On Monday William Shatner showed up on NBC’s Late Night with Conan O’Brien to promote his new autobiography “Up Till Now“. Shat did a skit early on, then came on as the 2nd guest and talked about his ‘gripping’ experience meeting Koko the gorilla, and how his Trek co-stars hate him, specifically George Takei.
See VIDEO below.
Shatner’s segment on Conan….
(NOTE: To see transcript click ‘CC’ button, upper right)
Takei’s side of the story: Takei on Leno last month dishing on Shatner and the roast.
In The Year 2000…Shatner Edition
Shat also joined in the Conan fun by doing a special Shatner edition of their regular ‘look into the future’ skit.
UPDATE: Shat talks Pine
Shatner called in to AM NY to talk about his book and the conversation got around to the new Captain Kirk from JJ Abrams Star Trek, Chris Pine. Here is an excerpt from the article.
Strangely, and unfortunately, Shatner is not involved in that movie [JJ Abrams Star Trek], but he did get a chance to meet his successor, actor Chris Pine, who he says “is on the road to good fortune.” And no, he’s not really worried about passing over the reins.
“I’m OK with that, except that he’s younger,” Shatner says, laughing. “I don’t feel good about that.”
UPDATE: Shatner on Good Morning America and The View
On GMA…mostly fluff, talks about how he was ‘lucky’ with Trek
On The View, talks about photographing for Playboy and a bit on Takei feud
Shatner Media Tour
Conan is just the start of Bill’s big media tour this week. Tomorrow he is on The View, later in the week he will be on the O’Reilly Factor and Howard Stern…see below for a full breakdown of Shatner’s media appearances.
Monday, May 12
- Interview with Glen Beck of the Glen Beck Show. (Interview will air Friday, May 16)
- Conan O’Brien Show – airing that night
Tuesday, May 13
- 7:45am – 8:00am: Radio Interview with GMA Radio/ XM-Sirius Satellite Radio’s Hillary Barsky.
- 8:00am: Live Interview with ABC News Now
- 8:40am: Live Interview with Good Morning America
- 9:30am – 10:30am: Live ABC Satellite Radio Tour
KGO, San Francisco, WBAP, Dallas-Ft. Worth, KQRS, Minneapolis, WRXQ, Washington, DC, WXLO, Worcester, MA - 11:00am: LIVE In-Studio/On-Camera Interview on The View.
- Daily Café on Retirement Living TV. Airs Wednesday May 14, 2008 – seen in 30 million homes. Host is former Congressman, and Love Boat co-star, Fred “Gopher” Grandy.
- VH1 Best Week Ever. Show airs Friday-Sunday, May 16-18 at 9pm.
- 4:00pm – 6:00pm: Live and Taped Radio Interviews:
4:00pm-4:20pm: Judith Regan Show
4:20pm-4:30pm: Sirius Hits 1
4:40pm-5:00pm: Jay Thomas Show
5:00pm-5:30pm: Jim Breuer Unleashed
5:40pm-6:00pm: Maxim Radio - Rusty Humphries Show/Talk Radio Network. Interview airs 9pm (ET) nationwide May 13, 2008.
Wednesday, May 14
- 7:05am: Live Radio Interview with Howard Stern.
- 8:40am: Live Network TV: In-Studio/On-Camera Interview with Fox & Friends.
- 9:30am – 10:30am: Live & Taped National Radio Interviews — Premiere Radio Network Satellite Radio Tour.
- 9:30am: WBIG, New York
- 9:40am: Rover Show (nationally syndicated)
- 9:50am: WAXQ, New York
- 10:00am: WMGK, Philadelphia
- 10:10am: WUSN, Chicago
- 10:20am: John Boy & Billy Show (nationally syndicated)
- Reel Talk. Host is Jeffrey Lyons. Show is syndicated nationally to NBC affiliates nationwide.
- Interview on Lips & Ears. Show airs weekend of May 17 & 18, 2008.
- Interview on Geraldo at Large. Host is Geraldo Rivera. Show airs weekend of May 17 & 18, 2008.
- Interview on O’Reilly Factor. Host is Bill O’Reilly. Airs at 8pm on May 14, 2008
Thursday, May 15
- 6:29am – 6:50am: Live Radio Phoner with Imus in the Morning.
- 7:05am – 7:30am: Live Radio Phoner with Mancow’s Morning Madhouse.
- 8:05am – 8:30am: Live Radio Phoner with Opie & Anthony.
- 10:15am – 10:45am: Live Radio Phoner with Dennis Miller Show.
- 10:50am – 11:00am: Taped Radio Phoner with Wake Up with Todd Michaels.
Text would be nice. I can’t view video at work. Oh, well. Its pretty sad that I’m so interested in the hate anyway. Where’s the love?
