View source for William Shatner

{{Short description|Canadian actor (born 1931)}}
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{{Use Canadian English|date=June 2025}}
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{{Infobox person
| name               = William Shatner
| honorific_suffix   = {{postnom|country=CAN|size=100%|OC}}
| image              = William Shatner Photo Op GalaxyCon Richmond 2023.jpg
| alt                = Headshot of William Shatner in GalaxyCon Richmond. He is a middle-aged, clean-shaven, light-skinned man with grey hair. He is wearing a polo shirt and a leather jacket on top. 
| caption            = Shatner in 2023
| birth_date         = {{Birth date and age|1931|3|22}}
| birth_place        = [[Montreal]], Quebec, Canada
| education          = [[McGill University]] ([[Bachelor of Commerce|BComm]])
| occupation         = {{hlist|Actor|author|director|musician|producer}}
| yearsactive        = 1951–present
| works              = [[William Shatner filmography|Filmography]]
| spouse             = {{ubl
  | {{marriage|Gloria Rand|August 12, 1956|March 1969|end=divorced}}
  | {{marriage|Marcy Lafferty|1973|1996|end=divorced}}
  | {{marriage|Nerine Kidd|1997|1999|end=died}}
  | {{marriage|Elizabeth Anderson Martin|2001|January 2020|end=divorced}}
  }}
| children           = 3, including [[Melanie Shatner|Melanie]]
| relatives          = [[Joel Gretsch]] (son-in-law)
| awards             = [[List of awards and nominations received by William Shatner|Full list]]
| honours            = Officer, [[Order of Canada]]
| website            = {{Official URL}}
}}
'''William Shatner'''<ref>{{Cite tweet |user=WilliamShatner |number=1576749979003064320 |title=Well Wikipedians, use this tweet as proof positive that my middle name is not Alan; I don't have a middle name.🙄}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.cineartistes.com/?page=images&id=4469&type=3 |title=Birth act |website=CinéArtistes |access-date=November 13, 2022 |archive-date=November 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221113200924/http://www.cineartistes.com/?page=images&id=4469&type=3 |url-status=live }}</ref> {{postnom|country=CAN|OC}} (born March 22, 1931) is a Canadian actor.<!--NOTE: The lead sentence should stick to what he is primarily known for. The infobox is there to include additional occupations.--> In a career spanning seven decades, he is best known for his portrayal of [[James T. Kirk]] in the ''[[Star Trek]]'' franchise, from his 1966 debut as the captain of the starship [[USS Enterprise (NCC-1701)|''Enterprise'']] in the [[Where No Man Has Gone Before|second pilot]] of the [[Star Trek: The Original Series|first ''Star Trek'' television series]] to his final appearance as Captain Kirk in the seventh ''Star Trek'' feature film, ''[[Star Trek Generations]]'' (1994).

Shatner began his screen acting career in Canadian films and television productions before moving into guest-starring roles in various American television shows. He appeared as James Kirk in all the episodes of ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series]]'', 21 of the 22 episodes of ''[[Star Trek: The Animated Series]]'', and the first seven [[List of Star Trek films|''Star Trek'' movies]]. He has written a series of books chronicling his experiences before, during and after his time in a [[Starfleet]] uniform. He has also co-written several novels set in the ''Star Trek'' universe and a series of science fiction novels, the ''[[TekWar]]'' sequence, that were adapted for television. Outside ''Star Trek,'' Shatner played the eponymous veteran police sergeant in ''[[T. J. Hooker]]'' (1982–1986), hosted the reality-based television series ''[[Rescue 911]]'' (1989–1996), guest starred on the detective series ''[[Columbo]]'', and acted in the comedy film ''[[Miss Congeniality (film)|Miss Congeniality]]'' (2000).

Shatner's television career after his last appearance as Captain Kirk embraces comedy, drama and reality shows. In seasons 4 and 5 of the [[NBC]] series ''[[3rd Rock from the Sun]]'', he plays the alien "[[Big Giant Head]]" to whom the main characters report. From 2004 until 2008, he starred as attorney [[Denny Crane]] in the final season of the legal show ''[[The Practice]]'' and the entire run of its spinoff, ''[[Boston Legal]].''  The role of Denny Crane won Shatner two [[Emmy Award]]s, one for his contributions to each series. 

In 2016, 2017 and 2018, he starred in both seasons of NBC's ''[[Better Late Than Never (TV series)|Better Late Than Never]]'', a comical travel series in which a band of elderly celebrities toured east Asia and Europe.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://tvseriesfinale.com/tv-show/better-late-than-never-cancelled-no-season-three-for-nbc-tv-show/ |title=Better Late Than Never: Cancelled; No Season Three for NBC TV Show |last=Pena |first=Jessica |publisher=TV Series Finale |date=July 16, 2018 |access-date=July 16, 2018 |archive-date=October 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020042149/https://tvseriesfinale.com/tv-show/better-late-than-never-cancelled-no-season-three-for-nbc-tv-show/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

Aside from acting, Shatner has had a career as a recording artist, starting with his 1968 album, ''[[The Transformed Man]]''. Shatner's cover versions of songs are [[Spoken word|dramatic recitations]] of their lyrics rather than musical performances: the most notable are his versions of [[the Beatles]]' "[[Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds]]", [[Bob Dylan]]'s "[[Mr. Tambourine Man]]", and [[Elton John]]'s "[[Rocket Man (song)|Rocket Man]]".<ref>{{Cite web |title=A history of William Shatner's strange musical career in 11 tracks |url=https://www.metv.com/lists/a-history-of-william-shatners-strange-musical-career-in-11-tracks |access-date=October 14, 2021 |website=Me-TV Network |archive-date=April 14, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414072733/https://www.metv.com/lists/a-history-of-william-shatners-strange-musical-career-in-11-tracks |url-status=live}}</ref> His most successful album was his third, ''[[Seeking Major Tom]]'' (2011), which includes covers of [[Pink Floyd]]'s "[[Learning to Fly (Pink Floyd song)|Learning to Fly]]", [[David Bowie]]'s "[[Space Oddity]]" and [[Queen (band)|Queen]]'s "[[Bohemian Rhapsody]]".<ref name="metal">{{cite news |title=William Shatner releases metal album; Shatner's greatest hits |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=http://voices.washingtonpost.com/blog-post/2011/02/william_shatner_adds_metal_alb.html |access-date=October 14, 2021 |archive-date=February 10, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210210214814/http://voices.washingtonpost.com/blog-post/2011/02/william_shatner_adds_metal_alb.html |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 2021, Shatner flew into space aboard [[Blue Origin NS-18]], a [[Blue Origin]] sub-orbital capsule. At age 90, he became the oldest person to fly in space and one of the first 600 to do so.<ref name="space">{{cite web |title=William Shatner to fly on Blue Origin's next human spaceflight on October 12 |url=https://techcrunch.com/2021/10/04/william-shatner-to-fly-on-blue-origins-next-human-spaceflight-on-october-12/ |url-status=live |last=Etherington |first=Darrell|publisher=TechCrunch |date=October 4, 2021 |access-date=October 13, 2021 |archive-date=October 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020042155/https://techcrunch.com/2021/10/04/william-shatner-to-fly-on-blue-origins-next-human-spaceflight-on-october-12/}}</ref><ref name="launch"/> Minutes after the flight, he described experiencing the [[overview effect]].{{refn|<ref name="astro">{{Cite web |last=Fisher |first=Kristin |date=December 10, 2021 |title=First on CNN: The US gives Bezos, Branson and Shatner their astronaut wings |url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/10/politics/astronaut-wings-bezos-branson-shatner/index.html |access-date=December 10, 2021 |website=CNN |quote=The US government is making it official, Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson, and William Shatner have earned the title of astronaut after their flights to the edge of space. The Federal Aviation Administration will also award Commercial Space Astronaut Wings to 12 other people who have flown at least 50 miles above Earth on a FAA licensed commercial spacecraft, including the crew of SpaceX's Inspiration4 mission. The FAA will award wings to eight people who flew on Blue Origin's New Shepherd spacecraft, three who flew on Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo, and to the four members of the SpaceX crew who spent three days in space in September. |archive-date=December 10, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211210214634/https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/10/politics/astronaut-wings-bezos-branson-shatner/index.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=William Shatner to fly on Blue Origin's next human spaceflight on October 12 |url=https://techcrunch.com/2021/10/04/william-shatner-to-fly-on-blue-origins-next-human-spaceflight-on-october-12/ |url-status=live |last=Etherington |first=Darrell |publisher=TechCrunch |date=October 4, 2021 |access-date=October 13, 2021 |archive-date=October 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020042155/https://techcrunch.com/2021/10/04/william-shatner-to-fly-on-blue-origins-next-human-spaceflight-on-october-12/}}</ref><ref name="launch" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=FAA Commercial Human Spaceflight Recognition |url=https://www.faa.gov/space/licenses/human_spaceflight/recognition/ |access-date=December 10, 2021 |archive-date=December 28, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211228132240/https://www.faa.gov/space/licenses/human_spaceflight/recognition/ |url-status=live}}</ref>}}

==Early life==
Shatner was born on March 22, 1931, in the [[Notre-Dame-de-Grâce]] neighbourhood of [[Montreal]], Quebec, Canada, to a [[Conservative Judaism|Conservative Jewish]] household.<ref>{{cite news |last=Eden |first=Ami |date=April 18, 2008 |title=Beam me up, Moses: William Shatner album tells Exodus story in spoken word, song |url=http://www.jweekly.com/article/full/34780/beam-me-up-moses-william-shatner-album-tells-exodus-story-in-spoken-word-so/ |website=jweekly.com |publisher=San Francisco Jewish Community Publications Inc. |access-date=September 13, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100219153733/http://www.jweekly.com/article/full/34780/beam-me-up-moses-william-shatner-album-tells-exodus-story-in-spoken-word-so/ |archive-date=February 19, 2010}}</ref> His parents were Ann (''née'' Garmaise; 1905–1992) and Joseph Shatner (1898–1967), a clothing manufacturer.<ref>{{cite news |last=Walton |first=James |date=June 28, 2008 |title=More William Shatner than Captain Kirk |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/non_fictionreviews/3555336/More-William-Shatner-than-Captain-Kirk.html |newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |location=London |type=Book review |access-date=November 12, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131031052617/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/non_fictionreviews/3555336/More-William-Shatner-than-Captain-Kirk.html |archive-date=October 31, 2013}}</ref> He is the middle of three children; his older sister was Joy Rutenberg (1928–2023) and his younger sister is Farla Cohen (1940–).<ref>{{cite news |date=November 2, 1951 |title=Social Notes – Montreal |url=http://multiculturalcanada.ca/cdm_item/mcc_cjr/23489/100/14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090330212926/http://multiculturalcanada.ca/cdm_item/mcc_cjr/23489/100/14 |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 30, 2009 |newspaper=[[Canadian Jewish Review]] |location=Montreal, Canada |page=2 |access-date=September 13, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=William Shatner: My family values {{!}} William Shatner |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/mar/14/william-shatner-my-family-values |access-date=February 12, 2022 |website=The Guardian |date=March 14, 2014 |archive-date=February 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220212012216/https://amp.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/mar/14/william-shatner-my-family-values |url-status=live}}</ref> His patrilineal family name was Schattner; his grandfather, Wolf Schattner, anglicized the spelling.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SD9cHwvZmy0C&q=schattner+wolf+shatner&pg=PT25 |title=Shatner Rules |publisher=Penguin Group (US) Inc. |first=William |last=Shatner |year=2011 |access-date=July 5, 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160901081327/https://books.google.com/books?id=SD9cHwvZmy0C&pg=PT25&lpg=PT25&dq=schattner+wolf+shatner&source=bl&ots=b1dfcLbvOB&sig=bHHVWvQUKH9MkqaQ0VzMxQ1Fb7k&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjcrpv97tzNAhUCXR4KHa6SDWMQ6AEIRDAK#v=onepage&q=schattner%20wolf%20shatner&f=false |archive-date=September 1, 2016 |isbn=978-1101547984}}</ref> All four of Shatner's grandparents were Jewish immigrants: they came from settlements in [[Ukraine]] and [[Lithuania]], which were then under the rule of [[Austria-Hungary]] and the [[Russian Empire]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Shatner |first1=William |title=Leonard: My Fifty-Year Friendship with a Remarkable Man |last2=Fisher |first2=David |publisher=[[Thomas Dunne Books]], [[St. Martin's Press]] |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-250-08331-9 |edition=1st |location=New York |page=[https://archive.org/details/leonardmyfiftyye0000shat/page/7 7]}} Shatner writes: "... my grandparents were from Ukraine, Lithuania, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire."</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Jewish Vilkaviskis (Facebook) |url=https://www.facebook.com/Jewish-Vilkaviskis-165932113462609/ |access-date=June 22, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170831034226/https://www.facebook.com/Jewish-Vilkaviskis-165932113462609/ |archive-date=August 31, 2017}} Contains information (and link to June 13, 2017, Lithuanian newspaper article) regarding Shatner's visit to Vilkaviskis, Lithuania, his maternal grandparents' birthplace.</ref>

Shatner attended two schools in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, Willingdon Elementary School<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hillel.org/about/news-views/news-views---blog/news-and-views/2007/05/15/william-shatner-horses-make-miracles |title=William Shatner: Horses Make Miracles |last=Horowitz |first=Daniel |website=Hillel.org |publisher=[[Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life]] |type=Blog |access-date=September 13, 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130806155010/http://www.hillel.org/about/news-views/news-views---blog/news-and-views/2007/05/15/william-shatner-horses-make-miracles |archive-date=August 6, 2013}} Reprint of article from ''Lifestyles Magazine''.</ref> and [[West Hill High School]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://twitter.com/WilliamShatner/status/411655982855385089 |website=Twitter.com |title=Twitter |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305153147/https://twitter.com/WilliamShatner/status/411655982855385089|archive-date=March 5, 2016}}</ref> and is an alumnus of the [[Montreal Children's Theatre#Notable alumni|Montreal Children's Theatre]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Greenaway |first=Kathryn |date=October 3, 2009 |title=Reunion honours 75th anniversary of Montreal Children's Theatre |url=http://www2.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/popculture/story.html?id=059c2a20-f038-454c-98d0-bf6fcafb7d12 |access-date=March 7, 2012 |newspaper=[[The Gazette (Montreal)|The Gazette]] |location=Montreal, Canada |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120823173030/http://www2.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/popculture/story.html?id=059c2a20-f038-454c-98d0-bf6fcafb7d12 |archive-date=August 23, 2012}}</ref> He studied economics at the [[McGill University]] [[Desautels Faculty of Management|Faculty of Management]] in Montreal, where he graduated with a [[Bachelor of Commerce]] degree in 1952.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last=Hustak |first=Alan |editor-first=Wyndham |editor-last=Wise |editor-link=Wyndham Wise |encyclopedia=[[The Canadian Encyclopedia]] |title=William Shatner |url=http://thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0009289 |access-date=May 6, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111117123720/http://thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0009289 |archive-date=November 17, 2011}}</ref> Shatner was a camp counselor at a [[B'nai B'rith]] camp in the [[Laurentian Mountains|Laurentians]]. Over 6 weeks, Shatner helped teenage [[Holocaust]] survivor [[Fred Bild]] learn English.<ref name="Maclean's">{{cite news |title=A camp counsellor named William Shatner |url=https://macleans.ca/culture/books/a-camp-counsellor-named-william-shatner/ |access-date=April 10, 2023 |publisher=[[Maclean's]] |date=October 20, 2011 |archive-date=April 10, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410213603/https://macleans.ca/culture/books/a-camp-counsellor-named-william-shatner/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2011, McGill University awarded him an honorary [[Doctor of Letters|Doctorate of Letters]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Capt. Kirk is now Dr. Shatner with McGill degree |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/capt-kirk-is-now-dr-shatner-with-mcgill-degree-1.1095211 |agency=[[The Canadian Press]] |location=Montreal, Canada |publisher=[[CBC News]] |date=June 2, 2011 |access-date=June 24, 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151102085023/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/capt-kirk-is-now-dr-shatner-with-mcgill-degree-1.1095211 |archive-date=November 2, 2015}}</ref> He was granted the same accolade by the [[New England Institute of Technology]] in May 2018.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Shatner Addresses Graduates, Talks About Change |url=https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/rhode-island/articles/2018-05-06/shatner-to-give-commencement-address-for-rhode-island-school |agency=[[U.S. News & World Report]] |location=Providence, Rhode Island |publisher=[[Associated Press]] |date=May 6, 2018 |access-date=May 6, 2018 |archive-date=May 7, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180507224817/https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/rhode-island/articles/2018-05-06/shatner-to-give-commencement-address-for-rhode-island-school |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Acting and literary career==
===1951–1966: Early stage, film, and television work===
Shatner's movie career began while he was still attending college. In 1951, he had a small role in a Canadian comedy drama, ''The Butler's Night Off'': its credits list him as Bill Shatner, and describe his role simply as "a crook".<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://time.com/6106590/william-shatner-space-blue-origin/|last=Kluger|first=Jeffrey|title=Why William Shatner's History-Making Spaceflight Is Something to Celebrate|magazine=Time|date=October 13, 2021|access-date=April 23, 2022|archive-date=April 23, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220423152449/https://time.com/6106590/william-shatner-space-blue-origin/|url-status=live}}</ref> After graduating, he worked as an assistant manager and actor at both the Mountain Playhouse in Montreal and the Canadian National Repertory Theatre in Ottawa before joining the [[Stratford Shakespeare Festival]] in Ontario.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://northerngentleman.com/portrait-of-a-northern-gentleman-william-shatner/|title=Portrait of a Northern Gentleman – William Shatner|date=November 4, 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170118220333/http://northerngentleman.com/portrait-of-a-northern-gentleman-william-shatner/|archive-date=January 18, 2017}}</ref>

His roles at the festival included a part in [[Christopher Marlowe|Marlowe]]'s ''[[Tamburlaine (play)|Tamburlaine]]'', in which he made his Broadway debut in 1956. His brief appearance in the opening scene of a high-profile production of [[Sophocles]]'s ''[[Oedipus Rex]]'' by [[Tyrone Guthrie]] introduced him to television viewers across the whole of Canada.<ref name="jordan20100903">{{cite journal |last=Jordan |first=Pat |date=September 5, 2010 |title=The Many Iterations of William Shatner |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/05/magazine/05Shatner-t.html |journal=[[The New York Times Magazine]] |page=MM24 |access-date=September 4, 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429095009/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/05/magazine/05Shatner-t.html |archive-date=April 29, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://archives.stratfordfestival.ca/AIS/Details/people/9510|title=Stratford Festival Archives &#124; Details|website=archives.stratfordfestival.ca|access-date=April 4, 2019|archive-date=April 4, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190404175124/https://archives.stratfordfestival.ca/AIS/Details/people/9510|url-status=live}}</ref> In ''[[Henry V (play)|Henry V]]'', he combined playing the minor role of the Duke of Gloucester with understudying [[Christopher Plummer]] as the king: when a kidney stone obliged Plummer to withdraw from a performance, Shatner's decision to present a distinctive interpretation of his role rather than imitating his senior's impressed Plummer as a striking manifestation of initiative and potential.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Parker |first1=Ryan |title=Christopher Plummer Was a Diehard Trekkie Before Being Cast in 'Undiscovered Country' |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/christopher-plummer-was-a-diehard-trekkie-before-being-cast-in-undiscovered-country#:~:text=Shatner%20was%20Plummer's%20understudy%20in,a%20speech%2C%20he%20sat%20down. |access-date=February 7, 2021 |publisher=Hollywood Reporter |date=February 5, 2021 |archive-date=February 6, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210206092005/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/christopher-plummer-was-a-diehard-trekkie-before-being-cast-in-undiscovered-country#:~:text=Shatner%20was%20Plummer's%20understudy%20in,a%20speech%2C%20he%20sat%20down. |url-status=live}}</ref> Plummer later appeared as a Klingon adversary of Captain Kirk's in ''[[Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country]]''.

