Handsome Canadian-born actor who - despite his detractors - has notched up an impressive 50-years-plus in front of the camera, most recently displaying comedic talent, and being instantly recognizable to several generations of cult TV fans as the square-jawed Capt. James T. Kirk, commander of the starship USS Enterprise.

Shatner spent many years honing his craft in TV and live theater before debuting alongside Yul Brynner in The Brothers Karamazov. He was kept busy during the 1960s in films such as The Intruder and Judgment at Nuremberg and on television guest-starring in dozens of shows such as Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Defenders, The Outer Limits and Twilight Zone. In 1966 Shatner boarded the USS Enterprise for three seasons of Star Trek, co-starring alongside Leonard Nimoy, with the series eventually becoming a bona-fide cult classic with a worldwide legion of fans known as "Trekkies".

After "Star Trek" folded, Shatner spent the rest of the decade and the 1970s making the rounds guest-starring on many prime-time TV shows, including Hawaii Five-O, Marcus Welby, M.D. and Ironside. He has also appeared in several feature films, but they were mainly B-grade (or lower) fare such as the embarrassingly bad Euro western Comanche blanco (aka The White Comanche) and the campy Kingdom of the Spiders. However, the 1980s saw a major resurgence in Shatner's career with the renewed interest in the old Star Trek television series culminating in a series of big-budget "Star Trek" feature films including Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. In addition, he starred in the lightweight cop series T.J. Hooker from 1982 to 1986, alongside spunky Heather Locklear, and surprised many fans with his droll comedic talents in Airplane II: The Sequel, Loaded Weapon 1 and Miss Congeniality.

He has most recently been starring in the David E. Kelley television shows The Practice and Boston Legal.


His third wife, Nerine Kidd, accidentally drowned in the swimming pool at their home in Studio City. [9 August 1999] Breeds and shows American Saddlebreds and Quarter Horses. Hobbies: horses and tennis. Attended McGill University in Montreal, Canada. Its Students University Centre was later named after him. Shatner is the CEO of the Toronto-based Core Digital Effects company that did the effects for the 1996 film Fly Away Home (1996). Wrote some Star Trek fiction novels, among them "The Ashes of Eden", "The Return", and "Avenger". Daughter Lisabeth Shatner was Miss Golden Globe 1985. His daughter Melanie Shatner had a small role in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989) that was directed by her father. His face appears on the cover of the official First Aid handbook issued by the National Safety Council, from his time hosting "Rescue 911" (1989). Wrote and directed a college musical ...."The Red, White and Blue Revue". Bill was born to Ann and Joseph Shatner on March 22, 1931 in Montreal, Canada. His favorite "Star Trek" (1966) episode is "Star Trek: The Devil in the Dark (#1.25)" (1967). In the late 1960's he recorded an LP titled "The Transformed Man", which is considered a camp classic today. One track was a spoken cover version of "Mr. Tambourine Man", in which he gave an over-dramatic performance that some compared to a man on a bad drug trip. Shatner today embraces his checkered reputation as a "camp" performer. Is a vegetarian. During the filming of Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984) a fire broke out on the studio lot that threatened to destroy the Genesis planet sets. Shatner was one of a few cast and crew members who helped try to put the fire out, grabbing a fire hose and spraying it at the fire. Has appeared in productions at the Stratford Festival in Stratford, Ontario, Canada. Worked as a camp counselor, as a teen, at Camp B'nai Brith in the Laurentian Mountains in Quebec. In his early performing days, Shatner was once required to play the piano in a scene (with music supplied off-camera), then pull a weapon from a drawer to kill another actor. First the piano cue went badly, then the only "weapon" available turned out to be a corkscrew. Shatner carried on, and in his own words, "I screwed him to death!" Did a concert with crooner Brian Evans in Key West, joining the singer for his own style and rendition of the songs "Lady Is A Tramp" and "What Kind of Fool Am I". He had some worries about appearing in "Futurama: Where No Fan Has Gone Before (#4.12)" (2002). He spoke with Billy West, who told Shatner that the cast and crew had nothing but respect for him. He agreed to continue. Once bought a horse from Chelsea Field's father who is also the father-in-law of Scott Bakula. Is of Ukrainian-Jewish descent and is mentioned in "The Simpsons: Like Father, Like Clown (#3.6)" (1991) as being a famous Jewish entertainer. He is also mentioned by Adam Sandler in "The Hanukkah Song" ("You don't need Deck The Halls or Jingle Bell Rock/When you can spin a dreidel with Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock"). Was one of the guests at Sandra Bullock's and Jesse James' wedding. Suffers from tinnitus (ringing in the ears), along with "Star Trek" (1966) co- star Leonard Nimoy. Nimoy's right ear and Shatner's left ear are affected. Their hearing was apparently damaged during the filming of the episode "Arena" when they were both too close to a special effects explosion. Is an expert equestrian (horse rider), which was put to good use in Star Trek: Generations (1994). Co-star Patrick Stewart, despite his classical background, had very little experience with horses, so Shatner helped teach him. One of Shatner's tips was to wear pantyhose under his pants, to reduce chafing. Released an album titled 'Has Been' in 2004. The album was produced by Ben Folds who also plays on the album. Other guest performers on the album include Joe Jackson, Aimee Mann, Henry Rollins and Adrian Belew. To this day, still hasn't fully recovered from the depression brought on by the 1968 death of his father, Joseph Shatner. Roddenberry personally gave permission to postpone shooting scenes with Nimoy (Trek episode "Devil in the Dark") for him to attend funeral and return within a week. Money from his dad's Laval, Quebec hardware and furniture business supported him during the actor's job hunt in the U.S. Dr. James Kirkland, Ph.D wrote a 1996 "Star Trek" novel titled, "First Frontier". And in his acknowledgments, thanked Capt. Kirk (original series episode "Arena") for inspiration and being his childhood hero. Nearly ten years after acting in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986), whose plot involved rescuing humpback whales, Shatner narrated a television documentary about endangered species (including humpbacks), in which he became emotional to the point of weeping. His old house on Bag Ave., in Laval, Quebec was bought by a millionaire. Was mentioned in David Fincher's 1999 film, Fight Club (1999). When Tyler asks the Narrator who he'd fight, the Narrator ponders for a moment and replies, "Shatner. I'd fight William Shatner". Often jogged for charity from 1976-1980. Running to support the Olympics held in his hometown of Montreal and for late Canadian amputee Terry Fox and his cross country marathon. Father-in-law of Andy Clement and Joel Gretsch. Underwent right hip replacement surgery on June 2008. When recording the narration for his "Shatnerverse" Trek novels, he pronounces the name "Cardassian" (normally pronounced "car-DASS-ian") as with Kimberly Kardashian. He and his wife, Elizabeth, have two Dobermans. William Shatner expressed his sadness at not being asked to reprise his iconic role of Captain James T. Kirk for the new "Star Trek" film (2009). In response, Shatner wrote "Star Trek: Academy Collision Course" (with Judith and Garfield Reeves)as his own version of how Kirk and Spock met. In his version of the story, a teen aged Kirk gets into criminal trouble and is given a choice: Go to prison or join Starfleet. He, of course, joins Starfleet and meets Spock. But he does not meet any other major character from the "Star Trek" series. However, the story does tie into the first season episode "The Conscience Of The King" and Kirk meets his Starfleet bully, Finnigan from "Shore Leave". Grew up in the Notre-Dame-de-Grace (NDG) section of Montreal. Remained friends with Leonard Nimoy during and after "Star Trek" (1966).