Um…..first?
I think it’s about time George remembered that he was a bit player at the time and the only ensemble Star Trek had was Shatner, Nimoy, and Kelley.
It’s pretty miserable when you let something chew away inside of you for forty years. Isn’t it time you got over it, George? As Captain April pointed out, the other members of the “big three” got along fine with Bill. It is only the jealous supporting players who didn’t like the guy with top billing. But Doohan took it to his grave and Takei probably will too.
Shatner……Is……………God !!!!!!!!!!
It’s amazing that even after George appeared on Conan and specifically mentioned that name pronunciation thing, AND he mentioned it in the roast, Shat still came on Conan and mispronounced it. It might seem like I little thing, but after all those years, I don’t blame George for finding it disrespectful.
I love George
He was a very intresting person but when I met him back in 91 he was still very much angry with Shatner. They were ALL typecast to a certin point but Shatner proved he could do fine without Trek and so did Nimoy. Kelly didn’t even care about money or fame, just doing the movies was more for the fans than any need he had. The others however suffered more from the typecasting and did just fine living off of Trek with doing thousands of Trek conventions. Sorry but as much as I like love Georege he sucks as a actor. His performance is wooden and only thing he can do right is something that involves a Golf ball and a straw……
Darth “Batsh^t Crazy” Ballz
Shatner can barely act. So calling Takei a wooden actor is really saying something.
I’m SOOOOOOOO glad Shatner’s not in the new film. I love the guy, but he’s just too over the top now to do anything but comedy and self-parody.
Meeeeeeoooow Shatner!!
Obviously, the videos don’t work outside the US – great! I’m fed up with those kindergarten stories: Hey, he repeatedly took my sand mold, and the world has to find out about that…
In my book the Shat will always be Kirk, Takei will always be Sulu, and TOS will always be the greatest show in the universe.
Period. Next.
I’m in Sweden, and just watched both vids.
Australia here – stream failed to connect to any available ports ???
Germany reporting: No vids here either. Weird, sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t.
Anthony, could you maybe do this like in the past and add a short text summary to such items in the future? (in the year twooooooo-thouuuu-saaaaaand….)
It’s too bad the supporting characters were so angry over Shatner. Really, after 42 years, get over it already.
I have to say that for years until I heard it actually verbally pronounced I though Takei was said as Tak-eye.
#6. Darth Ballz
Straw?? Golf ball?? WTF!??!!!
He’ blames Shatner for cutting his scenes in some of the movies but it was done to streamline the narrative
Show the clip!
I noticed he’ll be on John Boy & Billy tomorrow at 10:20. I wonder when they’ll air that interview, because their show goes off the radio at 10:00 EST. In either case, I’ll certainly be listening for that interview. One of these days, I’d love to hear Nimoy interviewing on that show, too.
On one of Shatner’s interviews on Howard Stern he mentions that Takei got pissed because he wanted his own ship a few movies earlier than TUC and Shatner said if you get your own ship he wouldn’t be in any further movies but Takei just didn’t get it. What did he think, every movie would feature both ships? In TUC Takei’s scenes added up to what, 3 minutes of screen time?
And how many years has Takei tried to get a Excelsior movie / TV show off the ground? Life is too short, get over it and make peace with the Shat.
In case you folks don’t know, Shatner really can be an S.O.B., I know from experience. So it’s not surprising that some co-stars hate him. However, as George Takei once told me “oh, but he’s a fine actor though.” (trademark Takei laughter). Does anyone recall Walter Koenig hating Shatner? Just curious.
@DarthDogg:
No….he’s….not!
OH, THERE’S NO LOVE LOST BETWEEN KOENIG AND SHATNER…
…but quite frankly, Walter Koenig seems to be the ONE guy that, although he’s had a beef with Shatner over the years, he’s the one TREK actor who has shown the most class about the subject. Maybe I’ve missed some interviews, but I don’t recall Koenig resorting to the blatant name-calling of Takei and Doohan, and the outright “We hate you” comments of Nichelle Nichols.
Koenig has an actor’s ego, just like everyone else in the business, but he’s never been infantile about Shatner–more thoughful, resigned and diplomatic. Unless someone can dig up any particularly damning quotes…?
Actually the vids don’t work inside the US either. Can’t see them. Please fix…please :)
CE
4,
If Shatner were God, we’d be in a bigger heap of trouble than any of us could ever imagine. Thank Q he’s not…
Personally, like the guy, but whatever.
Videos work for me.
If Nimoy is a friend of The Shat, then all of us can be.
Nuff said.