Guthrie too rated the young Shatner very highly, later recalling him as the most promising actor that his Festival employed, and for a time, he was seen as a potential peer of [[Steve McQueen]], [[Paul Newman]] and [[Robert Redford]]. In the view of Pat Jordan, author of an in-depth profile of Shatner for ''[[The New York Times]]'', his subsequent failure to achieve the acclaim accorded to his starrier contemporaries was attributable to his professional philosophy of "work equals work", and his consequent participation in many "forgettable" projects that probably did his career more harm than good. On the eve of his momentous casting as James Kirk, he was in Jordan's opinion seen merely as an actor who "showed up on time, knew his lines, worked cheap and always answered his phone".{{r|jordan20100903}}

[[File:William Shatner - 1958.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|left|alt=Black-and-white headshot of a young Shatner|Shatner in a publicity photo in 1958]]

In 1954, Shatner decided to leave Stratford and move to New York City in the hope of building a career on the Broadway stage. He was soon offered the chance to make his first appearance on American television: in a children's program called ''[[The Howdy Doody Show]]'', he created the role of Ranger Bob, co-starring with a cast of puppets and [[Clarabell the Clown]], whose dialogue with Shatner consisted entirely of honks on a bicycle horn.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Shatner |first1=William |last2=Fisher |first2=David |title=Up Till Now: The Autobiography |edition=1st |year=2008 |publisher=[[St. Martin's Press]] |location=New York |isbn=978-0-312-37265-1 |oclc=192045752 |lccn=2008006234 |page=[https://archive.org/details/uptillnowautobio00shat/page/41 41] |url=https://archive.org/details/uptillnowautobio00shat/page/41}}</ref>

It was four years before he won his first role in a major Hollywood movie, appearing in the [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer|MGM]] film ''[[The Brothers Karamazov (1958 film)|The Brothers Karamazov]]'' as Alexei, the youngest of the brothers, in a cast that included [[Yul Brynner]]. In December 1958, directed by [[Kirk Browning]], he appeared opposite [[Ralph Bellamy]] as a Roman tax collector in [[Bethlehem]] on the day of Jesus's birth in a ''[[Hallmark Hall of Fame]]'' live television production entitled ''The Christmas Tree'', the cast list of which included [[Jessica Tandy]], [[Margaret Hamilton (actress)|Margaret Hamilton]], [[Bernadette Peters]], [[Richard Thomas (actor)|Richard Thomas]], [[Cyril Ritchard]], and [[Carol Channing]]. His American television profile was heightened further when he had a leading role in an episode in the third (1957–58) season of ''[[Alfred Hitchcock Presents]]'', "The Glass Eye".

[[File:Nero-Wolfe-CBS-1959.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|alt=Characters Archie Goodwin (played by Shatner) and Kurt Kasznar are discussing around a business room table. Goodwin is looking to Kasznar while fixing his tie.|Shatner as [[Archie Goodwin (character)|Archie Goodwin]] (left) and [[Kurt Kasznar]] as [[Nero Wolfe]] in the aborted 1959 [[CBS]] television series ''[[Nero Wolfe#Nero Wolfe (CBS)|Nero Wolfe]]''<!-- FAIR USE of [[File:NW-CBS-1959.jpg]]: see page for rationale. -->]]

In 1959, Shatner received good reviews in the role of Lomax in ''[[The World of Suzie Wong (play)|The World of Suzie Wong]]'' on Broadway. In the March of that year, while still performing in that production, he also played detective [[Archie Goodwin (character)|Archie Goodwin]] in what would have been television's first ''[[Nero Wolfe#Nero Wolfe (CBS)|Nero Wolfe]]'' series, had it not been aborted by [[CBS]] after shooting a pilot and a few episodes.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Two Stage Actors Signed by C.B.S.-TV: Kasznar and Shatner to Play in 'Nero Wolfe' Pilot Film – 'Telephone Hour' Plans |url=http://louderthannecessary.blogspot.com/2011_12_01_archive.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=March 14, 1959 |access-date=November 12, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131112123234/http://louderthannecessary.blogspot.com/2011_12_01_archive.html |archive-date=November 12, 2013}}</ref>

[[File:William Shatner-Jeanne Cooper in The Intruder.jpg|thumb|alt=Shatner and Jeanne Cooper are looking beyond the camera in a stern manner.|Shatner and [[Jeanne Cooper]] in ''[[The Intruder (1962 film)|The Intruder]]'' (1962)]]

Shatner appeared in two episodes of ''[[The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)|The Twilight Zone]]'', "[[Nick of Time (The Twilight Zone)|Nick of Time]]" (1960) and "[[Nightmare at 20,000 Feet]]" (1963); when the [[anthology film]] ''[[The Twilight Zone: The Movie]]'' was produced twenty years later, the movie climaxed with a remake of the latter episode. He appeared twice as Wayne Gorham in [[NBC]]'s ''[[Outlaws (1960 TV series)|Outlaws]]'' (1960), a [[Western (genre)|Western]] series with [[Barton MacLane]], and then returned to ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' for a 5th-season episode, "Mother, May I Go Out to Swim?".

In 1961, co-starring with [[Julie Harris (American actress)|Julie Harris]], he appeared on Broadway in ''[[A Shot in the Dark (play)|A Shot in the Dark]]'', directed by [[Harold Clurman]]; [[Gene Saks]] and [[Walter Matthau]] took part in the play too,<ref>{{Cite news |title=TimesMachine: Monday January 29, 1962 |work=The New York Times |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.comhttp//arch-timesmachine-fe-prd-40741-2-575473780.us-east-1.elb.amazonaws.com/timesmachine/1962/01/29/issue.html |access-date=May 2, 2023 }}{{Dead link|date=October 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Matthau winning a [[Tony Award]] for his performance. Shatner was featured in two episodes of the NBC television series ''[[Thriller (American TV series)|Thriller]]'' ("The Grim Reaper" and "The Hungry Glass") and the film ''[[The Explosive Generation]]'' (1961). He took the lead role in [[Roger Corman]]'s movie ''[[The Intruder (1962 film)|The Intruder]]'' (1962). which [[Stanley Kauffmann]] of [[The New Republic]] described as Shatner's first interesting performance,<ref>{{cite magazine| title=Stanley Kauffmann on films| url=https://newrepublic.com/| publication-date=May 28, 1962| magazine=The New Republic| access-date=December 12, 2023| archive-date=September 14, 2019| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190914183659/https://newrepublic.com/| url-status=live}}</ref> and had a supporting role in the [[Stanley Kramer]] film ''[[Judgment at Nuremberg]]'' (1961). In the 1963–64 season, he appeared in an episode of the [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] series ''[[Channing (TV series)|Channing]]''. In 1963, he starred in the ''[[Family Theater]]'' production called "The Soldier" and received credits in other programs of ''The Psalms'' series. That same year, he guest-starred in ''[[Route 66 (TV series)|Route 66]]'', in the episode "Build Your Houses with Their Backs to the Sea".

In 1964, Shatner guest-starred in the second episode of the second season of the ABC science fiction anthology series ''[[The Outer Limits (1963 TV series)|The Outer Limits]]'', "[[Cold Hands, Warm Heart]]". Also that year, he appeared in an episode of the CBS drama ''[[The Reporter (TV series)|The Reporter]]'', "He Stuck in His Thumb", and played a supporting role in the Western feature film ''[[The Outrage]]'', a remake of [[Akira Kurosawa]]'s ''[[Rashomon]]'' starring [[Paul Newman]], [[Laurence Harvey]], [[Claire Bloom]] and [[Edward G. Robinson]]. The same year, Shatner was cast in an episode of ''[[The Man from U.N.C.L.E.]]'' that featured [[Leonard Nimoy]], later to be his co-star in ''Star Trek''. Also in 1964, he played the titular [[Alexander the Great|Alexander]] in the pilot for a proposed series called ''Alexander the Great'' alongside [[Adam West]] as [[Cleander of Macedon|Cleander]].

The ''Alexander'' series was not picked up, and the pilot remained unaired until 1968, when it was repackaged as a TV movie to capitalize on the fame that West and Shatner had won in the interim. Shatner had hoped that the series would be a major success, but West was apparently unsurprised by its failure to proceed, later castigating the pilot for "one of the worst scripts I have ever read" and recalling it as "one of the worst things I've ever done."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.metv.com/stories/william-shatner-adam-west-alexander-the-great-1964-tv-pilot|title=The failure of one toga-clad TV pilot completely altered the landscape of Sixties pop culture|website=Me-TV Network|access-date=August 28, 2019|archive-date=August 28, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190828182158/https://www.metv.com/stories/william-shatner-adam-west-alexander-the-great-1964-tv-pilot|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | last1 = Boucher | first1 = Geoff | title = Before they were heroes | newspaper = Los Angeles Times | date = August 6, 2011 | url = https://www.pressreader.com/usa/los-angeles-times/20110806/286564514370681 | access-date = August 28, 2019 | archive-date = August 28, 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190828182202/https://www.pressreader.com/usa/los-angeles-times/20110806/286564514370681 | url-status = live}}</ref>

In 1965, Shatner guest-starred in ''[[Twelve O'Clock High (TV series)|12 O'Clock High]]'' as Major Curt Brown in the episode "I Am the Enemy". In the same year, he had the lead role in a legal drama, ''[[For the People (1965 TV series)|For the People]]'', starring as an [[District attorney|assistant district attorney]] married to a woman played by [[Jessica Walter]]; the show's cancellation after its 13-episode first season allowed him to walk onto the bridge of the ''Enterprise'' the following year.

Shatner starred in the 1966 [[Gothic fiction|gothic horror]] film ''[[Incubus (1966 film)|Incubus]]'' (Esperanto: ''Inkubo'') the second feature-length movie ever made with all dialogue spoken in [[Esperanto]]. He also starred in an episode of ''[[Gunsmoke]]'' in 1966 as the character Fred Bateman. He appeared as attorney-turned-counterfeiter Brett Skyler in a 1966 episode of ''[[The Big Valley]]'', "Time to Kill". In 1968, he starred in the little known [[Spaghetti Western]] ''[[White Comanche]]'', playing both a white-hat character and his black-hat evil twin: Johnny Moon, a virtuous half-Comanche gunslinger, and Notah, a bloodthirsty warlord.

===1966–1969: ''Star Trek'' on television===
[[File:William Shatner Star Trek.JPG|thumb|upright=0.8|alt=Catain James T. Kirk (played by Shatner) looks directly at the camera. He is wearing his uniform with the delta insignia.|Shatner as [[Captain James T. Kirk]] in ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series|Star Trek]]'' (1966–1969)]]

{{Main|Star Trek: The Original Series}}
Shatner was cast as Captain [[James T. Kirk]] for the second pilot of ''Star Trek'', titled "[[Where No Man Has Gone Before]]". He was then contracted to play Kirk for the remainder of the show, and he sat in the captain's chair of the USS ''[[USS Enterprise (NCC-1701)|Enterprise]]'' from 1966 to 1969. During its original run on NBC, the series achieved only modest ratings, and it was cancelled after three seasons and seventy-nine episodes. ''[[Plato's Stepchildren]]'', aired on November 22, 1968, earned Shatner a footnote in the history of American race relations: a [[Kirk and Uhura's kiss|kiss]] that Captain Kirk planted on the lips of Lieutenant [[Uhura]] ([[Nichelle Nichols]]) is often cited as the first example of a white man kissing a black woman on scripted television in the United States.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tvguide.com/news/shattered-tv-taboos-1005496.aspx |title=Shattered TV Taboos: How Bea Arthur and Others Broke Barriers |last=Molloy |first=Tim |date=April 27, 2009 |website=TV Guide |publisher=[[CBS Interactive]] |location=San Francisco, CA |access-date=August 31, 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110616062610/http://www.tvguide.com/news/shattered-tv-taboos-1005496.aspx |archive-date=June 16, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=After 40 Years, Star Trek 'Won't Die' |last=Malik |first=Tariq |date=September 7, 2006 |website=Space.com |publisher=[[TechMediaNetwork]] |url=http://www.space.com/entertainment/060907_star_trek.html |access-date=August 31, 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091008123202/http://www.space.com/entertainment/060907_star_trek.html |archive-date=October 8, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.trektoday.com/news/050901_05.shtml |title=Nichols Talks First Inter-Racial Kiss |last=Sparborth |first=Christian Höhne |website=TrekToday |publisher=Christian Höhne Sparborth |location=Utrecht, Netherlands |date=September 5, 2001 |access-date=August 31, 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120229160018/http://www.trektoday.com/news/050901_05.shtml |archive-date=February 29, 2012}}</ref> In 1973, Shatner returned to the role of Kirk, albeit only in voice, in the [[Star Trek: The Animated Series|animated ''Star Trek'' series]], which ran for two seasons and twenty-two episodes.

===1970–1978: overcoming typecasting===
In the early 1970s, in the immediate aftermath of the cancellation of ''Star Trek'' in 1969, Shatner experienced difficulty in finding employment, having become somewhat typecast as James Tiberius Kirk. With very little money and few acting prospects, he lost his home and was for a time so poor that he was reduced to living in a truck-bed camper in the [[San Fernando Valley]]. He refers to this part of his life as "that period", a humbling time during which he would take any odd job, including small party appearances, to support his family.

Shatner's film work in this phase of his career was limited to such B-movies as Roger Corman's ''[[Big Bad Mama]]'' (1974), the horror film ''[[The Devil's Rain (film)|The Devil's Rain]]'' (1975){{r|jordan20100903}} and ''[[Kingdom of the Spiders]]'' (1977). On television, he made a critically praised appearance as a prosecutor in a 1971 [[PBS]] adaptation of [[Saul Levitt]]'s play ''[[The Andersonville Trial]]'', and was also seen in major parts in the movies ''[[The People (film)|The People]]'' (1972) and ''[[The Horror at 37,000 Feet]]'' (1973). He had a starring role too in the western-themed secret agent series ''[[Barbary Coast (TV series)|Barbary Coast]]'' during 1975 and 1976, and appeared as a guest of the week in many popular shows of that decade, including ''[[Columbo]]'', ''[[Ironside (TV series)|Ironside]]'', ''[[Kung Fu (1972 TV series)|Kung Fu]]'', ''[[Mission: Impossible (1966 TV series)|Mission: Impossible]]'', ''[[The Rookies]]'' and ''[[The Six Million Dollar Man]]''. One of the special skills that Shatner was able to offer to casting directors was an expertise in a martial art: he was taught [[American Kenpo]] karate by the black belt Tom Bleecker, who had in turn been trained by the founder of American Kenpo, [[Ed Parker]].{{citation needed|date=October 2014}}

To supplement his income from acting, Shatner performed as a celebrity guest in a multitude of television game shows, among them ''[[Beat the Clock]]'', ''[[Celebrity Bowling]]'', ''[[The Hollywood Squares]]'', ''[[Match Game]]'', ''[[Tattletales]]'' and [[Mike Stokey]]'s ''[[Pantomime Quiz#Revivals|Stump the Stars]]''.{{r|jordan20100903}} His ''curriculum vitae'' in this genre included several visits to ''[[Pyramid (game show)|The $10,000 Pyramid]]'' and its more generous sequels, shows in which contestants attempted to guess a word or phrase with the help of hints from a famous partner. Shatner's contributions to the Pyramid series included a week-long match-up that pitted him against Leonard Nimoy in an event billed as "Kirk versus Spock". In a 1977 episode, he perpetrated a blunder that has been preserved on YouTube: at the climax of the show, attempting to guide his partner to the phrase "things that are blessed", he blurted out the word "blessed" instead of, as he had intended, citing the [[Virgin Mary]]. His mistake meant that the contestant paired with him was automatically disqualified from receiving what would have been a prize of $20,000. Shatner was so furious at himself over his error that he leapt out of his chair, picked it up and threw it out of the show's iconic Winner's Circle.<ref>{{YouTube|id=-UyxR9g7xi4&NR|title="William Shatner blows $20K for a contestant"|link=no}}</ref> During an [[Archive of American Television]] interview, [[Richard Dawson]] disclosed that when [[Mark Goodson]] was considering whom to employ as the host of the pilot of ''[[Family Feud]]'' (1976), he would have chosen Shatner if he had not been intimidated into awarding the position to Dawson by a threat from Dawson's agent.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7539078/|title=Game Changers|last=Thompson|first=J. Craig|website=[[IMDb]]|date=2018|access-date=February 26, 2019|archive-date=October 17, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181017143959/https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7539078/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lytPqkXbC6I |title=Richard Dawson on the beginnings of Family Feud |website=YouTube |date=July 13, 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150525162418/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lytPqkXbC6I |archive-date=May 25, 2015}}</ref>

Advertising agencies also played a part in helping Shatner through his post-Kirk doldrums. Among the television commercials for which he was hired were spots promoting [[General Motors]]' [[Oldsmobile]] brand, [[Unilever|Promise]] [[margarine]], the [[British Columbia]]-based supermarket chain [[SuperValu (Canada)|SuperValu]] and its [[Ontario|Ontarian]] equivalent, [[Loblaws]]; Canadian viewers became familiar with the former hero of [[Starfleet]] reassuring them that "At Loblaws, more than the price is right. But, by gosh, the price is right."<ref>{{cite news |last=Barrie |first=Hale |date=April 26, 1975 |title=Believing in Captain Kirk |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=LnBkAAAAIBAJ&pg=2771,3366878 |newspaper=[[Calgary Herald]] |page=10 |access-date=May 14, 2011 |archive-date=April 17, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417061751/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=LnBkAAAAIBAJ&pg=2771,3366878 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite interview |last=Kricfalusi |first=John |subject-link=John Kricfalusi |interviewer=Zachary Houle |title=John K Interview |url=http://www.tvparty.com/johnk.html |work=TVparty! |publisher=William Ingram |location=Greensboro, NC |access-date=September 13, 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090629083215/http://www.tvparty.com/johnk.html |archive-date=June 29, 2009}}</ref>

