Trivia

Shortly after the original Star Trek (1966) series was canceled, his wife Gloria Rand left him and took a lot of money with her. With very little money and his acting prospects low, he resided in a pick-up truck camper until continually acting in bit parts led into higher-paying roles.

Recorded a special message for the crew of NASA's Space Shuttle Discovery mission STS-133 that woke up them at 3:23 a.m. (EST), March 7, 2011. The message included the Star Trek theme song along with Shatner's narration: "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.".

In 2001, he married Elizabeth Shatner (Elizabeth Anderson Martin), 30 years his junior. She is a horse trainer who had lost her husband to cancer in 1997. Their grief (Shatner was a widower) and their love of horses drew them together. They reside in Southern California and in Kentucky.

Auctioned a kidney stone to GoldenPalace.com for $75,000. The money went to Habitat for Humanity, a charity that builds houses for the needy.

His clipped, dramatic delivery of his lines, peppered with dramatic pauses, is often referred to as "Shatnerian".

Is an expert equestrian (horse rider), which was put to good use in Star Trek: Generations (1994). Co-star Sir Patrick Stewart, despite his classical background, had very little experience with horses, so Shatner helped teach him. One of Shatner's tips was to wear pantyhose under his pants, to reduce chafing.

According to Debra Hill, a Halloween mask in Shatner's likeness was painted white and used as the mask of Michael Myers in the original Halloween (1978).

Speaks English and French fluently, from his bilingual upbringing in Montreal, Quebec.

To this day, he still has not fully recovered from the depression brought on by the 1967 death of his father, Joseph Shatner. Roddenberry personally gave permission to postpone shooting scenes with Nimoy (episode The Devil in the Dark (1967)) for him to attend funeral and return within a week.

During the filming of Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984), a fire broke out on the studio lot that threatened to destroy the Genesis Planet sets. Shatner was one of several cast and crew members who helped to put the fire out, wielding a fire hose to spray that at the fire.

Overcame his greatest phobia of falling, while directing the Yosemite National Park scenes of Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989).

Had done most of his own stunts for Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984), even though he had a stuntman, John Meier, to do the more difficult ones.

He expressed his sadness at not being asked to reprise his iconic role of Captain James T. Kirk for the Star Trek (2009) remake. In response, Shatner wrote "Star Trek: Academy Collision Course" (with Judith and Garfield Reeves) as his own version of how Kirk and Spock met. In his version of the story, a teenaged Kirk gets into criminal trouble and is given a choice: Go to prison or join Starfleet. Of course, he joins Starfleet and meets Spock. But he does not meet any other major character from the original Star Trek (1966) series. However, the story does tie into the first season episode The Conscience of the King (1966) and Kirk meets his Starfleet bully, Finnigan, from Shore Leave (1966).

His version of "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" was voted as the worst massacre of a song from The Beatles ever. (May 2003)

Has appeared in episodes of five different series with Leonard Nimoy: The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964), Star Trek (1966), Star Trek: The Animated Series (1973), T.J. Hooker (1982) and Futurama (1999).

With the death of Grace Lee Whitney on May 1, 2015, he is now the oldest living cast member of the original Star Trek (1966) series.

At first, he believed that as the star of Star Trek (1966), he was supposed to "outshine" the rest of the actors and actresses. He later said that he had come to appreciate the merits of having an ensemble cast, with each member's contribution while working on Star Trek.

On August 9, 1999, his third wife, Nerine Kidd, drowned in the swimming pool at their house in Studio City, California. The tragedy was ruled an accident.

His Priceline commercials have not only reunited him with Leonard Nimoy, but have also paired him with Robert Pine, the father of Chris Pine, who succeeded him in the role of James T. Kirk.

His daughter Melanie Shatner had a small role in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989) that was directed by her father.

Remained friends with Leonard Nimoy during and after Star Trek (1966).

Suffers from tinnitus (ringing in the ears), along with Star Trek (1966) co-star Leonard Nimoy. Nimoy's right ear and Shatner's left ear are affected. Their hearing was apparently damaged during the filming of the episode, Arena (1967), when they were both too close to a special effects explosion.

Nearly ten years after acting in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986), whose plot involved rescuing humpback whales, he narrated a television documentary about endangered species (including humpbacks), in which he became emotional to the point of weeping.

Two of his daughters, Melanie Shatner and Lisabeth Shatner, appeared in the episode Miri (1966) in small uncredited roles.

Runs "SPLATT ATTACK!", a paintball recreation center in the United States, and sometimes participates in the competitions.