The vids work just fine for me- and I’m using Camino, for pete’s sake.
and here’s a transcript.. bit of a long post but there you go.. Conan: Let me tell you about our show. You know our first guest, he’s one of my favorites as Captain James T. Kirk. He’s also in “Boston Legal.” ( Cheers and applause ) Conan: And, listen to this — he has a critically acclaimed rock ‘n’ roll album out, right now, which we were listening to today. Have you listened to this album? Max Weinberg: It’s really good. Conan: It’s really good. It’s called “Has Been.” William Shatner is on the show! ( Cheers and applause ) Conan O’Brien version of Vulcan greeting. Conan neck-pinches himself and collapses. Conan: Ladies and gentlemen, clearly, we’re screwing around a lot tonight. We’re being silly. We’re having a good time. But, I think it’s time we all settle down for just a moment. Take a deep breath, get serious, because I think it’s time, once again, we look into the future… ( Cheers and applause as William Shatner walks onto the set ) Shatner: The future, Conan? Conan: That’s right, William Shatner, let’s all look to the future, all the way to the year 2000… Chorus: “In the year 2000… In the year 2000…” Conan: The Oscar ceremony will be even longer than ever, when host Anna Nicole Smith spends the first hour vomiting. “In the year 2000…” Shatner: The Clinton Presidential Library will open in Little Rock, featuring over 80 million items — three of which were never inside Monica Lewinsky. “In the year 2000…” Conan: While eating at a restaurant, a New York Yankee player will administer the Heimlich Maneuver to a woman, prompting the headline, “Choking victim saves choking victim.” “In the year 2000…” Shatner: The human race will finally receive a message from outer space — a long, boring message… about home refinancing. “In the year 2000…” Conan: Star Jones and her new husband will shock those who feel their marriage is a sham, when they begin practicing an extremely passionate, physical, and loud sexual routine that neighbors refer to as “Chocolate Thunder.” “In the year 2000…” Shatner: It will once again be okay to make fun of midgets, when midgets admit that they could grow up if they wanted to. “In the year 2000…” Conan: NBC will air its most challenging episode of “Fear Factor” ever, in which contestants are asked to swallow the notion that Clay Aiken is not gay. “In the year 2000…” Shatner: “Barely Legal” magazine will suffer a drop in readership when, instead of girls who just turned 18, they begin featuring immigrants whose work visas are about to expire. “In the year 2000…” Conan: People will stop using vacuum cleaners when they realize that dust is coming into their homes just to get sucked. “In the year 2000…” Shatner: Captain Kirk, Spock, Sulu, and the others, will reunite one last time when they agree to make “Star Trek Nine: The Last Payment on Shatner’s Beach House.” ( Laughter ) Conan: More with William Shatner when we return. We’ll be right back! Conan: We’re back, yes. ( Cheers and applause ) Conan: And what a show we have for you tonight. I’m sitting here with William Shatner. Nice to see you again. Shatner: Thank you. “Boston Legal,” Sunday nights, ABC at 10 o’clock. Conan: Yeah. ( Applause ) Shatner: So long! Conan: I was gonna get to that. Shatner: No, I — Conan: No, you know — Shatner: I just wanted to be sure that that got in. Then I don’t care what happens. Conan: Yes, yes, yes. ( Light laughter ) Conan: Um. Yes. Shatner: Talk to me. I’m so happy about your, uh, your marriage and your baby. Conan: Yes, I have a little girl now. Shatner: What’s her name? Conan: Neve. Shatner: Oh, my god. What a name. Conan: What? ( Laughter ) Shatner: Great name. Conan: It’s a nice name, yeah. Simple. Neve, yeah. Shatner: Yeah, Neve. Conan: Yeah. Shatner: Gwyneth Paltrow’s baby is Apple. Conan: Yeah, she was on the show, and I didn’t realize that. Her baby’s name is Apple. Shatner: If she’d married Brad Pitt, she’d have Apple Pitt. ( Laughter ) Conan: So, let me get this straight, you only inquired about my baby so you could make that joke?! ( Laughter ) Shatner: I am a very shallow person. Conan: You’re a very shallow man, a very shallow man. Now, listen, I have so much… there’s so much going on in your life, in your career. It’s stunning. But, before we get into all that, I have to ask you — I always ask you kind of a nerdy “Star Trek” question. And I have to get it out of the way. I’ll ask it right now. Shatner: Okay. Conan: Which is… Read more »
SHatner cut my scenes…Shatner can’t say my name…Shatner kicked my puppy…blah blah blah…
no more blah blah blah….or BONK ON THE HEAD George!!
Uhhhhhhhh .. heheheh.. wrong transcript :P that one was uhhhhhh nov 19, 2004… ok I’ll go back into my hole now..