===1979–1989: ''Star Trek'' movies and ''T. J. Hooker''===
After ''Star Trek'' was cancelled, it acquired a [[cult following]] among people watching [[syndicated rerun]]s of the series, and Captain Kirk became a [[cultural icon]].{{r|jordan20100903}} Fans of the show—so-called [[Star Trek fandom|Trekkies]]—began organizing [[Science fiction convention|convention]]s where they could meet like-minded enthusiasts, buy ''Star Trek'' merchandise and enjoy question and answer sessions with members of the show's regular cast. Many of the actors who had crewed the ''Enterprise'' became frequent guests at these events, Shatner included.<ref>{{cite news |last=Hern |first=Lee |date=April 11, 1975 |title={{-'}}Star Trek' fans still enthusiastic |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Dh5UAAAAIBAJ&dq=shatner%20trek%20convention&pg=6027%2C5877570 |newspaper=[[Boca Raton News]] |agency=[[King Features Syndicate]] |access-date=March 22, 2011 |archive-date=October 15, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211015230223/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Dh5UAAAAIBAJ&dq=shatner%20trek%20convention&pg=6027%2C5877570 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In the mid-1970s, noting the growing appetite for ''Star Trek'', [[Paramount Pictures|Paramount]] began pre-producing a sequel show, ''[[Star Trek: Phase II]]'', in which they planned to present new, younger actors alongside the stars of the original series. However, astounded by the enormous success that [[George Lucas]]'s film ''[[Star Wars (film)|Star Wars]]'' achieved in 1977, the studio decided that ''Star Trek'' would earn them more money if the next adventure of the ''Enterprise'' took place not on television but in theatres. Shatner and all the other original ''Star Trek'' cast members returned to their roles when Paramount produced ''[[Star Trek: The Motion Picture]]'', released in 1979. He went on to play Kirk in six further ''Star Trek'' films: ''[[Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan]]'' (1982), ''[[Star Trek III: The Search for Spock]]'' (1984), ''[[Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home]]'' (1986), ''[[Star Trek V: The Final Frontier]]'' (1989), ''[[Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country]]'' (1991) and—in a story that culminated in the captain's self-sacrificial death—''[[Star Trek Generations]]'' (1994). His final appearances as James Tiberius Kirk were in the movie sequences of the video game ''[[Star Trek: Starfleet Academy (1997 video game)|Starfleet Academy]]'' (1997), in a 2006 [[DirecTV|DirecTV advertisement]] that used footage from ''Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country'' and at the [[85th Academy Awards|2013 Academy Awards]], in which he reprised the role for a comedic interlude with the show's host, [[Seth MacFarlane]].

Although the resurrection of ''Star Trek'' from oblivion only came about because of the enthusiasm of Trekkies, Shatner's attitude towards them is not uncritical. In a much-discussed 1986 ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' sketch about a ''Star Trek'' convention, he advised a room full of Trekkies to "get a life".{{r|jordan20100903}}<ref name="jenkins1992">{{cite book |last=Jenkins |first=Henry |author-link=Henry Jenkins |year=1992 |title=Textual Poachers: Television Fans & Participatory Culture |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=71U9-cOx_ZwC&q=jindra&pg=PA9 |location=New York |publisher=[[Routledge]] |pages=9–13 |isbn=978-0-415-90572-5 |oclc=26055104 |lccn=92019400 |access-date=November 12, 2013 |archive-date=October 15, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211015214745/https://books.google.com/books?id=71U9-cOx_ZwC&q=jindra&pg=PA9 |url-status=live}}</ref> The comment was an apt summary of the view of his fans that he had expressed in several interviews.{{r|jenkins1992}} Their adoration of him took unwelcome forms almost from the beginning of his time as Captain Kirk; as early as April 1968, a group of them attempted to tear his clothes from him as he left [[GE Building|30 Rockefeller Plaza]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Lowry |first=Cynthia |date=March 29, 1968 |title=TV Fans Save Space Ship Enterprise From Mothballs |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=kSgsAAAAIBAJ&pg=821,4386600 |newspaper=[[TimesDaily|Florence Times–Tri-Cities Daily]] |location=Florence, AL |publisher=Tri-Cities Newspapers, Inc. |agency=Associated Press |page=15 |access-date=November 12, 2013 |archive-date=April 17, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417072415/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=kSgsAAAAIBAJ&pg=821,4386600 |url-status=live}}</ref> His amusement at the behaviour of the lunatic fringe of his admirers was reflected in the romantic comedy movie ''[[Free Enterprise (film)|Free Enterprise]]'' (1998), in which he contributed a caricature of himself to a film that satirized some Trekkies' Kirk idolatry. He also mocked the cavalier, almost superhuman, persona of Captain Kirk in the films ''[[Airplane II: The Sequel]]'' (1982) and ''[[National Lampoon, Incorporated|National Lampoon's]] [[Loaded Weapon 1]]'' (1993).

In 1982, Shatner was once again the leading character of a high-profile television show when he was cast as a veteran Los Angeles police sergeant in ''[[T. J. Hooker]]''. Running for five seasons and ninety-one episodes until 1986, the series partnered Shatner with [[Heather Locklear]] and [[James Darren]], later to be a recurring cast member of the third live-action ''Star Trek'' show, ''[[Deep Space Nine]]''. The success of ''T. J. Hooker'' led to Shatner's hosting the popular dramatic re-enactment series ''[[Rescue 911]]'' from 1989 to 1996. His career diversified further in the 1980s when he began working as a director, taking charge of many episodes of ''T. J. Hooker''. A clause in his ''Star Trek'' contract giving him parity with [[Leonard Nimoy]] meant that after Nimoy's directing of ''Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home'', Shatner was entitled to direct a ''Star Trek'' movie too: he exercised his right in ''Star Trek V: The Final Frontier'', although many Trekkies were disappointed by the film that he delivered, something that he attributed principally to the weakness of the movie's visual effects. His growing success on television and in movie theatres in the 1980s did not lead him to stop working for advertisers. The [[VIC-20]] [[home computer]], for example, was endorsed by him both on television and in print.

On May 19, 1983, the iconic status of Captain Kirk was acknowledged with a ceremony celebrating Shatner's being awarded the 1,762nd star on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]]. Shatner also has a star on [[Canada's Walk of Fame]], granted to him in recognition of his being the first Canadian actor to star in major series on three American networks—NBC, CBS and ABC.

===1989–1999: ''TekWar'' and other diversifications===
Working on ''T. J. Hooker'' inspired Shatner with the idea of developing a television show in which he would play a character that would be a hybrid of Hooker and Kirk—a hard-boiled former police officer working as a private investigator in a dystopian future. When the production of ''Star Trek V'' was delayed by a Writer's Guild strike, Shatner began transforming his initial concept into a novel, assisted by an established author of pulp science fiction, [[Ron Goulart]]. Goulart described his contribution to Shatner's endeavour as merely that of an adviser, but Shatner credits him with rewriting. The first fruit of their collaboration, ''[[TekWar]]'', was published in 1989, and launched a sequence of books that sold hundreds of thousands of copies.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Svetkey |first=Benjamin |date=January 15, 1993 |title=I'm Typing as Fast as I Can |url=https://ew.com/article/1993/01/15/william-shatners-story/ |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |issue=153 |access-date=October 15, 2021 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110131142848/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0%2C%2C20216787%2C00.html |archive-date=January 31, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.retrovisionmag.com/tekworld.htm |title=Designing Tek World |last=Gross |first=Edward |website=RetroVision |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090227121114/http://www.retrovisionmag.com/tekworld.htm |archive-date=February 27, 2009 |access-date=April 2, 2011}}</ref> The novels led to four ''TekWar'' television movies, in which Shatner played not the lead character but his boss, Walter Bascom. Shatner reprised the role in a [[TekWar (TV series)|television series]] that followed, as well as directing several episodes of it himself, but its run on the [[USA Network]], [[Syfy]] and Canada's [[CTV Television Network|CTV]] was brief.

In December 1989, Shatner took part in the British television series ''[[This Is Your Life (UK TV series)|This Is Your Life]]'', a show in which a celebrity is ambushed by the host and then taken to a studio for the story of his life to be told in a stream of anecdotes related by his acquaintances: Shatner's episode began with [[Michael Aspel]] taking him by surprise on the set of the ''[[Starship Enterprise]]'' at [[Universal Pictures|Universal Studios]] in Hollywood.<ref>{{cite web |title=This is Your Life: William Shatner |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0722037/ |website=IMDb |date=December 27, 1989 |access-date=October 15, 2021 |archive-date=October 15, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211015201920/https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0722037/ |url-status=live}}</ref> In 1994, Shatner revisited ''Columbo'' to play the murderer-of-the-week in the episode "[[Columbo season 10|Butterfly in Shades of Grey]]". In 1995, he narrated Peter Kuran's documentary film ''[[Trinity and Beyond]]: The Atomic Bomb Movie'', and his TekWar franchise expanded into the world of computer games with a [[first-person shooter]] release, ''[[William Shatner's TekWar]]''. In 1996, an episode entitled ''Eye, Tooth'' saw him guest-starring in [[Will Smith]]'s television show, ''[[The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air]]''. He narrated a television miniseries shot in New Zealand ''A Twist in the Tale'' (1998). In the television series ''[[3rd Rock from the Sun]]'', Shatner appeared in several 1999–2000 episodes as the "[[Big Giant Head]]", a high-ranking officer from the same alien planet as the Solomon family who becomes a womanizing party-animal on Earth. The role earned Shatner an Emmy Award nomination.<ref>{{cite web |title=William Shatner |publisher=[[Academy of Television Arts & Sciences]] |url=http://www.emmys.com/bios/william-shatner |access-date=November 12, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131112123813/http://www.emmys.com/bios/william-shatner |archive-date=November 12, 2013}}</ref>

In the late 1990s, Shatner became closely associated with the travel website [[priceline.com]], appearing in many television commercials for the company as a pompous caricature of himself.{{r|jordan20100903}}<ref>{{cite news |last=Elber |first=Lynn |date=January 19, 2012 |title=Priceline Kills Off William Shatner's Negotiator (VIDEO) |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/19/priceline-kills-off-willi_n_1215916.html |work=[[The Huffington Post]] |location=New York |publisher=[[AOL]] |agency=Associated Press |access-date=November 12, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131205103514/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/19/priceline-kills-off-willi_n_1215916.html |archive-date=December 5, 2013}}</ref> He has said that while it is true that his work for priceline earned him [[Option (finance)|stock options]], reports that they are now worth hundreds of millions of dollars are exaggerated.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/2010-05-05-william-shatner-lives-long-and-prospers-but-not-600-million.html |title=William Shatner Lives Long and Prospers – but Did He Really Make $600 Million? |last=Berr |first=Jonathan |date=May 5, 2010 |website=Yahoo Finance |access-date=October 23, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110111092426/http://www.dailyfinance.com/story/media/william-shatner-lives-long-and-prospers-but-not-600-million/19464449/ |archive-date=January 11, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Rose |first=Charlie |author-link=Charlie Rose |date=June 17, 2010 |title=Charlie Rose Talks to William Shatner |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2010-06-17/charlie-rose-talks-to-william-shatnerbusinessweek-business-news-stock-market-and-financial-advice |journal=[[Bloomberg Businessweek]] |access-date=October 23, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131221001805/http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2010-06-17/charlie-rose-talks-to-william-shatnerbusinessweek-business-news-stock-market-and-financial-advice |archive-date=December 21, 2013}}</ref> He was also the chief executive officer of the [[Toronto]], Ontario-based [[C.O.R.E. Digital Pictures]], a special effects studio that operated from 1994 to 2010.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Timm |first=Jordan |date=April 7, 2011 |title=The Ode: Core Digital (1994–2010) |url=http://www.canadianbusiness.com/lifestyle/the-ode-core-digital-1994%C2%962010/ |journal=[[Canadian Business]] |access-date=November 12, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131112122955/http://www.canadianbusiness.com/lifestyle/the-ode-core-digital-1994%C2%962010/ |archive-date=November 12, 2013}}</ref>

In May 1999, [[Simon & Schuster]] published Shatner's book ''Get a Life!'', a memoir of his experiences with Trekkies. As well as anecdotes about ''Star Trek'' conventions, the book features interviews with some of the most devoted fans of the ''Star Trek'' franchise, including conversations with several Trekkies who regard the show not just as entertainment but as philosophically significant.<ref>{{cite news |last=Meagher |first=L.D. |date=July 8, 1999 |title=Review: Voyage of discovery in Shatner's latest trek |url=http://edition.cnn.com/books/reviews/9907/08/get.a.life/ |work=[[CNN]] |location=Atlanta, GA |access-date=November 12, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130302031520/http://edition.cnn.com/books/reviews/9907/08/get.a.life/ |archive-date=March 2, 2013}}</ref>

===2000–2009: Further films, and Denny Crane===
[[File:William Shatner.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|alt=Headshot of a middle-aged Shatner in front of a white background.|Shatner, 2005]]

In the [[Sandra Bullock]] comedy movie ''[[Miss Congeniality (film)|Miss Congeniality]]'' (2000), Shatner played the supporting role of Stan Fields, the co-host of the Miss United States Pageant; his future ''Boston Legal'' co-star [[Candice Bergen]] took part in the film too. Shatner also appeared in ''[[Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous]]'' (2005), in which Stan Fields is kidnapped in Las Vegas together with the winner of the pageant of the previous year. (Life imitated art in Gary, Indiana in 2001, when Shatner visited the town to host the [[Miss USA]] Pageant for real). In ''[[Osmosis Jones]]'' (2001), a high-concept satirical movie that blended live action with animation, Shatner voiced Mayor Phlegmming; the film depicted the cells and [[microbiota]] of a human body as the citizens of a community, the city of Frank, governed by an egoistic politician who prioritizes his convenience and political self-interest over the welfare of his public. In ''[[Groom Lake]]'', released the following year, Shatner repeated his ''Star Trek V'' feat of directing and starring in a movie based on a story of his own invention—a film exploiting the interest in [[Area 51]] kindled by ''The X-Files'', and co-starring a young [[Amy Acker]], later best known as a regular colleague of [[Joss Whedon]]. In 2003, Shatner appeared in [[Brad Paisley]]'s ''[[Celebrity (Brad Paisley song)|Celebrity]]'' and ''[[Online (Brad Paisley song)|Online]]'' music videos along with [[Little Jimmy Dickens]], [[Jason Alexander]] and [[Trista Rehn]]. He also had a supporting role in the comedy ''[[Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story]]'' (2004), which starred [[Ben Stiller]] and [[Vince Vaughn]]. In the October 2004 issue of ''Star Trek Communicator'', [[Manny Coto]], one of the producers of ''[[Star Trek: Enterprise]]'', revealed that he was planning a three-episode story arc guest-starring Shatner, but the cancellation of the series shortly afterwards meant that Shatner was denied the opportunity to take part in it.

After [[David E. Kelley]] saw Shatner's commercials,{{r|jordan20100903}} he brought Shatner on to the final season of the legal drama ''[[The Practice]]''. According to Pat Jordan, Shatner's Emmy Award-winning role, the eccentric but highly capable attorney Denny Crane, was essentially "William Shatner the man ... playing William Shatner the character playing the character Denny Crane, who was playing the character William Shatner."{{r|jordan20100903}} Shatner took the Crane role to ''[[Boston Legal]]'' and won a Golden Globe and an Emmy in 2005, and was Emmy nominated again in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009. With his 2005 Emmy accolade, he 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 shows. Shatner remained with ''Boston Legal'' until, after five seasons and one hundred and one episodes, it ended in 2008.

