| Canadian actor, screenwriter, director, producer Date of Birth: 22.03.1931 Country: Canada |
William Alan Shatner, a Canadian actor, writer, director, and producer, was born on March 22, 1931, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He is the recipient of two Emmys, a Golden Globe, and the Saturn Award for his contributions to the entertainment industry.
Shatner gained fame for his role as James Tiberius Kirk, the captain of the starship Enterprise, in the TV series "Star Trek" from 1966 to 1969 and its subsequent sequels. He wrote a series of books chronicling his experience playing the character of James Kirk and his involvement with the "Star Trek" franchise.
In addition to his role as Captain Kirk, Shatner also played the lead role of Sgt. T.J. Hooker from 1982 to 1986. Since then, he has worked as a musician, bestselling author, producer, director, and a famous pitchman known for his association with the internet company Priceline.com. Currently, he plays one of the main characters, attorney Denny Crane, in the television drama "Boston Legal," for which he received an Emmy and a Golden Globe award.
William is the son of Joseph Shatner, a clothing manufacturer, and Anna Garmaise. His grandparents were Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe, and his grandfather, Wolf Shattners, shortened the family name by one letter from "Shattners" to "Shatner." William attended Willingdon Elementary School in Notre-Dame-de-Grace, Montreal, and earned a Bachelor's degree in Commerce from McGill University in 1952.
While training as a classical Shakespearean actor, Shatner performed at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Ontario, Canada, playing a wide range of roles, including Henry V and Tamerlane the Great. In 1954, he was cast in the Canadian version of the show "Howdy Doody."
Although Shatner made his official film debut in 1951 in the Canadian film "The Butler's Night Off," his first significant role came in 1958 with Richard Brooks' film "The Brothers Karamazov," where he portrayed the youngest of the brothers, Alexei. In 1959, he gained further attention for his role as Robert Lomax in the Broadway production of "The World of Suzie Wong."
Throughout the 1960s, Shatner appeared in various TV shows, including two episodes of the NBC series "Boris Karloff's Thriller" and the anthology science fiction series "The Twilight Zone." He also starred as a recurring guest in the TV series "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." alongside Leonard Nimoy, who would later become his co-star in "Star Trek."
Shatner's most notable role came in 1966 when he first appeared as Captain James Kirk in the "Star Trek" episode "Where No Man Has Gone Before." He continued to play the role of the starship captain until 1969, and then returned as the voice of Kirk in the animated series "Star Trek" in 1973. He also reprised the character in the film series, appearing in six movies from 1979 to 1991.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Shatner wrote a series of science fiction detective novels, which were later adapted into computer games. He continued to make appearances as Captain Kirk, both in the video game "Star Trek: Starfleet Academy" and in a parody for DirecTV.
Despite not being cast in the 2007 film "Star Trek," Shatner had his own idea for a new start to the franchise based on his novel "Star Trek: Academy – Collision Course." In 2008, he joined the "Star Trek Tour" in Long Beach, California, which was part of a nationwide exhibition.
Although it is unlikely that Shatner will appear in many more films in the future, he will always remain a force in North American television, with a respect that is virtually unshakable.