star Trek Generations."

Filmography

1958 "The Brothers Karamazov"
1961 "The Explosive Generation"
1961 "Judgment at Nuremburg"
1964 "The Outrage"
1967 "White Comanche"
1968 "The Intruder"
1968 "Hour of Vengeance"
1974 "Big Bad Mama"
1974 "Dead of Night"
1975 "Impulse"
1975 "The Devil's Rain"
1977 "Kingdom of the Spiders"
1977 "A Whale of a Tale"
1978 "Challenge to Survive"
1978 "The Third Walker"
1979 "Star Trek The Motion Picture"
1980 "Kidnapping of the President"
1982 "Visiting Hours"
1982 "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan"
1982 "Airplane II: The Sequel"
1984 "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock"
1986 "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home"
1989 "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier" (also directed)
1991 "Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey"
1991 "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country"
1993 "National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon I"
1994 "Star Trek Generations"

Series

Star Trek
T.J. Hooker
Rescue 911
Tek Wars