Two high-profile animated pictures released in 2006 featured Shatner in their cast. In [[DreamWorks Animation|DreamWorks]]' ''[[Over the Hedge]]'', he voiced Ozzie, an opossum; in [[Walt Disney Pictures|Walt Disney]]'s ''[[The Wild]]'', he had the role of the movie's villain, Kazar, a megalomaniacal wildebeest. In January 2007, he began posting daily autobiographical [[vlogs]] on the LiveVideo platform in a project that he named ''ShatnerVision''; rebranded as ''The Shatner Project'', his vlogging migrated to YouTube the following year.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.shatnervision.com |title=Channel: ShatnerVision on LiveVideo.com |website=ShatnerVision |publisher=LiveVideo.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070613084050/http://livevideo.com/ShatnerVision |archive-date=June 13, 2007 |access-date=July 6, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{YouTube|user=WilliamShatner|title=The Shatner Project.com|link=no}}</ref> In December 2008, he experimented with the chat show genre in the humorous ''[[Shatner's Raw Nerve]]'', which aired until March 2011. He expanded his work on YouTube in 2009, supplying the voice of Don Salmonella to the animated series ''The Gavones''.<ref>{{YouTube|id=xh5ZPuJT52E|title="William Shatner&nbsp;- The Gavones"|link=no}}</ref>

Shatner made several guest appearances on ''[[The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien]]'', including in cameos in which he made fun of the Republican politician [[Sarah Palin]]. He opened mock-hostilities on July 27, 2009, with a [[poetry slam]] inspired recitation of the [[Resignation of Sarah Palin|speech]] in which she had resigned the governorship of [[Alaska]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Newman|first=Craig|date=July 28, 2009|title=Sarah Palin says goodbye – the William Shatner way|publisher=Blogs.suntimes.com|url=http://blogs.suntimes.com/shinyobjects/2009/07/sarah_palin_says_goodbye_-_the_william_shatner_way.html|access-date=August 6, 2010|archive-date=September 9, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090909030453/http://blogs.suntimes.com/shinyobjects/2009/07/sarah_palin_says_goodbye_-_the_william_shatner_way.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Mackey|first=Robert|date=July 28, 2009|title=Shatner Performs Palin's 'Poetry'|publisher=New York Times; The Lede|url=http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/28/shatner-performs-palins-poetry/?hp|access-date=October 23, 2021|archive-date=August 1, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090801063852/http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/28/shatner-performs-palins-poetry/?hp|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=July 28, 2009|title=Long before Palin speech, William Shatner did Elton John's "Rocket Man"|work=Los Angeles Times|url=https://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2009/07/long-before-palin-interpretation-william-shatner-did-elton-johns-rocket-man.html|access-date=August 6, 2010|archive-date=June 9, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100609033421/http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2009/07/long-before-palin-interpretation-william-shatner-did-elton-johns-rocket-man.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Scherer|first=Michael|date=July 28, 2009|title=William Shatner Reads Sarah Palin|publisher=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|url=https://swampland.time.com/2009/07/28/william-shatner-reads-sarah-palin/|access-date=October 23, 2021|archive-date=May 8, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100508143017/http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2009/07/28/william-shatner-reads-sarah-palin/|url-status=live}}</ref> Two days later, he ridiculed some of the tweets that she and Levi Johnston, the father of her grandchild, had published on Twitter.<ref>{{cite web|date=July 30, 2009|title=William Shatner Returns To 'Tonight' To Tackle Sarah Palin's Tweets |url=http://www.mtv.com/news//2009/07/30/william-shatner-sarah-palin-twitter/|access-date=August 6, 2010|publisher=MTV|archive-date=January 29, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100129123503/http://newsroom.mtv.com/2009/07/30/william-shatner-sarah-palin-twitter|url-status=dead}}</ref> On December 11, 2009, he returned to Palin once more to read excerpts from her autobiography, ''[[Going Rogue: An American Life]]'', and she, taking his teasing in good part, responded by reciting extracts from his own memoir, ''[[Up Till Now]]''.<ref>[https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jac50hCoxZ_E2r6zUJUhDmp7sqVQD9CHGTG00] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091217035625/https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jac50hCoxZ_E2r6zUJUhDmp7sqVQD9CHGTG00|date=December 17, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Tucker|first=Ken|date=December 11, 2009|title=See Sarah Palin out-Shatner William Shatner on 'The Tonight Show'|url=https://ew.com/article/2009/12/11/sarah-palin-the-tonight-show/|access-date=October 15, 2021|publisher=Entertainment Weekly|archive-date=February 13, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100213200852/http://watching-tv.ew.com/2009/12/11/sarah-palin-the-tonight-show/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Carter|first=Bill|date=December 11, 2009|title=Sarah Palin Appears on 'Tonight Show'|work=The New York Times|url=http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/11/sarah-palin-to-appear-on-tonight-show-its-a-surprise/|access-date=August 6, 2010|archive-date=February 26, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100226124512/http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/11/sarah-palin-to-appear-on-tonight-show-its-a-surprise/|url-status=live}}</ref> (Co-written with David Fisher, later to collaborate with Shatner on a book about Leonard Nimoy and Shatner's relationship with him, ''Up Till Now'' had been published in 2008.) Shatner also contributed to O'Brien's recurring "[[In the Year 2000|In the Year 3000]]" feature, which began with Shatner's disembodied head floating in space and delivering the segment's portentous tag line: "And so we take a cosmic ride into that new millennium; that far off reality that is the year 3000. It's the future, man".

Shatner was not "offered or suggested" a role in the 2009 film ''[[Star Trek (2009 film)|Star Trek]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://trekweb.com/articles/2007/10/19/William-Shatner-Says-He-is-Not.shtml |title=William Shatner Answers Rumors, Says He is Not in the New ''Star Trek'' Movie |last=Leao |first=Gustavo |date=October 19, 2007 |website=TrekWeb.com |publisher=Steve Krutzler |access-date=November 12, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131112130051/http://trekweb.com/articles/2007/10/19/William-Shatner-Says-He-is-Not.shtml |archive-date=November 12, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-oct-27-et-quick27.s3-story.html |title=New 'Star Trek' bypasses Shatner |date=October 27, 2007 |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |agency=Associated Press |access-date=November 12, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131112123018/http://articles.latimes.com/2007/oct/27/entertainment/et-quick27.s3 |archive-date=November 12, 2013}}</ref> Director [[J. J. Abrams]] said in July 2007 that the production was "desperately trying to figure out a way to put him in" but that to "shove him in ... would be a disaster",<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/news/article/2303393.html |title=Comic-Con Transcript: 'It was logical!' |website=StarTrek.com |publisher=[[CBS#CBS Corporation, ViacomCBS, and CBS Studios|CBS Studios Inc.]] |location=New York |date=July 27, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070831202026/http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/news/article/2303393.html |archive-date=August 31, 2007 |access-date=November 12, 2013}}</ref> an opinion echoed by Shatner in several interviews. At a convention held in 2010, Shatner described the film as "wonderful". Two years before its release, his own tale of how the characters of the original series of ''Star Trek'' might have come together was published in his novel ''Star Trek: Academy&nbsp;– Collision Course.''<ref>{{cite web |url=http://trekweb.com/articles/2008/01/03/William-Shatner-on-His-Vision-of-Young-Kirk-and-Young-Spock-in-Collision-Course.shtml |title=William Shatner on His Vision of Young Kirk and Young Spock |last=Leao |first=Gustavo |date=January 3, 2008 |website=TrekWeb.com |publisher=Steve Krutzler |access-date=January 6, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080106102039/http://trekweb.com/articles/2008/01/03/William-Shatner-on-His-Vision-of-Young-Kirk-and-Young-Spock-in-Collision-Course.shtml |archive-date=January 6, 2008}}</ref>

===2010–present: a miscellany of projects===
In April 2010, Shatner began hosting the [[Discovery Channel]] show ''[[Weird or What?]]'', which aired until August 2012. Each episode of the series supplied lovers of arcana with several segments exploring news reports relating to left-field topics such as [[UFO]]s and [[cryptozoology]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Lackner|first=Chris|date=August 30, 2010|title=Is William Shatner Weird or What?|url=https://montrealgazette.com/entertainment/story.html?id=3459687|newspaper=The Gazette|location=Montreal, Canada|agency=[[Postmedia News]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100901103037/http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/story.html?id=3459687|archive-date=September 1, 2010|access-date=November 12, 2013}}</ref>
Later that year, his career as a comic television actor reached its zenith in a CBS sitcom based on [[Justin Halpern]]'s Twitter feed [[Shit My Dad Says]], ''[[$♯*! My Dad Says|$#*! My Dad Says]]'', which was cancelled in May 2011 three months after the first broadcast of its final episode.<ref>{{cite press release |last1=Ender |first1=Chris |last2=Gonzales |first2=Phil |date=May 19, 2010 |title=CBS Announces 2010–2011 Primetime Schedule |url=http://www.cbspressexpress.com/div.php/cbs_entertainment/release?id=25083 |location=Los Angeles |publisher=[[CBS]] |access-date=November 12, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100522014733/http://www.cbspressexpress.com/div.php/cbs_entertainment/release?id=25083 |archive-date=May 22, 2010}}</ref> 2011 also saw him guest-starring in one episode of the USA Network's ''[[Psych]]'', "In for a Penny", playing the estranged father of Junior Detective [[Juliet O'Hara]] ([[Maggie Lawson]]) (a role that he reprised in the show's 2012 season). For Trekkies, his most notable project of the year was the first ''Star Trek'' film that he had directed since ''Star Trek V''. ''[[The Captains (film)|The Captains]]'', which he also wrote and presented, was a feature-length documentary in which he interviewed all five of the actors who had played the principal role in the ''Star Trek'' sequels that had been created up to that point—[[Patrick Stewart]] of ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'', [[Avery Brooks]] of ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]'', [[Kate Mulgrew]] of ''[[Star Trek: Voyager]]'', [[Scott Bakula]] of ''[[Star Trek: Enterprise]]'' and [[Chris Pine]] of [[J. J. Abrams]]'s 2009 movie. The film also included a conversation between Shatner and his ''Star Trek VI'' co-star Christopher Plummer, a sequence celebrating a friendship that began when the two actors both took part in the Stratford Shakespeare Festival and reflecting Shatner's profound admiration for his colleague.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://collider.com/william-shatner-documentary-the-captains-gonzo-ballet-ben-folds/32224/ |title=William Shatner Directing THE CAPTAINS, a Documentary About Himself |last=Kelley |first=Laura |date=June 15, 2010 |website=Collider.com |access-date=November 12, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131112123820/http://collider.com/william-shatner-documentary-the-captains-gonzo-ballet-ben-folds/32224/ |archive-date=November 12, 2013}}</ref>

Shatner's 2012 began with his return to his roots in theatre. In February, he appeared on Broadway in a one-man show called ''Shatner's World: We Just Live in It''. After a three-week run at the [[Music Box Theatre|Music Box]], the show toured throughout the United States.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.playbill.com/article/william-shatners-solo-show-will-play-broadways-music-box-theatre-com-186333 |title=William Shatner's Solo Show Will Play Broadway's Music Box Theatre |last=Gans |first=Andrew |website=[[Playbill]].com |date=January 11, 2012 |location=New York |publisher=Playbill, Inc. |access-date=October 23, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120113203241/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/158460-William-Shatners-Solo-Show-Will-Play-Broadways-Music-Box-Theatre |archive-date=January 13, 2012}}</ref> In May, he was the guest presenter on the British [[satire|satirical]] television quiz show ''[[Have I Got News for You]]'', earning a footnote in the history of [[neologism]]s by melding "pioneer" and "pensioner" into the [[portmanteau]] coinage "pensioneer".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.contactmusic.com/william-shatner/news/william-shatner-hosts-satirical-tv-news-show_1332606|title=William Shatner – William Shatner Hosts Satirical Tv News Show |date=May 28, 2012 |website=Contactmusic.com |agency=[[World Entertainment News Network|WENN]] |access-date=June 14, 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120529001903/http://www.contactmusic.com/news/william-shatner-hosts-satirical-tv-news-show_1332606 |archive-date=May 29, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00t69pk |title=William Shatner Sings a Clue to a Story from the Week's News |date=May 28, 2012 |website=BBC Comedy |location=London |publisher=BBC |access-date=June 14, 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120611192916/http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/clips/p00t69pk/have_i_got_news_for_you_william_shatner_sings_a_clue_to_a_story_from_the_weeks_news/ |archive-date=June 11, 2012}}</ref> On July 28, he appeared on the premium cable TV channel [[Epix (TV channel)|Epix]] as the star of ''Get a Life!'', a documentary film about ''Star Trek'' fandom developed from the 1999 book about Trekkies that he had written in the aftermath of his ''Saturday Night Live'' rebuke to them.<ref>{{cite press release |last1=Colunga |first1=Jamie |last2=Bartsch |first2=Erica |date=June 12, 2012 |title=EPIX Presents Two Legends on One Stage at Comic-Con: Roger Corman & William Shatner |url=http://press.epixhd.com/press-releases/epix-presents-two-legends-on-one-stage-at-comic-con-roger-corman-william-shatner/ |website=[[Epix (TV network)|press.epixhd.com]] |location=New York |publisher=Studio 3 Partners |access-date=November 12, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131112123109/http://press.epixhd.com/press-releases/epix-presents-two-legends-on-one-stage-at-comic-con-roger-corman-william-shatner/ |archive-date=November 12, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sfx.co.uk/2012/07/11/william-shatners-get-a-life-documentary-trailer/ |title=William Shatner's Get A Life Documentary Trailer |last=Golder |first=Dave |date=July 11, 2012 |website=[[SFX (magazine)|SFX]] |location=Bath, UK |access-date=November 12, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131112124634/http://www.sfx.co.uk/2012/07/11/william-shatners-get-a-life-documentary-trailer/ |archive-date=November 12, 2013}}</ref> On September 25, he revisited the music video genre, appearing as a [[Umpire (baseball)|home plate umpire]] in the crooner Brian Evans's baseball-themed "At Fenway".<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=William Shatner plays umpire in 'At Fenway' music video |url=http://www.masslive.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2012/11/william_shatner_plays_umpire_i.html |work=MassLive.com |publisher=MassLive LLC |date=November 9, 2012 |access-date=November 16, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105142216/http://www.masslive.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2012/11/william_shatner_plays_umpire_i.html |archive-date=November 5, 2013}}</ref>

[[File: William Shatner at Destination Star Trek Europe 2016 01.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|alt=Shatner is speaking at the Destination Star Trek Europe conference.|Shatner at Destination Star Trek Europe, 2016]]

On April 24, 2014, Shatner performed an autobiographical one-man show on Broadway, which was filmed for subsequent screening in more than 700 theatres across Australia, Canada and the United States. A large portion of the revenue of the project went to charity.<ref>{{cite news |last=Gluck |first=Robert |date=April 25, 2014 |title=From 'Star Trek' to one-man show, William Shatner stays in the limelight |url=http://www.jns.org/latest-articles/2014/4/23/from-star-trek-to-one-man-show-william-shatner-stays-in-the-limelight |work=[[JNS.org]] |location=Boston, MA |access-date=September 6, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140906064950/http://www.jns.org/latest-articles/2014/4/23/from-star-trek-to-one-man-show-william-shatner-stays-in-the-limelight |archive-date=September 6, 2014}}</ref> In 2015, he played [[Mark Twain]] in an episode of the Canadian historical crime drama series ''[[Murdoch Mysteries]]'',<ref>{{cite web|title=Shatner Stars in Murdoch Mysteries Season 9|url=http://www.broadcastermagazine.com/news/shatner-stars-in-murdoch-mysteries-season-9/1003649588/|publisher=Broadcaster|date=June 2, 2015|access-date=June 23, 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150623215206/http://www.broadcastermagazine.com/news/shatner-stars-in-murdoch-mysteries-season-9/1003649588/|archive-date=June 23, 2015}}</ref> and Croatoan – the dangerous, interdimensional father of Audrey Parker – in the last episodes of the fifth and final season of SyFy channel's fantasy series ''[[Haven (TV series)|Haven]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2014/11/21/william-shatner-joins-haven-as-recurring-guest-star/330406/|title=William Shatner joins 'Haven' as Recurring Guest Star|website=TVBytheNumbers|author=Amanda Kondolojy|date=November 21, 2014|access-date=November 21, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141123183233/http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2014/11/21/william-shatner-joins-haven-as-recurring-guest-star/330406/|archive-date=November 23, 2014}}</ref> In the August of that year, Trekkies were treated to a sequel to ''The Captains'' which he produced, scripted and directed and in which he starred: ''William Shatner Presents: Chaos on the Bridge,'' a behind-the-scenes documentary film about ''Star Trek: The Next Generation''.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Alexander |first1=Iain |title=Shatner discusses Chaos on the Bridge: Exclusive |url=https://filmindustry.network/william-shatner-discusses-chaos-on-the-bridge-exclusive/29411 |publisher=Film Industry Network |date=August 8, 2015 |access-date=June 26, 2019 |archive-date=October 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020042150/https://filmindustry.network/william-shatner-discusses-chaos-on-the-bridge-exclusive/29411 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Premiering on August 23, 2016, the NBC reality miniseries ''[[Better Late Than Never (TV series)|Better Late Than Never]]'' followed Shatner and a quartet of other aging celebrities—[[Terry Bradshaw]], [[Jeff Dye]], [[George Foreman]] and [[Henry Winkler]]—as they took a grand tour around Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asia.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Littleton|first=Cynthia|title=William Shatner, Henry Winkler Set For NBC Reality Show 'Better Late Than Never'|url=https://variety.com/2015/tv/news/william-shatner-henry-winkler-nbc-better-late-than-never-1201515644/|date=June 9, 2015|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|access-date=August 21, 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150822044552/http://variety.com/2015/tv/news/william-shatner-henry-winkler-nbc-better-late-than-never-1201515644/|archive-date=August 22, 2015}}</ref> Shatner joked that Bradshaw, famous as a quarterback with the [[Pittsburgh Steelers]], was "putty in my hands".<ref>[https://triblive.com/aande/more-a-and-e/william-shatner-steelers-legend-terry-bradshaw-putty-in-my-hands/ "William Shatner: Steelers legend Terry Bradshaw 'putty in my hands']{{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190718171540/https://triblive.com/aande/more-a-and-e/william-shatner-steelers-legend-terry-bradshaw-putty-in-my-hands/ |date=July 18, 2019}}, ''[[Tribune-Review]]'', Pittsburgh, April 11, 2019.</ref> Another new enterprise that he launched that year was Shatner Singularity, a publisher of comic-books, which has a list including the graphic novel ''Stan Lee's "God Woke"'' by [[Stan Lee|Lee]] and Mariano and [[Fabian Nicieza]].<ref>{{cite press release|url=http://eclipsemagazine.com/comic-con-2016-pow-entertainment-and-shatner-singularity-introduce-stan-lees-god-woke/ |title=Comic-Con 2016: POW! Entertainment and Shatner Singularity Introduce Stan Lee's God Woke! |date=July 18, 2016 |access-date=July 22, 2016 |first=Sheldon |last=Wiebe |publisher=Shatner Singularity |via=EclipseMagazine.com |archive-date=August 6, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160806191247/http://eclipsemagazine.com/comic-con-2016-pow-entertainment-and-shatner-singularity-introduce-stan-lees-god-woke/ |url-status=live}} Additional on December 22, 2016. (WebCitation page requires text-blocking to make text visible)</ref> The book won the 2017 [[Independent Publisher Book Awards]]' Outstanding Books of the Year Independent Voice Award.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.independentpublisher.com/article.php?page=2172 |title=2017 Independent Publisher Book Awards |publisher=[[Independent Publisher Book Awards]] |access-date=April 9, 2017 |archive-date=April 8, 2017 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20170408031523/http://www.independentpublisher.com/article.php?page=2172 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Shatner's most notable television work in 2017 was in the second season of ''Better Late Than Never'': a preview episode of December 11, 2017, was followed by an official season premiere on the New Year's Day of 2018. His equestrian enthusiasm found an outlet in the animated children's show ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic]]'', where in the seventh season episode "[[The Perfect Pear]]" he supplied the voice of Grand Pear, the estranged maternal grandfather of Applejack and her siblings. 2017 also saw him appearing in a second music video with Brian Evans, this time promoting Evans's cover of the Dolly Parton song "Here You Come Again".<ref>{{cite news|title=Singer Makes History By Recording First Ever Jazz Song About Soccer|url=http://sportsmediareport.net/2019/12/02/singer-makes-history-by-recording-first-ever-jazz-song-about-soccer/|work=Sports Media Report|first=Jerry|last=Milani|date=December 2, 2019|access-date=January 21, 2020|archive-date=December 5, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191205072044/http://sportsmediareport.net/2019/12/02/singer-makes-history-by-recording-first-ever-jazz-song-about-soccer/|url-status=live}}</ref>
{{Tweet
| name = William Shatner
| username = WilliamShatner
| date = February 28, 2022
| text = "My prayers are with the people of the Ukraine, as I watch events unfolding on TV with such brave people fighting an overwhelming force, I am reminded ironically enough of Stalingrad, when the Nazis, on their way to Moscow, thought they could overwhelm that city. The people of Stalingrad & the army defending Stalingrad fought the Nazis to a standstill. History CAN repeat itself."
| ref  =<ref>{{Cite tweet |last=Shatner |first=William |user=@WilliamShatner |number=1498474350852382727 |date=February 28, 2022 |title=Tweet, William Shatner}}</ref>
|
| width = 500px
}}
Shatner became the focus of political controversy in 2021, when it was revealed that a popular science documentary show that he would host, ''I Don't Understand with William Shatner'', was scheduled to be aired on [[RT (TV network)|RT]], formerly known as Russia Today, from July 12. RT's editor-in-chief, [[Margarita Simonyan]], said that "Captain Kirk has come over to the good side." Criticized by a Russian journalist for his involvement with the government-controlled outlet, Shatner branded his accuser a hypocrite and compared his contract with RT to the arrangement through which the channel had acquired the right to broadcast American football games.<ref>{{cite news|last=Parfitt|first=Tom|url=https://www.thetimes.com/world/article/william-shatner-boldly-goes-to-russian-tv-b9kq6vw5n|title=William Shatner boldly goes … to Russian TV|work=[[The Times]]|location=London|date=July 2, 2021|access-date=July 9, 2021|archive-date=July 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709194321/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/william-shatner-boldly-goes-to-russian-tv-b9kq6vw5n|url-status=live}}{{subscription required}}</ref> Four days after the [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine|Russian invasion of Ukraine]] on February 24, 2022, Shatner issued a statement via Twitter expressing unqualified support for the Ukrainians in the resistance that they were mounting against their assailants. On March 2, he withdrew from his show, citing the invasion as his reason for doing so. RT America ceased transmitting altogether on March 3.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Darcy|first=Oliver|title=RT America ceases productions and lays off most of its staff|url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/03/media/rt-america-layoffs/index.html|access-date=March 3, 2022|date=March 3, 2022|website=CNN|archive-date=March 7, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220307181801/https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/03/media/rt-america-layoffs/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Also in 2021, Shatner starred in the film ''[[Senior Moment]]'', which co-starred [[Jean Smart]] and [[Christopher Lloyd]]. The movie was released in March 2021 on the same week Shatner turned 90.

