Christmas Every Day

1931 

Birth of William Shatner

The famed Canadian over-actor and toupee model was born  in Montreal and was educated at McGill University. Here are ten fascinating facts about this man and his indestructible career:

1. He began his stage career behind the scenes before moving on to acting. He was a business manager for a Montreal theatre company — his degree was, after all, in Commerce.
2. He was cast as Ranger Bob in the Canadian version of Howdy Doody. (I don’t remember Ranger Bob; I do remember Timber Tom).
3. Shatner was a Shakespearean actor at the Stratford Festival.
4. His first Hollywood film was as Alexei in The Brothers Karamazov. Other brothers were Yul Brynner, and Richard Basehart; Lee J. Cobb played their Dad.
5. In 1966 he starred in a movie with Esperanto-only dialogue. Not a hit.
6. His role as Denny Crane on The Practice was described as “William Shatner the man . . . playing William Shatner the character playing the character Denny Crane, who was playing the character William Shatner.”
7. Shatner has been married four times; his third wife died in a drowning accident; he has just divorced his fourth wife and in the settlement he was given control of the couple’s horse semen.
8. He auctioned a kidney stone for $75,000; the money went to Habitat for Humanity.
9. Was one of only five actors to play two different killers on Murder, She Wrote.
10. “I am not a Starfleet commander, or T.J. Hooker. I don’t live on Starship NCC-1701, or own a phaser. And I don’t know anybody named Bones, Sulu or Spock. And no, I’ve never had green alien sex, though I’m sure it would be quite an evening. I speak English and French, not Klingon! I drink Labatt’s, not Romulan ale! And when someone says to me “Live long and prosper”, I seriously mean it when I say, “Get a life.” My doctor’s name is not McCoy, it’s Ginsberg. And tribbles were puppets, not real animals. PUPPETS! And when I speak, I never, ever talk like every. Word. Is. Its. Own. Sentence. I live in California, but I was raised in Montreal. And yes, I’ve gone where no man has gone before, but I was in Mexico and her father gave me permission! My name is William Shatner, and I am Canadian!”