Has joined Sylvester Stallone, Prince, Kevin Costner, Roberto Benigni and Tom Green as being the few actors who have directed themselves in performances that "won" them Razzie Awards for "Worst Actor".

His paternal grandparents, Volf Schattner and Fruma Freyda Lecker, were Jewish emigrants from Kuty, Ukraine and Bukovina, in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, respectively. William's father, Joseph Shatner, was born in Bukovina. William's maternal grandparents, Yaakov Garmaise and Yetta Kahn, were Jewish emigrants from Vilkaviskis, in Lithuania. He was mentioned in the episode Like Father, Like Clown (1991) as being a famous Jewish entertainer. He was also mentioned by Adam Sandler in "The Hanukkah Song" ("You don't need Deck the Halls or Jingle Bell Rock / When you can spin a dreidel with Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock").

Has written several Star Trek novels, including "The Ashes of Eden" (1995), "The Return" (1996) and "Avenger" (1997).

Remained friends with Heather Locklear during and after T.J. Hooker (1982).

Alongside Norman Lloyd, William Daniels, Angela Lansbury, Ernest Borgnine, Mickey Rooney, Christopher Lee, Betty White, Dick Van Dyke, Larry Hagman, Adam West, Edward Asner, Marla Gibbs, Florence Henderson, Shirley Jones and Alan Alda, Shatner is one of the few actors in Hollywood who lived into their 80s and/or 90s without ever either retiring from acting or having stopped getting work.

Wrote the TekWar (1994) series of science fiction books, completely unrelated to Star Trek. These were turned into several made-for-TV movies and a short-lived series. Shatner himself co-starred and directed several episodes.

Became the oldest person to fly in space, having done so on October 13, 2021 at the age of 90. At the same time, (most fittingly) the first Star Trek actor to actually go to space.

Breeds and shows American saddlebreds and quarter-horses.

His fondness for motorcycle riding in the 1950s and 1960s influenced the same for young James T. Kirk in the Star Trek (2009) remake.

He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Television at 6901 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on May 19, 1983.

Released an album titled "Has Been" (2004). The album was produced by Ben Folds who also plays on the album. Other guest performers on the album include Joe Jackson, Aimee Mann, Henry Rollins and Adrian Belew.

Had some worries about appearing in Where No Fan Has Gone Before (2002). He spoke with Billy West, who told Shatner that the cast and crew had nothing but respect for him. He agreed to continue.

"Captain Kirk" is the only lyric that is identical in both the English and German mixes of the song "99 Red Balloons".

In the June 17, 2009 episode of The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien (2009), this was revealed he cannot perform the Vulcan salute ("live long and prosper") hand gesture.

He was the first person to appear in the sketch on Late Night with Conan O'Brien (1993) of "Celebrity Secrets". This became a regular sketch on this show featuring major celebrities such as Harrison Ford, Tom Hanks, and his fellow Star Trek captains, Sir Patrick Stewart and George Takei.

In his early performing days, he was once required to play the piano in a scene (with music supplied off-camera), then pull a weapon from a drawer to kill another actor. First, the piano cue went badly, and then, the only "weapon" available turned out to be a corkscrew. Shatner carried on, and in his own words, "I screwed him to death!".

He was the understudy of Christopher Plummer in a stage production of Shakespeare's play "Henry V" in Canada.

Often jogged for charity from 1976-1980. Running to support the Olympics held in his hometown of Montreal and for late Canadian amputee Terry Fox and his cross country marathon.

Produces and hosts the annual "Hollywood Charity Horse Show" that he founded in 1990. More than $1.25 million has been raised for children's charities, such as "Ahead With Horses", "L.A.'s BEST" and the "Children's Museum of Los Angeles".

He once worked as a camp counselor as a teenager at the Camp B'nai Brith in the Laurentian Mountains of Quebec.

He wielded a lightsaber towards the ending of "Invasion Iowa" (2005). George Lucas was so flattered that he invited him to speak and croon "My Way" for his Lifetime Achievement ceremony in 2005.

Was reunited with ex-T.J. Hooker (1982) co-star, Heather Locklear, on one episode of Boston Legal (2004).

Once performed in Incubus (1966), a movie whose entire dialogue was in Esperanto.

On account of a prior commitment to a charity event, he was unable to attend Leonard Nimoy's funeral. He sent one of his daughters to represent him. Nimoy was the best man at Shatner's wedding to Nerine Kidd.

Received his Bachelor of Commerce degree from McGill University in Montreal, Quebec. Its student university center is currently named after him.