In 2022, Shatner competed in [[The Masked Singer (American TV series) season 8|season eight]] of ''[[The Masked Singer (American TV series)|The Masked Singer]]'' as "Knight" (depicted as a knight riding a golden goose). A running gag is that the golden goose that "Knight" rides keeps trying to attack [[Nick Cannon]]. He was eliminated in the first episode alongside [[Eric Idle]] as "Hedgehog" and [[Chris Kirkpatrick]] as "Hummingbird".<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://ew.com/tv/the-masked-singer-knight-revealed-william-shatner/|title=William Shatner says being on The Masked Singer was wilder than going to space|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|first=Lauren|last=Huff|date=September 22, 2022|access-date=September 5, 2024|archive-date=September 20, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240920153904/https://ew.com/tv/the-masked-singer-knight-revealed-william-shatner/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Shatner hosted and executive-produced ''[[The UnXplained]]'' on [[History (American TV network)|History]] from 2019 to 2023.{{citation needed|date=February 2023}} Since its premiere the show has received very negative reviews from critics. Writing in ''Irish Film Critic'', Thomas Tunstall reported that the show's "subject matter runs all over the board", as if designed for an audience with attention deficit disorder. Though Shatner enthusiastically poses many questions, he provides far fewer satisfactory answers than he should – perhaps by design to retain the sense of mystery."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Tunstall |first1=Thomas |title=DVD Review: William Shatner Serves Up A Cornucopia Of Mysteries In "The UnXplained: Season 1" |url=https://www.irishfilmcritic.com/dvd-review-william-shatner-serves-up-a-cornucopia-of-mysteries-in-the-unxplained-season-1/ |website=Irish Film Critic |date=March 19, 2020 |access-date=April 13, 2022}}</ref>

In [[52nd Saturn Awards|2025]], Shatner will receive a Special Lifetime Achievement [[Saturn Award]].<ref name="TrekMovie2025">{{Cite web |last=Staff |first=TrekMovie.com |date=January 21, 2025 |title=William Shatner To Receive Lifetime Achievement Saturn Award |url=https://trekmovie.com/2025/01/21/william-shatner-to-receive-lifetime-achievement-saturn-award/ |access-date=January 26, 2025 |website=[[TrekMovie.com]] |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Career as a recording artist==
===''The Transformed Man'' and other albums===
Shatner made his recording debut in 1968, with the release of an album titled ''[[The Transformed Man]]''. It offered readings from classic plays followed by dramatically inflected recitations of the texts of thematically related popular songs, both set against a background of instrumental accompaniment. Among the hits that Shatner covered were Bob Dylan's "[[Mr. Tambourine Man]]" and the [[Lennon–McCartney]] song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://graphics.latimes.com/vignette-william-shatner-spoken-word-performances/|work=Los Angeles Times|title=Graphic: William Shatner's spoken-word performances |date=October 10, 2013 |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160507152213/http://graphics.latimes.com/vignette-william-shatner-spoken-word-performances/|archive-date=May 7, 2016}}</ref> Shatner would stay loyal to his idiosyncratic, talk-singing style from this album throughout his recording career.

In 1977, a performance that Shatner had given during a tour in 1971 was released on a Lemli Records double album, ''William Shatner Live''. The LPs' bill of fare included him reminiscing about his work on ''Star Trek'' and reading excerpts from [[Edmond Rostand]]'s ''[[Cyrano de Bergerac (play)|Cyrano de Bergerac]]'', [[H. G. Wells]]'s ''[[The War of the Worlds]]'' and [[Bertolt Brecht]]'s ''[[Galileo (play)|Galileo]]''.<ref>{{cite web |title=William Shatner Live |url=https://www.discogs.com/release/1436427-William-Shatner-William-Shatner-Live |website=[[Discogs]] |date=December 13, 1977 |access-date=November 14, 2023}}</ref> A year later, the recording was reissued by another company, again as a double LP, now titled ''William Shatner Live: Captain of the Starship''. Devoid of ''Star Trek'' branding because of licensing restrictions, the album's sleeve was decorated with a photograph of Shatner brandishing an upturned camera tripod in the style of Jim Kirk going into battle with a phaser rifle.<ref>LaRosa, Frank. [http://franklarosa.com/vinyl/Exhibit.jsp?AlbumID=56 William Shatner: Captain of the Starship] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411042634/http://www.franklarosa.com/vinyl/Exhibit.jsp?AlbumID=56 |date=April 11, 2021}}. [http://franklarosa.com/vinyl/ Frank's Vinyl Museum] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210321075311/http://franklarosa.com/vinyl/ |date=March 21, 2021}}. Retrieved on May 25, 2008.</ref>

Shatner's second studio album did not materialize until over 30 years after his first: ''[[Has Been]]'' was released in October 2004. Produced by [[Ben Folds]], it included a number of songs co-written with Folds and arranged by him, as well as a cover of the [[Pulp (band)|Pulp]] hit "[[Common People]]" performed with [[Joe Jackson (musician)|Joe Jackson]]. ''[[Seeking Major Tom]]'' followed in October 2011. Initially announced by Shatner under that title on February 4, it was later promoted by him as ''Searching for Major Tom'' before reverting to the name that he had given it originally.<ref>{{cite web|date=February 4, 2011|title=Twitter / William Shatner: My fantasy is that the boo|url=https://twitter.com/WilliamShatner/status/33730437658583041|access-date=March 15, 2012|publisher=Twitter.com|archive-date=October 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020042200/https://twitter.com/WilliamShatner/status/33730437658583041|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Searching">{{cite web|date=April 13, 2011|title=Announcing the Song Line Up for Bill Shatner's Upcoming Album "Searching for Major Tom"|url=http://williamshatner.com/Article419.phtml|access-date=April 17, 2011|work=William Shatner.com (official site)|archive-date=April 16, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110416080859/http://www.williamshatner.com/Article419.phtml|url-status=dead}}</ref> Shatner's colleagues on the project included several notable musicians: the [[Country music|country]] star [[Brad Paisley]], [[Zakk Wylde]] of [[Black Label Society]], [[Peter Frampton]], [[Brian May]] of [[Queen (band)|Queen]], [[Steve Howe (guitarist)|Steve Howe]] from [[Yes (band)|Yes]], [[John Wetton]] from [[King Crimson]] and [[Asia (band)|Asia]], [[Ritchie Blackmore]] from [[Deep Purple]], [[Alan Parsons]] and [[Bootsy Collins]] of [[Parliament-Funkadelic]].<ref name="Searching" /> Astronautically themed and with a general flavour of [[Heavy metal music|heavy metal]], the album featured covers of [[Pink Floyd]]'s "[[Learning to Fly (Pink Floyd song)|Learning to Fly]]", [[David Bowie]]'s "[[Space Oddity]]" and Queen's "[[Bohemian Rhapsody]]".<ref name="metal" />

Shatner's fifteen-track album ''[[Ponder the Mystery]]'', produced by [[Billy Sherwood]], was issued in October 2013. Among the musicians who contributed to it were [[Mick Jones (The Clash)|Mick Jones]], [[Simon House]], [[Steve Vai]], [[Al Di Meola]], Steve Howe's Yes colleague [[Rick Wakeman]], Joel Vandroogenbroeck, [[Edgar Winter]], [[Nik Turner]], [[Vince Gill]], [[Edgar Froese]], [[Robby Krieger]], Dav Koz, [[George Duke]] and [[Zoot Horn Rollo]]. The record's credits attributed all its music to Sherwood and all its song texts to Shatner. Shatner's first venture into the country music genre, ''Why Not Me'', appeared in August 2018, with a new partner in the form of [[Jeff Cook]], best known as a founding member of the American band [[Alabama (American band)|Alabama]]. Released on the Heartland Records Nashville label, this album also included guest vocals by [[Neal McCoy]], [[Home Free (group)|Home Free]] and Cash Creek.<ref>{{cite web|author=Dauphin, Chuck|title=William Shatner and Alabama's Jeff Cook Explain Their Unlikely Album 'Why Not Me'|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/8469094/william-shatner-jeff-cook-why-not-me|access-date=August 7, 2018|website=RollingStone.com|date=August 7, 2018|archive-date=August 9, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180809211015/https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/8469094/william-shatner-jeff-cook-why-not-me|url-status=live}}</ref> A holiday collection, ''Shatner Claus'', appeared in October 2018, with Shatner now aided and abetted by [[Iggy Pop]], [[Henry Rollins]], [[Todd Rundgren]], [[Billy Gibbons]] and others.<ref>{{cite web|author=Lukarcanin, Eina|title=William Shatner's First Christmas Album 'Shatner Claus' to Feature Iggy Pop, Brad Paisley & More|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/holiday/8476152/william-shatner-christmas-album-shatner-claus-iggy-pop-brad-paisley-judy-collins|access-date=September 20, 2018|website=RollingStone.com|date=September 20, 2018|archive-date=September 21, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180921113040/https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/holiday/8476152/william-shatner-christmas-album-shatner-claus-iggy-pop-brad-paisley-judy-collins|url-status=live}}</ref> Shatner's ninth album, ''The Blues'', was released on October 2, 2020,<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/william-shatner-interview-star-trek-blues-album-captain-kirk-1061935/|title=William Shatner Breaks Down His Blues Record, Explains Why a Captain Kirk Series Won't Happen|first1=Andy|last1=Greene|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|date=September 23, 2020|access-date=October 16, 2021|archive-date=October 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211016222606/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/william-shatner-interview-star-trek-blues-album-captain-kirk-1061935/|url-status=live}}</ref> and reached the number one slot of the ''Billboard'' Blues Chart fifteen days later.<ref>{{Cite magazine|title=William Shatner|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/william-shatner/chart-history/blu/|magazine=Billboard|access-date=February 7, 2021|archive-date=August 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818011304/https://www.billboard.com/music/william-shatner/chart-history/BLU/song/1229546|url-status=live}}</ref> A tenth album, ''Bill'', was announced by Shatner on August 26, 2021, and released on September 24.<ref>{{Cite tweet|last=Shatner|first=William|user=WilliamShatner |number=1431104184137494531|date=August 26, 2021 |title=You can now PRE-ORDER my upcoming album "Bill" and find out more information by going here: http://billthealbum.com|access-date=August 26, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://presave.umusic.com/william-shatner-album-pre-save |title=William Shatner &#124; BILL &#124; Pre-Order & Pre-Save |website=presave.umusic.com|access-date=August 27, 2021|archive-date=August 27, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210827041514/https://presave.umusic.com/william-shatner-album-pre-save|url-status=live}}</ref>

As well as recording his own series of discs, Shatner has taken part in other artists' releases too. [[Ben Folds]]'s 1998 album ''[[Fear of Pop: Volume 1]]'' features Shatner on two tracks, "In Love" and "Still in Love". (Jamie Halliday, the founder of [[Audio Antihero]], named the former as his "favourite song of all time".)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.goldflakepaint.co.uk/favourite-five-audio-antihero-records/|title=Favourite Five // Audio Antihero Records|date=August 29, 2012|website=GoldFlakePaint|access-date=October 16, 2021|archive-date=October 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211016222607/https://www.goldflakepaint.co.uk/favourite-five-audio-antihero-records/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://thefourohfive.com/news/article/the-405-guest-mix-audio-antihero |title=The 405 Guest Mix // Audio Antihero &#124; the 405 |work=The 405 |access-date=October 14, 2021 |archive-date=August 15, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120815025829/http://thefourohfive.com/news/article/the-405-guest-mix-audio-antihero |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://sydenhamradio.co.uk/presenters/andrew-chatterton/ |title=Andrew Chatterton &#124; Sydenham Community Radio |access-date=October 14, 2021 |archive-date=July 5, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120705035529/http://sydenhamradio.co.uk/presenters/andrew-chatterton/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://onlineantihero.blogspot.co.uk/2010/08/audio-antiheros-never-say-diy-radio.html |title=ONLINE ANTIHERO: Audio Antihero's "Never Say DIY!" Radio Vol.4! |access-date=October 14, 2021 |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304132808/http://onlineantihero.blogspot.co.uk/2010/08/audio-antiheros-never-say-diy-radio.html |url-status=live}}</ref> On June 28, 2002, Shatner appeared with Brian Evans at the San Carlos Institute Theatre in [[Key West, Florida]] and duetted with him in the songs "[[What Kind of Fool Am I?|What Kind of Fool Am I]]" and "[[The Lady Is a Tramp]]": the concert was later released as the album ''Brian Evans Live with Special Guest: William Shatner''. In 2005, he was heard in the track "'64 - Go" on the [[Lemon Jelly]] album ''[['64 - '95]]''. And he provided the lead vocals on the progressive rock artist [[Ben Craven]]'s track "Spy In The Sky Part 3" in Craven's album ''Last Chance To Hear'', released in March 2016.<ref>{{Cite web |last=glassonyonpr|date=March 22, 2016|title=Australian Prog Artist Ben Craven To Release Third Album "Last Chance To Hear" Featuring Guest Contributions By William Shatner and Billy Sherwood |url=https://glassonyonpr.com/2016/03/21/ben-craven-to-release-third-album/|access-date=September 17, 2016 |website=Glass Onyon PR |url-status=live |archive-date=October 12, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161012022629/https://glassonyonpr.com/2016/03/21/ben-craven-to-release-third-album/}}</ref> Among the music videos for other artists that featured him were one for Ben Folds's "Landed", in which he played the part of a producer, and two for [[Brad Paisley]], one promoting "[[Celebrity (Brad Paisley song)|Celebrity]]" and the other "[[Online (Brad Paisley song)|Online]]", with the latter containing a [[meta-reference]] in which Shatner appeared to be heartbroken when told that he could not sing.

===Performances of songs on television and in films===
Television audiences were introduced to Shatner's unorthodox musicianship not long after ''Star Trek'' had made him famous. In 1978, while hosting the [[5th Saturn Awards|fifth]] presentation of [[Saturn Awards]] bestowed by the [[Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films]], he performed a version of Elton John's ''Rocket Man'' that went on to become a staple of comedic parody. In an episode of [[Dinah Shore]]'s talk show, ''[[Dinah!]]'', he used his appearance on it to perform [[Harry Chapin]]'s "[[Taxi (Harry Chapin song)|Taxi]]". On June 9, 2005, he contributed his version of "[[My Way]]" to the presentation of [[George Lucas]]'s AFI Life Achievement Award, backed by a chorus line of dancers in [[Imperial Stormtrooper]] costumes who ended Shatner's segment by picking him up and carrying him offstage. On December 11, 2005, he launched [[Comedy Central]]'s ''Last Laugh 2005'' with a skit in which he appeared as a [[Lucifer]] celebrating how well the year had gone from the point of view of Hell. On March 29, 2006, [[TV Land]] aired a Shatner-centred episode of their ''Living in TV Land'' series subtitled "William Shatner in Concert". The program featured footage of him working with Ben Folds on ''Has Been'', and included a sequence in which he performed with Folds's band and Joe Jackson; it climaxed with a defiant rendition of "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" that was punctuated by him [[Finger (gesture)|giving the finger]]. To promote his [[The Biography Channel|Biography Channel]] talk show ''[[Shatner's Raw Nerve]]'', he guest-hosted [[World Wrestling Entertainment]]'s flagship show ''[[WWE Raw]]'' on February 1, 2010, and performed several wrestlers' entrance theme songs.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Bierly|first=Mandi|date=February 2, 2010|title=William Shatner takes on the WWE (in spoken word, of course)|url=https://ew.com/article/2010/02/02/william-shatner-wwe-superstar-entrance-theme-songs/|access-date=August 6, 2010|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|archive-date=February 8, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100208230831/http://popwatch.ew.com/2010/02/02/william-shatner-wwe-superstar-entrance-theme-songs/|url-status=live}}</ref> In the fourth episode of his sitcom ''[[$♯*! My Dad Says]]'', his character, Ed Goodson, delivered a Shatner-style [[Karaoke]] treatment of [[Right Said Fred]]'s "[[I'm Too Sexy]]". In the same scene, a waitress asked Ed if he wanted to tackle "Rocket Man" and he answered "Not tonight!". On November 4, during a television appearance on the ''[[Lopez Tonight]]'' show, he performed a cover of [[Cee Lo Green]]'s song "[[Fuck You (Cee Lo Green song)|F**k You]]".<ref>{{cite web|title=William Shatner Sings Cee Lo Green's 'F**k You'|url=http://www.lopeztonight.com/episode_recaps_and_highlights/william_shatner_sings_cee_lo_greens_song.php|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101106234621/http://www.lopeztonight.com/episode_recaps_and_highlights/william_shatner_sings_cee_lo_greens_song.php|archive-date=November 6, 2010}}</ref>

Several of the movies in which Shatner participated featured him in a musical context. In the closing scene of ''Free Enterprise'', he recited an oration of [[Mark Antony]]'s from ''[[Julius Caesar (play)|Julius Caesar]]'' over a rap delivered by The Rated R, a duet listed in the movie's credits as "No Tears for Caesar". In ''[[Miss Congeniality (film)|Miss Congeniality]]'', he performed the song "Miss United States", which was included in the movie's soundtrack album. He contributed the voice of [[Buzz Lightyear]] to the Star Command anthem "To Infinity And Beyond" in the 2000 film ''[[Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins]]''.

In 2007, one of Shatner's albums, ''Has Been'', was taken up by the writer and choreographer [[Margo Sappington]] (notable for her work on ''[[Oh! Calcutta!]]'') as the basis for a dance project, ''Common People'', created for the [[Milwaukee Ballet]]. Shatner attended the premiere of the work and arranged for it to be filmed. The resulting feature documentary, ''[[William Shatner's Gonzo Ballet]]'', was favourably received when it was unveiled at the [[Nashville Film Festival]] on April 17, 2009.

In addition to treating songs with apparently serious intent, Shatner has sometimes offered performances which, like many passages from his memoirs, are exercises in self-mockery. Instances include his versions of the five nominees in the Best Song from a Movie category at the [[MTV Movie Awards 1992|1992 ''MTV Movie Awards'']]. He also mined this vein of self-deprecating comedy as the lynchpin of Priceline's television advertising campaign. In one commercial for the company, he joined with his frequent collaborator [[Ben Folds]] in an ironic version of the [[Diana Ross]] hit "[[Theme from Mahogany (Do You Know Where You're Going To)|Do You Know Where You're Going To?]]".

==Space career==
===Space Shuttle ''Discovery''===
Ever since its [[Apollo 15]] lunar mission, [[NASA]] has woken up its astronauts with specially tailored recordings. On March 7, 2011, the crew of [[STS-133]] on the [[Space Shuttle Discovery|Space Shuttle ''Discovery'']] began their last day docked to the [[International Space Station]] with [[Alexander Courage]]'s title theme for ''Star Trek'' and Shatner reciting an adapted version of the show's famous introduction: "Space, the final frontier. These have been the voyages of the Space Shuttle ''Discovery''. Her 30-year mission: To seek out new science. To build new outposts. To bring nations together on the final frontier. To boldly go, and do, what no spacecraft has done before."<ref>{{cite news|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|date=March 7, 2011|title='Star Trek' moment for Earth-bound shuttle Discovery|website=space-travel.com|publisher=SpaceDaily|agency=[[Agence France-Presse]]|location=Gerringong, New South Wales, Australia|url=http://www.space-travel.com/reports/Star_Trek_moment_for_Earth-bound_shuttle_Discovery_999.html|url-status=live|access-date=March 9, 2011|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130202175212/http://www.space-travel.com/reports/Star_Trek_moment_for_Earth-bound_shuttle_Discovery_999.html|archive-date=February 2, 2013}}</ref>

===2021 spaceflight===
Shatner took part in [[Blue Origin]]'s second [[Sub-orbital spaceflight|sub-orbital]] [[human spaceflight]], [[Blue Origin NS-18]], on October 13, 2021.<ref>{{cite web|last=Howell |first=Elizabeth|date=October 12, 2021|title=Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket 'go' to launch William Shatner and crew to space |publisher=Space.com|url=https://www.space.com/william-shatner-blue-origin-go-for-launch|access-date=October 13, 2021|url-status=live|archive-date=October 12, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211012233815/https://www.space.com/william-shatner-blue-origin-go-for-launch}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=October 4, 2021|title=Blue Origin to Launch William Shatner into Space on October 12, 2021 – October 4, 2021 |website=Daily News Brief|url=https://dailynewsbrief.com/2021/10/04/blue-origin-to-launch-william-shatner-into-space-on-october-12-2021/|access-date=October 4, 2021 |archive-date=October 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211016031731/https://dailynewsbrief.com/2021/10/04/blue-origin-to-launch-william-shatner-into-space-on-october-12-2021/|url-status=live}}</ref> Invited to join Chris Boshuizen, [[Glen de Vries]] and [[Audrey Powers]] on the trip by Blue Origin's creator, the entrepreneur and Trekkie [[Jeff Bezos]], he began his real-world visit to space at Blue Origin's [[Corn Ranch|Launch Site One]] in West Texas, travelling on the [[RSS First Step#New Shepard 4|RSS ''First Step'']], a [[New Shepard]] [[suborbital rocket]] capsule. In a televised post-flight conversation with Bezos, Shatner articulated experiencing the [[overview effect]], a deepened understanding of the fact that the ecosphere of the Earth is but a thin, fragile skin enveloping its planet.<ref name="launch">{{Cite web |date=October 13, 2021 |title=William Shatner, TV's Capt. Kirk, blasts into space |url=https://apnews.com/article/shatner-blue-origin-launch-09705724072c0ecad2674c8511f0fcab |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211013132452/https://apnews.com/article/shatner-blue-origin-launch-09705724072c0ecad2674c8511f0fcab |archive-date=October 13, 2021 |access-date=October 13, 2021 |website=AP NEWS}}</ref> Aged {{ayd|1931|3|22|2021|10|13}}, he became the [[List of spaceflight records#Oldest|oldest person to fly into space]], surpassing [[Wally Funk]], who had flown on Blue Origin's first crewed spaceflight at the age of 82 in July 2021.<ref name="space"/><ref name="astro"/>

Shatner's record was surpassed on May 19, 2024, by retired [[United States Air Force|U.S. Air Force]] pilot [[Ed Dwight]], who at the age of {{ayd|1933|9|9|2024|5|19}} became the oldest person to fly into space.<ref>{{Cite web |title='A life-changing experience': Ed Dwight becomes oldest person to reach space |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/video/-a-life-changing-experience-ed-dwight-becomes-oldest-person-to-reach-space-211221061867 |access-date=May 20, 2024 |website=NBC News |language=en}}</ref>

==Personal life==
[[File:BrentSpinerWilliamShatnerLevarBurtonJuly2010.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|alt=Shatner, Spiner and Burton are speaking together at Comic-Con. They are all sitting in direction chairs in front of a green screen.|Shatner (center) with [[Brent Spiner]] (left) and [[LeVar Burton]] in 2010]]

Shatner dislikes watching himself perform. He says that there are episodes of the original ''Star Trek'' television show that he has never seen,<ref>{{Cite tweet|user=williamshatner |number=1331380187167035393|date=November 24, 2020|first=William |last=Shatner|title=I don't watch Star Trek. I don't think I've even seen all the episodes from my series. …}}</ref> and he is just as averse to watching his performance in ''Boston Legal''. He has claimed that the only ''Star Trek'' movie that he has screened is the one that he directed and so necessarily viewed when it was being edited, ''Star Trek V: The Final Frontier'',<ref>{{cite news |last=Adams |first=Stephen |date=February 8, 2008 |title=William Shatner 'never watched Star Trek' |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1578071/William-Shatner-never-watched-Star-Trek.html |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |location=London |access-date=November 12, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131230125904/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1578071/William-Shatner-never-watched-Star-Trek.html |archive-date=December 30, 2013}}</ref> although in his 1993 book ''[[Star Trek Memories]]'', he recalls how disappointed he felt when he attended the premiere of the first ''Star Trek'' movie, [[Robert Wise]]'s ''[[Star Trek: The Motion Picture]]''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Shatner |first1=William |title=Star Trek Memories |orig-year=1993 |publisher=It Books |page=320 |edition=Reprint |date=April 21, 2009}}</ref>{{rp|201}}

Shatner is a longtime U.S. resident and has a [[green card]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/entertainment/william-shatner-on-his-new-projects-and-patriotism-from-trudeau-to-tessa-virtue-1.3823043 |title=William Shatner on his new projects and patriotism, from Trudeau to Tessa Virtue |last=Ahearn |first=Victoria |date=February 28, 2018 |website=CTVNews |access-date=March 4, 2020 |archive-date=August 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200829015702/https://www.ctvnews.ca/entertainment/william-shatner-on-his-new-projects-and-patriotism-from-trudeau-to-tessa-virtue-1.3823043 |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Family===
Shatner has been married four times. His first wife was a Canadian actress,<ref>{{cite news |work=[[Fyi (TV network)|Fyi]] |title=William Shatner |url= http://www.biography.com/people/william-shatner-9480789#new-directions |access-date=September 6, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140907010627/http://www.biography.com/people/william-shatner-9480789#new-directions |archive-date=September 7, 2014}}</ref> Gloria Rand (née Rabinowitz),<ref>{{cite news |work=[[The Jewish Week]] |title=Captain of Industry |date=May 28, 2008 |first= Adam |last= Dicktor |url= http://www.thejewishweek.com/features/captain_industry|access-date=September 6, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130524231558/http://www.thejewishweek.com/features/captain_industry |archive-date=May 24, 2013}}</ref> whom he married on August 12, 1956.<ref>{{cite book |page= 123 |title=The Old Farmer's Almanac 2013 |publisher=[[Houghton Mifflin Harcourt]] |year=2012 |isbn=978-0544086920 |title-link=Old Farmer's Almanac}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title= Shatner, William |publisher= |website= StarTrek.com |url=http://www.startrek.com/database_article/shatner |access-date=September 6, 2014 |url-status= live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140807214941/http://www.startrek.com/database_article/shatner |archive-date=August 7, 2014}}</ref> The couple had three daughters: Leslie (born 1958), Lisabeth (born 1961) and [[Melanie Shatner|Melanie]] (born 1964). Shatner left Rand while acting in ''Star Trek: The Original Series'', after which he divorced her in March 1969.<ref>{{cite news |title=TV Star Divorced After Absences |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=m4EyAAAAIBAJ&pg=5840,2054549 |newspaper=[[The Blade (Toledo)|The Blade]] |location=Toledo, Ohio |date=March 6, 1969 |agency=[[Associated Press]] |publisher=[[Block Communications|The Toledo Blade Company]] |page=4 |access-date=May 6, 2011 |archive-date=October 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211016005157/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=m4EyAAAAIBAJ&pg=5840,2054549 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Up Till Now: The Autobiography |first1= William |last1= Shatner |first2= David |last2= Fisher |page=135 |publisher=[[Macmillan Publishers]]|year=2009 |isbn=978-1429937979 |title-link=Up Till Now}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |work=[[The Biography Channel (UK and Ireland)|The Biography Channel]] |title=William Shatner Biography|url=http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biographies/william-shatner.html |access-date=September 6, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140907005409/http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biographies/william-shatner.html |archive-date=September 7, 2014}}</ref>

Shatner's second wife was Marcy Lafferty, the daughter of the television producer [[Perry Lafferty]]. Lasting from 1973 to 1996, their marriage was Shatner's longest, but did not produce any children.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1991/12/06/star-trek-vi-energized/81bdbf06-4a69-4dfd-8707-b36b72601b7d/ |title='STAR TREK VI': ENERGIZED |date=December 6, 1991 |first=Rita |last=Kempley |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |issn=0190-8286 |oclc=1330888409 |archive-date=March 7, 2023 |access-date=September 29, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230307035455/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1991/12/06/star-trek-vi-energized/81bdbf06-4a69-4dfd-8707-b36b72601b7d/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Shatner's third wife was Nerine Kidd, whom he married in 1997. Returning home at around 10 p.m. on August 9, 1999, he found her lying lifeless at the bottom of their backyard swimming pool. She was forty years old. Once an [[autopsy]] had revealed that her blood contained both alcohol and [[diazepam]], the coroner decided that the cause of her death was accidental drowning and the [[Los Angeles Police Department]], agreeing that there was no evidence of foul play, closed its file on the case. Speaking to the press shortly after his wife's death while visibly still in a state of shock, Shatner said that she had "meant everything" to him and described her as his "beautiful soulmate".<ref name="quirk">{{cite journal |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=William Shatner: Captain Quirk |url= http://bulletin.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=149333 |journal=[[The Bulletin (Australian periodical)|The Bulletin]] |date=October 3, 2006 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20061027171515/http://bulletin.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=149333 |archive-date=October 27, 2006 |access-date=November 12, 2013}}</ref> He urged the public to support Friendly House, a non-profit organization that helps women to rebuild their lives after trying to free themselves from alcoholism or other forms of drug addiction.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.scifi.com/sfw/issue124/news.html |title=Science Fiction News of the Week |website= [[Science Fiction Weekly]] |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090325130127/http://www.scifi.com/sfw/issue124/news.html |archive-date=March 25, 2009 |access-date=March 7, 2012}}</ref> 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".<ref name="quirk" />

In his 2008 book ''Up Till Now: The Autobiography'', Shatner disclosed how Leonard Nimoy, himself no stranger to alcoholism, had done his best to try to avert the tragedy that Kidd's affliction threatened:
{{blockquote|Leonard Nimoy's personal experience of alcoholism now came to play a central role in my life and it helped us bond together in a way I never could have imagined in the early days of ''Star Trek''. After Nerine and I had been to dinner with Leonard and Susan Nimoy one evening, Leonard called and said: "Bill, you know she's an alcoholic?" I said I did. I married Nerine in 1997, against the advice of many and my own good sense. But I thought she would give up alcohol for me. We had a celebration in Pasadena, and Leonard was my best man. I woke up about eight o'clock the next morning and Nerine was drunk. She was in rehab for 30 days three different times. Twice she almost drank herself to death. Leonard (sober many years) took Nerine to [[Alcoholics Anonymous]] meetings, but she did not want to quit.}}

In 2000, a [[Reuters]] story reported that Shatner was planning to write and direct ''The Shiva Club'', a [[Black comedy|dark comedy]] about the grieving process inspired by his wife's death.<ref>{{cite news |title=Shatner takes inspiration from tragedy |work=[[The Seattle Times]] |date=July 4, 2000 |agency=[[Reuters]] |page=E2}}</ref> Shatner's 2004 album ''Has Been'' included a spoken word piece, "What Have You Done", that describes his anguish upon discovering Nerine's body.

In 2001, Shatner married Elizabeth Anderson Martin. In 2004, she co-wrote the song "Together" on Shatner's album ''Has Been''.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.allmusic.com/song/together-t7265302 |title=Together – William Shatner |website=[[AllMusic]] |publisher=All Media Network |access-date=October 19, 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111025005727/http://allmusic.com/song/together-t7265302 |archive-date=October 25, 2011}}</ref> Shatner filed for divorce from Elizabeth in 2019.<ref>{{Cite magazine |first=Natalie |last=Stone |date=December 10, 2019 |url=https://people.com/tv/william-shatner-files-for-divorce-wife-elizabeth-shatner/ |title=William Shatner Files for Divorce from Fourth Wife Elizabeth After 18 Years of Marriage |magazine=[[People (magazine)|People]]}}</ref> The divorce was finalized in January 2020.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/william-shatner-finalizes-divorce-report |title=William Shatner finalizes divorce from fourth wife, will keep majority of $100 million fortune: report |last=Roberto |first=Melissa |work=Fox News |date=January 29, 2020 |access-date=June 3, 2020 |archive-date=June 3, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200603173549/https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/william-shatner-finalizes-divorce-report |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Relationships with other actors===
Shatner first appeared on screen with [[Leonard Nimoy]] in 1964 when both actors guest-starred in an episode of ''[[The Man from U.N.C.L.E.]]'', "The Project Strigas Affair". Much like their characters on ''Star Trek'', Shatner and Nimoy had a professional rivalry that developed into a close friendship. After the show's cancellation in 1969, they reunited in ''Star Trek: The Animated Series'', and they also worked together on both ''The $20,000 Pyramid'' and ''T. J. Hooker''. In 2016, Shatner revealed that despite their long and affectionate relationship, he and Nimoy had not spoken to each other in the five years before his death the year before.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Wilson Berg |first1=Katie |title=William Shatner Opens Up About Deathbed Rift With Leonard Nimoy and Their Long Friendship (Q&A) |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/william-shatner-opens-up-deathbed-864547/ |website=Hollywood Reporter |date=February 12, 2016 |access-date=June 2, 2021 |archive-date=June 2, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602215640/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/william-shatner-opens-up-deathbed-864547/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

Nimoy spoke about their mutual rivalry during the ''Star Trek'' years:<ref>{{cite book|author=Michael Seth Starr|title=Shatner|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xle9DwAAQBAJ|year=2019|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-1-4930-5065-9|chapter=6|pages=71–72|access-date=May 8, 2020|archive-date=March 5, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210305211343/https://books.google.com/books?id=xle9DwAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}</ref>

{{blockquote|Bill's energy was very good for my performance, because Spock could then be the cool individual. Our chemistry was successful right from the start. [We were] very competitive, with a sibling rivalry up to here, and after the show had been on the air a few weeks and they started to get a lot of mail about Spock, then the dictum came down from NBC: "Oh, give us more of that guy! They love that guy!" Well, that can be a problem for a leading man who's hired as the star of the show.}}

On an episode of the [[A&E (TV channel)|A&E]] series ''[[Biography (TV program)|Biography]]'', where it was also divulged that Nimoy was Shatner's best man at his wedding with his fourth wife Elizabeth, Nimoy said, "Bill Shatner hogging the stage? No. Not the Bill Shatner I know." When Nimoy died in 2015, Shatner said, "I loved him like a brother. We will all miss his humor, his talent, and his capacity to love." Although Shatner was unable to take part in Nimoy's funeral due to other commitments, his daughters attended in his place, and he celebrated his friend's life in an online memorial.

Shatner has been friends with actress [[Heather Locklear]] since 1982, when she began co-starring with him on ''T. J. Hooker''. As she combined her work on ''Hooker'' with a semi-regular role in ''[[Dynasty (1981 TV series)|Dynasty]]''—also an [[Aaron Spelling]] production—she was asked by ''[[Entertainment Tonight]]'' whether she was finding her schedule difficult. She said that working with both Shatner and her experienced colleagues on ''Dynasty'' could be daunting, but that her nervousness motivated her to turn up on set well prepared. After ''T.J. Hooker'' ended, Shatner helped her to get other roles, and after Nerine Shatner's death in 1999, she was solicitous in comforting him in his bereavement. They worked together again in 2005, when she appeared in two episodes of ''Boston Legal'' as Kelly Nolan, a woman being tried for killing her much older, wealthy husband. The episodes' story involves Shatner's character becoming attracted to Nolan and trying to insert himself into her defence.{{Clarify|date=November 2014}} Asked how she came to be cast in the series, Locklear said, "I love the show. It's my favorite show, and I sorta kind of said, 'Shouldn't I be William Shatner's illegitimate daughter, or his love interest?'"

For years, some of Shatner's ''Star Trek'' co-stars accused him of being difficult to work with, particularly [[George Takei]], [[Walter Koenig]], and [[James Doohan]]. Shatner acknowledged the resentment that Koenig and Doohan felt towards him; in ''Star Trek Movie Memories'', Shatner recalled having to work with them again while filming 1994's ''Star Trek Generations'':<ref>{{cite news|first1=Jen|last1=Yamato|access-date=June 18, 2021|title=William Shatner on 50 Years of 'Star Trek,' the Passing of David Bowie, and Pal Leonard Nimoy|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/01/20/william-shatner-on-50-years-of-star-trek-the-passing-of-david-bowie-and-pal-leonard-nimoy|newspaper=The Daily Beast|date=January 20, 2016|via=www.thedailybeast.com|archive-date=May 30, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170530211614/http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/01/20/william-shatner-on-50-years-of-star-trek-the-passing-of-david-bowie-and-pal-leonard-nimoy|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|first1=Tucker|last1=Archer|access-date=June 18, 2021|title=Inside William Shatner & George Takei's Decades-Long Feud|url=https://heavy.com/entertainment/star-trek/william-shatner-george-takei-feud-why/|date=January 14, 2021|archive-date=June 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624201855/https://heavy.com/entertainment/star-trek/william-shatner-george-takei-feud-why/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Shatner |first=William |title=Star Trek Movie Memories |date=August 1995 |publisher=[[HarperCollins]] |edition=Reprint |page=414}}</ref>

{{blockquote|I was a lot more worried about working with Walter Koenig and Jimmy Doohan, two men who have made it clear on any number of occasions that my name is generally near the top of their shit lists.}}

Takei wrote about his issues with Shatner in his 2004 memoir, ''[[To the Stars: The Autobiography of George Takei|To the Stars]]''. Interviewed in London in 2023, Takei made it clear that the passage of time had done nothing to assuage his hostility towards his former colleague: "Shatner is a cantankerous old fossil. All of us have had problems with him.... There is this fiction that Bill and Leonard [Nimoy] were good friends, but we know better—Leonard privately expressed his irritation with Bill. Bill is an egocentric, self-involved prima donna."<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/george-takei-bill-shatner-is-an-egocentric-self-involved-prima-donna-d7mvdlgsn|last=Craine|first=Debra |title=George Takei: 'Bill Shatner is an egocentric, self-involved prima donna'|date=January 3, 2023|work=[[The Times]]}}</ref> However, in 2025, Takei posted: ''Just days ago, Bill Shatner celebrated his 94th birthday — wishing him continued health and happiness. Live long and prosper, my friends.''<ref>[https://universeodon.com/@georgetakei/114235279659379872 Just days ago, Bill Shatner celebrated his 94th birthday — wishing him continued health and happiness. Live long and prosper, my friends.]</ref>

Koenig, on the other hand, accepted Shatner's invitation to appear on his interview series ''Shatner's Raw Nerve'' in 2011 and made it clear that the animosity that he had once felt towards Shatner had long since dissipated.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1774110/ |title=WalterKoenig|via=IMDb |access-date=June 30, 2020|archive-date=March 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210309052049/https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1774110/|url-status=live}}</ref> Doohan too achieved a warmer relationship with Shatner eventually, although it took a long time for the two men to build a rapport. In the 1990s, Shatner made numerous attempts to reconcile with Doohan without success.

James Doohan was the only former ''Star Trek'' co-star who declined to be interviewed by Shatner for his first memoir, ''[[Star Trek Memories]]'' (1993). However, Doohan did contribute to Shatner's sequel, and an [[Associated Press]] article published at the time of Doohan's final convention appearance in August 2004.  At the time, Doohan was already suffering from severe health problems, and it was reported that he had forgiven Shatner,  and  the two actors had achieved the friendship as senior citizens that had eluded them as younger men.  

Sky Conway, the organizer of the penultimate convention attended by Doohan, was a witness to Doohan and Shatner burying the hatchet.  "At our show: 'The Great Bird of the Galaxy' at El Paso, Texas in November 2003, a celebration of Gene Roddenberry and ''Star Trek'', Bill and Jimmy went on stage together. Behind the scenes and before they went on stage, they hugged each other, apologized and expressed their love and admiration for each other. Bill specifically asked me to get them together so he could make amends and clear the air between the two of them before it was too late."<ref>{{cite news |last=Pascale |first=Anthony |date=December 9, 2010 |url=http://trekmovie.com/2010/12/09/george-takei-william-shatner-refused-to-appear-on-stage-with-james-doohan-at-farewell-con/ |title=George Takei: William Shatner Refused To Appear On-Stage With James Doohan At Farewell Con |work=TrekMovie.com |access-date=October 11, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006133257/http://trekmovie.com/2010/12/09/george-takei-william-shatner-refused-to-appear-on-stage-with-james-doohan-at-farewell-con/ |archive-date=October 6, 2014}}</ref>

===Health===
Shatner began suffering from [[tinnitus]], a hearing disorder{{citation needed span|date=December 2023|text=, in the early 1990s}}. Researchers think that tinnitus can be triggered by exposure to very loud noise, and Shatner believes that his falling prey to it might be the result of a [[pyrotechnics|pyrotechnical]] accident that happened during the shooting of the 1967 ''Star Trek'' episode "[[Arena (Star Trek: The Original Series)|Arena]]". His condition has been ameliorated by [[habituation]] therapy that involved his wearing an earpiece delivering low-level [[white noise]] which "helped his brain put the tinnitus in the background". He is a supporter of a tinnitus charity, the [[American Tinnitus Association]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Thomas |first=Nick |date=June 25, 2007 |url=http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/living/2003760030_tinnitus25.html |title=Easing the torment of tinnitus |work=The Seattle Times |access-date=September 13, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090109031719/http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/living/2003760030_tinnitus25.html |archive-date=January 9, 2009}}</ref>

Shatner revealed in 2020 that he suffers from swollen joints and various age-related "aches and pains". He treats his discomfort with [[cannabidiol]] oil, a dietary supplement extracted from [[cannabis]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/lifestyle/entertainment/william-shatner-using-magical-cannabis-extract-to-treat-aches-and-pains/|title=William Shatner using 'magical' cannabis extract to treat 'aches and pains'|agency=Press Association|date=June 7, 2020|access-date=January 13, 2021|archive-date=October 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211016010602/https://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/lifestyle/entertainment/william-shatner-using-magical-cannabis-extract-to-treat-aches-and-pains/|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Work with horses===
[[File:William Shatner Riding.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|alt=Shatner is on horseback wearing saddle seat attire during a show.|Shatner on horseback at a [[horse show]] in 2011]]

In his spare time, Shatner enjoys breeding and [[Horse show|showing]] [[American Saddlebred]]s{{r|jordan20100903}} and [[American Quarter Horse|Quarter Horses]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Huber|first1=Mark|title=William Shatner|url=http://www.bjtonline.com/business-jet-news/william-shatner|website=Business Jet Traveler|access-date=August 15, 2016|date=April 2012|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161018103131/http://www.bjtonline.com/business-jet-news/william-shatner|archive-date=October 18, 2016}}</ref> He rode one of his own mares, Great Belles of Fire, in ''Star Trek Generations''.<ref>{{cite book |last=Harris |first=Moira C. |others=Photographs by Bob Langrish |title=America's Horses: A Celebration of the Horse Breeds Born in the U.S.A |year=2006 |publisher=[[Globe Pequot Press|Lyons Press]] |location=Guilford, CT |pages=42–43 |isbn=978-1-59228-893-9 |oclc=76906780 |lccn=2003001797}}</ref> He has a {{convert|360|acre|ha|adj=on}} farm near [[Versailles, Kentucky]], named [[Belle Reve Farm]] (from the French ''beau rêve'', "Beautiful Dream"{{snd}}Belle Reve was the name of Blanche Dubois' and her sister Stella's family home in ''[[A Streetcar Named Desire]]''), where he raises American Saddlebreds. Three of his notable horses are Call Me Ringo, Revival, and Sultan's Great Day.

In 2018, Shatner was awarded the [[National Reining Horse Association]] Lifetime Achievement Award in the [[National Reining Horse Association Hall of Fame]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Dale Wilkinson Lifetime Achievement Award |url=https://nrha.com/halloffame |website=National Reining Horse Association Hall of Fame |publisher=www.nrha.com |access-date=May 14, 2019 |archive-date=May 13, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190513231140/https://nrha.com/halloffame/ |url-status=live}}</ref> In 2019, he won a world championship with his [[Standardbred]] road horse Track Star while showing at the [[Kentucky State Fair World's Championship Horse Show]] in Louisville.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.nationalhorseman.com/horse/track-star-road-horse |title=Track Star National Horseman |website=www.nationalhorseman.com |access-date=September 22, 2019|archive-date=September 22, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190922124306/https://www.nationalhorseman.com/horse/track-star-road-horse|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Philanthropy===
Shatner participates in the Hollywood Home Games of the [[World Poker Tour]], in which celebrities try to win money for their favourite charities.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.worldpokertour.com/Shared/Tournaments/Seasons/WPT_Specials/Hollywood_Home_Game_V.aspx |title=Hollywood Home Game V |website=[[World Poker Tour]] |publisher=WPT Enterprises, Inc. |location=Los Angeles |access-date=November 12, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131112123036/http://www.worldpokertour.com/Shared/Tournaments/Seasons/WPT_Specials/Hollywood_Home_Game_V.aspx |archive-date=November 12, 2013}}</ref> But most of his philanthropic work is associated with his love of horses. Since 1990, he has been one of the most important supporters of the Hollywood Charity Horse Show, which raises money for organizations serving children,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.horseshow.org/ |title=Welcome to the Hollywood Charity Horse Show |website=Hollywood Charity Horse Show |publisher=Picture Partners |location=Los Angeles |access-date=November 12, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140102222044/http://horseshow.org/ |archive-date=January 2, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2014/04/14/actor-william-shatner-horses-around-for-charity-3/|title=Actor William Shatner Horses Around For Charity|date=April 14, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170831034226/http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2014/04/14/actor-william-shatner-horses-around-for-charity-3/|archive-date=August 31, 2017}}</ref> and his horse farm works with the Central Kentucky Riding for Hope "Horses for Heroes" program.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ckrh.org/| title=CKRH Home Page |website=Central Kentucky Riding for Hope |publisher=Neil Tollner |location=Lexington, KY |access-date=November 12, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131112122331/http://www.ckrh.org/|archive-date=November 12, 2013}}</ref>

In 2006, Shatner sold a [[kidney stone]] that had been surgically extracted from him to the online auction company [[GoldenPalace.com]] for $25,000, after rejecting an earlier bid of $15,000 with the observation that collectors had paid more than $100,000 for one of his ''Star Trek'' tunics.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4623280.stm|title=Actor Shatner sells kidney stone|date=January 18, 2006|publisher=BBC News|access-date=December 29, 2022|archive-date=May 25, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220525181945/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4623280.stm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.goldenpalaceevents.com/auctions/shatnerstone01.php |title=William Shatner Passes Kidney Stone To GoldenPalace.com! |date=January 18, 2006 |website=GoldenPalaceEvents.com |access-date=February 5, 2007 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070205025439/http://www.goldenpalaceevents.com/auctions/shatnerstone01.php |archive-date=February 5, 2007}}</ref> In an appearance on ''[[The View (U.S. TV series)|The View]]'' on May 16, 2006, he said that the proceeds of the sale and an additional $20,000 raised from the cast and crew of ''Boston Legal'' had been donated to the housing charity [[Habitat for Humanity]].

===Public appearances===
Shatner was king of the [[Mardi Gras in New Orleans|Mardi Gras]] [[Krewe of Bacchus|Bacchus]] parade in 1987.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/mardi-gras-celebrity-kings/|title=Mardi Gras celebrity kings|website=[[CBS News]] |date=February 16, 2012|access-date=August 10, 2024}}</ref> On New Year's Day 1994, Shatner was the [[Grand Marshal]] of the [[Rose Parade|Tournament of Roses Parade]] in Pasadena, California. Instead of leading the event in the customary classic car, he presided over it from horseback. He also took part in the coin toss before the subsequent [[1994 Rose Bowl|80th Rose Bowl college football game]] (the teams vying for Rose Bowl honours that year were the University of Wisconsin Badgers and the University of California Los Angeles Bruins; the Badgers beat the Bruins by 21–16).

Shatner was one of several speakers at the [[2010 Winter Olympics closing ceremony#Cultural section|closing ceremony]] for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, on February 28, 2010. Twenty years later, he discharged the duties of a Grand Marshal again at an event in his native Canada, the 102nd [[Calgary Stampede]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Elliott |first=Tamara |date=June 3, 2014 |title=William Shatner beams into role as Calgary Stampede parade marshal |url=http://globalnews.ca/news/1371948/william-shatner-beams-into-role-as-calgary-stampede-parade-marshal/ |newspaper=[[Global News]] |location=Toronto, Ontario |publisher=[[Shaw Media]] |access-date=June 14, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140615021035/http://globalnews.ca/news/1371948/william-shatner-beams-into-role-as-calgary-stampede-parade-marshal/ |archive-date=June 15, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=William Shatner to lead Calgary Stampede Parade |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/william-shatner-to-lead-calgary-stampede-parade-1.2663770 |date=June 3, 2014 |location=Calgary, Canada |work=CBC News |access-date=June 4, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140604040806/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/william-shatner-to-lead-calgary-stampede-parade-1.2663770 |archive-date=June 4, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Russell Skeet |title=Shatner "Beams Down" For Stampede (With Video) |url=http://www.highriveronline.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=26527:shatner-qbeams-upq-for-stampede&catid=13:local-news&Itemid=348 |date=July 3, 2014 |location=Calgary, Canada |publisher=highriveronline.com |access-date=April 6, 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150413065225/http://www.highriveronline.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=26527%3Ashatner-qbeams-upq-for-stampede&catid=13%3Alocal-news&Itemid=348 |archive-date=April 13, 2015}}</ref>

Many of Shatner's public appearances reflect Captain Kirk's status as one of science fiction's best known icons. In September 2016, for example, the organizers of the [[Salt Lake Comic Con]] invited him to attend their event as their special guest.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160511006620/en/Salt-Lake-Comic-Con-Kicks-Off-Salt-Lake-Comic-Con-2016-with-Announcement-of-First-13-Guests|title=Salt Lake Comic Con Kicks Off Salt Lake Comic Con 2016 with Announcement of First 13 Guests|date=May 11, 2016|publisher=BusinessWire|access-date=January 3, 2023|archive-date=January 4, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230104033103/https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160511006620/en/Salt-Lake-Comic-Con-Kicks-Off-Salt-Lake-Comic-Con-2016-with-Announcement-of-First-13-Guests|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2017, he acted as the honorary captain of a ship hosting "Star Trek: The Cruise", the first ''Star Trek'' cruise that CBS Productions licensed, an event celebrating the 50th anniversary of the first broadcast of ''Star Trek'''s original pilot episode.<ref>Lippe, Jordi. 'William Shatner to host 'Star Trek' cruise setting sale 2017.', August 18, 2015, Today. {{cite web |url=http://www.today.com/money/william-shatner-host-star-trek-cruise-setting-sail-2017-t39416 |title=Attention Trekkies: William Shatner's 'Star Trek' cruise wants to beam you up |date=August 18, 2015 |access-date=August 20, 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150819120128/http://www.today.com/money/william-shatner-host-star-trek-cruise-setting-sail-2017-t39416 |archive-date=August 19, 2015}}, retrieved August 20, 2015</ref> Shatner was dismayed that the cruise offered its customers an opportunity to swim with dolphins, and petitioned the CEO of the Norwegian Cruise Line through [[People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals|PETA]] not to include dolphins in the programme of their 2018 cruise: "The exploitation of any species for profit and entertainment would have violated the [[Prime Directive]]."<ref>"William Shatner urges 'Star Trek: The Cruise' to ditch its dolphin experience," [https://www.foxnews.com/travel/william-shatner-urges-star-trek-the-cruise-to-ditch-its-dolphin-experience Fox News], August 4, 2017.</ref> Among the many other Kirk-related dates in his diary were visits to the replica ''Star Trek: The Original Series'' set built by [[James Cawley]] in [[Ticonderoga, New York]], which saw him guiding small groups of Trekkies on tours of Cawley's version of the ''Enterprise'',<ref>{{cite web |url=https://eu.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/entertainment/2018/05/04/capt-kirk-william-shatner-star-trek/566226002/ |title=Capt. Kirk to the bridge! William Shatner visits 'Star Trek' set in Champlain Valley |work=Burlington Free Press |last=Hallenbeck |first=Brent |date=May 4, 2018 |access-date=December 21, 2021 |archive-date=August 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220801193009/https://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/entertainment/2018/05/04/capt-kirk-william-shatner-star-trek/566226002/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://dailygazette.com/2018/09/26/shatner-returning-to-ticonderoga-in-december/ |title=Shatner returning to Ticonderoga in December |work=The Daily Gazette |date=September 26, 2018 |access-date=December 21, 2021 |url-status=live |archive-date=November 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211111094502/https://dailygazette.com/2018/09/26/shatner-returning-to-ticonderoga-in-december/}}</ref>
and a December 4, 2022, star guest beam-down to the [[L.A. Comic Con]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://comicconla.com/news/william-shatner-l-a-comic-con |title=L.A. Comic Con |website=comicconla.com |access-date=September 15, 2024 |archive-date=December 1, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231201044440/https://comicconla.com/news/william-shatner-l-a-comic-con |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Social media controversies===

In 2017, Shatner [[tweeted]] support for [[Autism Speaks]], a controversial charity disliked by some autism self-advocates. He spent the next few days arguing with autistic people and allies, including citing [[anti-vaccination]] website [[NaturalNews]]. Days later, Shatner suggested his critics should have kept quiet, eventually calling the episode a misunderstanding.<ref>{{cite news
| last         = Perry
| first         = David M.
| date         = April 19, 2017
| title         = What Should You Do When Your Favorite Celebrity Gets Autism Wrong?
| url         = https://psmag.com/news/what-should-you-do-when-your-favorite-celebrity-gets-autism-wrong
| work         = Pacific Standard
| access-date         = April 26, 2023
| archive-date         = April 26, 2023
| archive-url         = https://web.archive.org/web/20230426083920/https://psmag.com/news/what-should-you-do-when-your-favorite-celebrity-gets-autism-wrong
| url-status         = live
}}</ref><ref>{{cite news
| last         = Levinovitz
| first         = Alan
| date         = April 6, 2017
| title         = William Shatner's Tweets Are a Classic Case of Misinformation Spread
| url         = https://slate.com/technology/2017/04/what-we-can-learn-from-william-shatners-tweets.html
| work         = Slate
| access-date         = April 26, 2023
| archive-date         = April 26, 2023
| archive-url         = https://web.archive.org/web/20230426082414/https://slate.com/technology/2017/04/what-we-can-learn-from-william-shatners-tweets.html
| url-status         = live
}}</ref>

In 2020, again on Twitter, he argued with other Twitter users for over a month about being called a "straight white [[cisgender|cis]] man".<ref>{{cite magazine
  | last         = Klee
  | first        = Miles
  | date         = July 1, 2023
| title        = The Transphobic War on the Word 'Cis' Goes Back an Entire Decade
  | url          = https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/transphobic-war-cis-elon-musk-j-k-rowling-jordan-peterson-1234780337/
  | magazine         = [[Rolling Stone]]
  | access-date  = September 23, 2023
}}</ref><ref>{{cite news
  | last         = Lewis
  | first        = Isobel
  | date         = August 10, 2020
| title        = William Shatner says being called a 'straight white cis man' is a way of 'harassing and debasing' him
  | url          = https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/william-shatner-cisgender-cis-transgender-twitter-star-trek-a9662426.html
  | work         = [[The Independent]]
  | access-date  = September 23, 2023
}}</ref>

In 2021, ''[[The Forward]]'' noted that he was dismissive of a [[Jews of color|Jewish convert of colour]], comparing the incident to his arguments about the term "cis" and Autism Speaks.<ref>{{cite news
  | last         = Grisar
  | first         = PJ
  | date         = March 22, 2021
| title         = On William Shatner's 90th birthday, a reminder of when he could laugh at himself
  | url         = https://forward.com/culture/466309/william-shatners-90th-birthday-cameo-larry-sanders-trans-cis-autism-speaks/
  | work         = [[The Forward]]
  | access-date         = September 23, 2023
  | archive-date         = July 15, 2024
| archive-url         = https://web.archive.org/web/20240715155014/https://forward.com/culture/466309/william-shatners-90th-birthday-cameo-larry-sanders-trans-cis-autism-speaks/
  | url-status         = live
  }}</ref>

However, in 2023 [[Brent Spiner]] stated in an interview on the ''Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum'' podcast that Shatner had informed him his Twitter ([[Twitter under Elon Musk#Post-acquisition|now X]]) account was managed by an employee, and that Shatner had minimal direct involvement in the account's content.<ref>{{cite web |title=Brent Spiner Remembers the Time 'William Shatner' Flipped Out On Him |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRCN9Toi-Ck |website=YouTube |publisher=Inside of You Clips |date=April 2023 |access-date=May 23, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Flook |first=Ray |title=Star Trek: Brent Spiner on Shatner & The Twitter Beef That Wasn't |url=https://bleedingcool.com/tv/star-trek-brent-spiner-on-shatner-the-twitter-beef-that-wasnt/ |website=Bleeding Cool |date=April 11, 2023 |access-date=May 23, 2025}}</ref>

==Filmography==
{{Main|William Shatner filmography}}
Shatner has starred in movies and television shows for seven decades. He has also appeared in video games, primarily as James T. Kirk, as well as a number of commercials.

==Awards and honours==
{{Main|List of awards and nominations received by William Shatner}}
'''Entertainment'''
* Four-time [[Saturn Award]] winner
** 1980 Life Career Award
** 1983 Best Actor (''[[Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan]]'')
** 2015 Guest Actor (''[[Haven (TV series)|Haven]]'')
** 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award<ref name="TrekMovie2025"/>
* Two-time [[Emmy Award]] winner
** 2004 Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series (''[[The Practice]]'')
** 2005 Outstanding Supporting Actor in A Drama Series (''[[Boston Legal]]'')
* 2005 [[Golden Globe Award]]
* 2009 [[Prism Award]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/event/ev0000546/2009?ref_=nmawd_awd_23|title=Prism Awards (2009)|publisher=[[IMDb]]|access-date=November 16, 2013|archive-date=September 24, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924183226/http://www.imdb.com/event/ev0000546/2009?ref_=nmawd_awd_23|url-status=live}}</ref>
* 2009 [[Streamy Awards|Streamy Award]] – Best Reality Web Series
* 2015 [[Voice Arts Awards|Voice Arts Icon Award]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hollywoodweeklymagazine.com/2nd-annual-voice-arts-awards-announces-2015-presenters/|title=2nd Annual Voice Arts Awards Announces 2015 Presenters|date=November 10, 2015 |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160809172513/http://hollywoodweeklymagazine.com/2nd-annual-voice-arts-awards-announces-2015-presenters/|archive-date=August 9, 2016}}</ref>

'''Equestrian'''
* Multiple time World Champion breeder
* 1985 [[American Saddlebred Horse Association]] (ASHA) Meritorious Service Award
* 2017 [[National Reining Horse Association]] Dale Wilkinson Lifetime Achievement Award<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.horsetalk.co.nz/2018/07/30/lifetime-reining-horse-award-william-shatner/|title=Lifetime reining horse award for actor William Shatner|date=July 29, 2018|access-date=October 14, 2021|archive-date=May 11, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210511054541/https://www.horsetalk.co.nz/2018/07/30/lifetime-reining-horse-award-william-shatner/|url-status=live |last1=Nz |first1=Horsetalk. co }}</ref>
* 2021 ASHA C.J Cronan Sportsmanship Award

'''National'''
* 2011 [[Governor General's Performing Arts Award]]<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Shatner gets Governor General's lifetime achievement award |url=https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/television/2011/03/03/shatner_gets_governor_generals_lifetime_achievement_award.html |newspaper=[[Toronto Star]] |date=March 3, 2011 |access-date=November 12, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150222002229/http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/television/2011/03/03/shatner_gets_governor_generals_lifetime_achievement_award.html |archive-date=February 22, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=William Shatner Sings O Canada |url=http://www.nfb.ca/film/william_shatner_sings_o_canada/ |website=NFB.ca |publisher=[[National Film Board of Canada]] |location=Saint-Laurent, Canada |format=Requires [[Adobe Flash]] |access-date=May 16, 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110613223339/http://www.nfb.ca/film/william_shatner_sings_o_canada/ |archive-date=June 13, 2011}}</ref>
* 2019 Appointed an Officer of the [[Order of Canada]] by [[Julie Payette|Canadian Governor General Julie Payette]]<ref>{{cite press release|author= <!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|date= November 18, 2019|title= Governor General to Invest 39 Recipients into the Order of Canada During a Ceremony at Rideau Hall|url= https://www.gg.ca/en/media/news/2019/governor-general-invest-39-recipients-order-canada-during-ceremony-rideau-hall-0|publisher= Rideau Hall Press Office|access-date= November 21, 2019|archive-date= November 19, 2019|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20191119102727/https://www.gg.ca/en/media/news/2019/governor-general-invest-39-recipients-order-canada-during-ceremony-rideau-hall-0|url-status= live}}</ref>

'''Organizational'''
* 2014 [[NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal]] – highest award NASA gives a non-government employee<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.redorbit.com/news/space/1113131398/star-trek-shatner-nasa-distinguished-public-service-medal-042814/ |title=NASA Honors William Shatner With Distinguished Public Service Medal |date=April 28, 2014 |editor-last=Loff |editor-first=Sarah |website=redOrbit.com |publisher=RedOrbit, Inc. |location=Tyler, TX |type=Reprint of NASA news release with same title |access-date=April 29, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140429190735/http://www.redorbit.com/news/space/1113131398/star-trek-shatner-nasa-distinguished-public-service-medal-042814/ |archive-date=April 29, 2014}}</ref>

{{Multiple image
| total_width = 230
| direction   = vertical
| image1      = Shatner Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame.jpg
| alt1        = Shatner's star at the Hollywood Walk of Fame
| image2      = William Shatner star on Walk of Fame.jpg
| alt2        = Shatner's star at Canada's Walk of Fame
| footer      = Shatner has a star on both the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]] and [[Canada's Walk of Fame]].
}}

'''Halls of Fame'''
* 1983 Star on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]]
* 1995 ASHA Breeders Hall of Fame
* 2000 Star on [[Canada's Walk of Fame]]
* 2006 [[Television Hall of Fame]]
* [[WWE Hall of Fame (2021)|2020 WWE Hall of Fame]] – Celebrity Wing inductee<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wwe.com/superstars/william-shatner|title=William Shatner|website=WWE|access-date=October 16, 2021|archive-date=October 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211016222605/https://www.wwe.com/superstars/william-shatner|url-status=live}}</ref>

'''Honorary Degrees'''
* 2011 Honorary Doctorate of Letters from McGill University<ref>{{cite news |last=Morrow |first=Adrian |date=May 6, 2011 |title=William Shatner to receive honorary degree from McGill University |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/quebec/william-shatner-to-receive-honorary-degree-from-mcgill-university/article2011649/ |access-date=May 6, 2011 |newspaper=[[The Globe and Mail]] |location=Toronto, Canada |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110506102603/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/quebec/william-shatner-to-receive-honorary-degree-from-mcgill-university/article2011649/ |archive-date=May 6, 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref>

'''Mock/Satirical'''
* Two-time [[Golden Raspberry Award]] winner
** 1989 Worst Actor (''[[Star Trek V: The Final Frontier]]'')
** 1989 Worst Director (''Star Trek V: The Final Frontier'')

==Bibliography==
===Fiction===
* The ''[[TekWar]]'' series, co-written with [[Ron Goulart]]
** ''[[TekWar (novel)|TekWar]]'' (1989) {{ISBN|0-399-13495-6}}
** ''TekLords'' (1991) {{ISBN|0-399-13616-9}}
** ''TekLab'' (1991) {{ISBN|0-399-13736-X}}
** ''Tek Vengeance'' (1993) {{ISBN|0-399-13788-2}}
** ''Tek Secret'' (1993) {{ISBN|0-399-13892-7}}
** ''Tek Power'' (1994) {{ISBN|0-399-13997-4}}
** ''Tek Money'' (1995) {{ISBN|0-399-14109-X}}
** ''Tek Kill'' (1996) {{ISBN|0-399-14202-9}}
** ''Tek Net'' (1997) {{ISBN|0-399-14339-4}}
* ''Star Trek'' series, with [[Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens]], also known as the ''[[Shatnerverse]]''
** ''[[The Ashes of Eden|Star Trek: The Ashes of Eden]]'', 1995, {{ISBN|0-671-52035-0}}
** ''[[The Return (Star Trek)|Star Trek: The Return]]'', 1996, {{ISBN|0-671-52610-3}}
** ''Star Trek: Avenger'', 1997, {{ISBN|0-671-55132-9}}
** ''Star Trek: Spectre'', 1998, {{ISBN|0-671-00878-1}}
** ''Star Trek: Dark Victory'', 1999, {{ISBN|0-671-00882-X}}
** ''Star Trek: Preserver'', 2000, {{ISBN|0-671-02125-7}}
** ''Star Trek: Captain's Peril'', 2002, {{ISBN|0-7434-4819-7}}
** ''Star Trek: Captain's Blood'', 2003, {{ISBN|0-671-02129-X}}
** ''Star Trek: Captain's Glory'', 2006, {{ISBN|0-7434-5343-3}}
** ''Star Trek: The Academy{{snd}}Collision Course'', 2007 {{ISBN|1-4165-0396-X}}
* War series
** ''Man o' War'', 1996, {{ISBN|0-399-14131-6}}
** ''The Law of War'', 1998, {{ISBN|0-399-14360-2}}
* Quest for Tomorrow series
** ''Delta Search'', 1997, {{ISBN|0-06-105274-4}}
** ''In Alien Hands'', 1997, {{ISBN|0-06-105275-2}}
** ''Step into Chaos'', 1999, {{ISBN|0-06-105276-0}}
** ''Beyond the Stars'', 2000, {{ISBN|0-06-105118-7}}
** ''Shadow Planet'', 2002, {{ISBN|0-06-105119-5}}
* ''Believe'' (with [[Michael Tobias]]), 1992, {{ISBN|978-0-425-13296-8}}
* Comic book adaptations
** ''[[TekWorld|William Shatner's TekWorld]]'' (129 pages, February 1994, {{ISBN|0-87135-985-5}})
** ''Star Trek: The Ashes of Eden'', [[DC Comics]] [[graphic novel]], 1995, {{ISBN|1-56389-235-9}}
* Samuel Lord Series
** ''Zero-G: Book 1'', with [[Jeff Rovin]], 2016, {{ISBN|978-1501111556}}
** ''Zero-G: Green Space '', with Jeff Rovin, 2017, {{ISBN|978-1501111587}}

===Non-fiction===
* ''Captain's Log: William Shatner's Personal Account of the Making of "[[Star Trek V: The Final Frontier]]"'', as told by Lisabeth Shatner, 1989, {{ISBN|0-671-68652-6}}
* ''[[Star Trek Memories]]'', with [[Chris Kreski]], 1993, {{ISBN|0-06-017734-9}}
* ''Star Trek Movie Memories'', with Chris Kreski, 1994, {{ISBN|0-06-017617-2}}
* ''Get a Life!'', with Chris Kreski, 1999, {{ISBN|0-671-02131-1}}
* ''Star Trek: I'm Working on That: A Trek from Science Fiction to Science Fact'', with Chip Walter, 2002, {{ISBN|0-671-04737-X}}
* ''[[Up Till Now]]: The Autobiography'', with David Fisher, 2008, {{ISBN|0-283-07058-7}}
* ''Shatner Rules'', with [[Chris Regan]], 2011, {{ISBN|0-525-95251-9}}
* ''Leonard: My Fifty-Year Friendship with a Remarkable Man'', with David Fisher, 2016, {{ISBN|0-316-38837-8}}
* ''Spirit of the Horse: A Celebration in Fact and Fable'', with Jeff Rovin, 2017, {{ISBN|978-1250130020}}
* ''Live long And ... : What I Might Have Learned Along the Way'', with David Fisher, 2018, {{ISBN|978-1250166692}}
* ''Boldly Go: Reflections on a Life of Awe and Wonder'', with Joshua Brandon, 2022, {{ISBN|978-1668007327}}

===Audiobooks===
* 1994: ''Star Trek Movie Memories'' - with Chris Kreski - (read by William Shatner), Harper Audio, {{ISBN|0-06-017617-2}}
* 2008: ''Up Till Now'' – with David Fisher – (read by William Shatner), Highroads Media, {{ISBN|978-1427204158}}
* 2011: ''Shatner Rules'' – with Chris Regan – (read by William Shatner), Penguin Audio, {{ISBN|978-1611760231}}
* 2016: ''Leonard: My Fifty-Year Friendship with a Remarkable Man'' – with David Fisher – (read by William Shatner), Macmillan Audio, {{ISBN|978-1427273239}}
* 2018: ''Live Long And …: What I Learned Along the Way'' – with David Fisher – (read by William Shatner), Macmillan Audio, {{ISBN|978-1250299116}}
* 2022: ''Boldly Go: Reflections on a Life of Awe and Wonder'' – with Joshua Brandon – (read by William Shatner), Simon & Schuster Audio, {{ISBN|978-1797147567}}

==Discography==
* ''[[The Transformed Man]]'' (1968) – [[Decca Records]]
* ''Isaac Asimov - Foundation: the Psychohistorians'' (1975) - [[Caedmon Records]]
* ''[[William Shatner Live]]'' (1977) – live double album – Lemli Records (reissued the following year by [[Imperial House]] as ''Captain of the Starship – William Shatner Live!'')
* ''Science Fiction Soundbook'' with [[Leonard Nimoy]] (1977) - [[Caedmon Records]]
* ''Spaced Out: The Very Best of Leonard Nimoy & William Shatner'' (1996) – compilation album – [[Universal Records (defunct record label)|Universal]] (Includes 7 tracks from ''The Transformed Man'' + 17 tracks by [[Leonard Nimoy]])
* ''[[Has Been]]'' (2004) – produced and arranged by [[Ben Folds]] – guest artists include Folds, [[Joe Jackson (musician)|Joe Jackson]], [[Aimee Mann]], [[Lemon Jelly]], [[Henry Rollins]], [[Adrian Belew]], and [[Brad Paisley]] – [[Shout! Factory]]
* ''[[Exodus: An Oratorio in Three Parts]]'' (2008) – JMG/Jewish Music
* ''[[Seeking Major Tom]]'' (2011) – [[Cleopatra Records]]
* ''[[Ponder the Mystery]]'' (2013) with [[Billy Sherwood]] – Cleopatra Records
* ''Why Not Me'' (2018) with [[Jeff Cook]] – Heartland Records Nashville
* ''Shatner Claus'' (2018) – with [[Iggy Pop]], [[Brad Paisley]] and [[Judy Collins]] – Cleopatra Records<ref>{{cite news|last=Scott |first=Walter|date=December 7, 2018|title=William Shatner on His Christmas Album, Shatner Claus, & Why Star Trek Is Still So Popular |work= |url=https://parade.com/722224/walterscott/william-shatner-on-his-christmas-album-shatner-claus-why-star-trek-is-still-so-popular/ |access-date=December 18, 2018 |archive-date=December 19, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181219182226/https://parade.com/722224/walterscott/william-shatner-on-his-christmas-album-shatner-claus-why-star-trek-is-still-so-popular/|url-status=live}}</ref>
* ''The Blues'' (2020) – with Brad Paisley, [[Kirk Fletcher]], [[Sonny Landreth]], [[Canned Heat]] – Cleopatra Records
* ''Bill'' (2021) – Produced and arranged by [[Dan Miller (guitarist)|Daniel Miller]]. - guest artists include [[Brad Paisley]], [[Joe Walsh]], [[Robert Randolph and the Family Band|Robert Randolph]], [[John Lurie]], [[Joan As Police Woman]] and [[Dave Koz|Dave Koz -]] [[Republic Records]].
* ''So Fragile, So Blue'' (2024) - with [[Ben Folds]], [[National Symphony Orchestra]], and [[Steven Reineke]] at [[John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts|the Kennedy Center]]
* ''Where Will the Animals Sleep? Songs for Kids & Other Living Things'' (2024) - Cleopatra Records

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* "William Shatner and the Fromage Frontier", eight-page interview by Claire Connors, seven photos including [https://web.archive.org/web/20211025163315/https://more-shatner.livejournal.com/370951.html cover] by Jeff Lipsky. ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20130822020220/http://cheeseconnoisseur.com/HOME.html Cheese Connoisseur]'', summer 2013, cover story, pages 26–33. Published by Phoenix Media Network, Inc., Boca Raton, Florida. Shatner discusses his career, health, current and future projects, and, especially, his appreciation of cheese.

==External links==
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* {{Official website}}
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* [https://texasarchive.org/2014_01989 Interview with Shatner about ''Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home''] in 1986 at the [[Texas Archive of the Moving Image]]

{{William Shatner}}
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