I think everyone is blowing the Takei thing way out of proportion. I remember seeing the raunchy Takei roast and I believe most of it was good acting, with a little personal angst thrown in for motivation. A little. :)
As far as Shatner is concerned, he considered himself and maybe Nimoy THE Star Trek stars. Remember when ST4 was almost halted because of money issues? Shatner. At the end of ST6, they spent something like $100K to computer airbrush his ass because it looked too big on the movie screen? Perhaps my favorite Shatner movie story was when, during the filming of V in the desert, Shatner rides this horse in a very dramatic shot…the desert wind gusts blow off his entire toupee and ruins the shot. The immediate crew hysterically laughs….then an enraged Shatner fired them! I wonder if that clip exists somewhere. It would make for a hilarious blooper.
Star Trek was supposed to be more of an ensemble show until Shatner became insecure in Spock’s success and started demanding more screen time and line-counting. Many of the plots/lines that were supposed to go to other characters became Kirk’s. No wonder there was so much animosity.
Good grief – most of the supporting crew hated Shatner and its hardly any secret – yet it is being played like some startling new revelation no one heard of in the last four *decades*. .
If you ever saw the movie “Galaxy Quest,” an outrageously funny Trek parody, you’ll see a main theme was how the “supporting crew” hated the “captain.” There are myriad stories in Hollywood about the hated leading man – Chevy Chase had a terrible reputation for being an egomaniac during production of the “Vacation” flims…
Shatner’s ego is stuff of legend, well-documented, and now he’s more or less leveraging it to his financial advantage in his latter-years self-marketing campaign. So what?
Video error from China. A short text summary would be helpful for we expats. I don’t follow the rest of the cast (minus Nimoy-late DeForrest Kelley) spat with the Shat. If Shatner’s arrogance continues to this day I can see out it might rankle. If Shat has mellowed and it is all 40 years in the past then maybe it is time to mend some fences. If memory serves though these disputes aren’t all from 1967, seems like he disses the b-string players during the movies too (especially Takei who was supposed to be given more screen time as a captain in Trek II or III–can’t remember which). Though if Shatner is still mispronouncing Takei’s name after that roast it seems that he is still needling and perhaps a bit arrogant. That said, after McCoy, Sulu was my favorite character, despite the small role. I liked the little character bits he was allowed, particularly his hobbies where he got to show his enthusiasm. Takei isn’t a stellar actor, but he is okay. I wouldn’t call him wooden. Shatner has his moments, but sometimes he has more ham than a side of pork (which he astutely turned into a paycheck years later with turns on “Third Rock from the Sun,” et. al.).
Keywords:
Expat
Shat
Spat
Tit for Tat
The whole Trek “We hate Shatner” thing is dusted off all too often these days, as it makes for interesting talk-show fodder.
I liked it when he said (paraphrasing) “Years ago, I wanted to write a book about my memories of Star Trek, but I didn’t remember anything.”
its a shame all this dirt gets aired in public. perhaps it’s a personal fault, but it has started to affect my enjoyment of the show. watching the old episodes or movies, seeing the characters great love for each other, and then hearing allthe bickering from the actors behind them.
I’m glad the Next Gen crew seem to get on a bit better. they still meet every year for christmas parties, somehow i don’t think the TOS crew does. (maybe the new TOS-REDUX crew will)
#28
Wow Ensign Joe you go! Thanks for the transcript for us whiny expats. I was thinking more along the lines of a few sentences referring to the headline, but you get a promotion to Lieutenant for exceptional service.
Keywords:
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Go
This is among Conan’s favorite topics to ask about. I love Conan, but he asked both Takei and Shatner about their “feud” almost immediately. And why? Because it makes for good entertaining tv talk. Takei and Shatner know it too, which is why they ham it up during their responses.
I doubt either of them, especially Shatner, really care much at all. They don’t work together anymore and rarely see one another, they’re both still busy and successful, and I bet they don’t even think about this topic until someone like Conan or Stern asks.
And now Shat’s on The View. (Gad, I must like this guy to be watching this steamin’ pile of a show.)
They’re both acting like babies
Shat is still (obviously) deliberately mispronouncing George’s name. He knows he’s saying it wrong, yet he continues with the disrespect. If someone continually mispronounced my name after 40 years, I’d be ticked. Especially if I had an actor’s ego. The pot shot he took at George’s sexuality is also uncalled for.
Takei on the other hand loves to air the dirty laundry in public. It’s a shame because his role on Heroes, and his appearances on the Howard Stern show should give me plenty to talk about, but obviously that’s not enough, and by making a big deal out of the mispronunciation, he just adds fuel to Shat’s fire, encouraging him to keep up the barbs.
I will say that I’ve met both at Star Trek conventions, and one came off as an arrogant star who couldn’t be bothered to talk to me, while the other was warm and friendly.
Here’s a hint: Mr. warm and friendly was captain….. of the Excelsior.
31 – is all that true?
#41 … Nope. You’ll find no proof anywhere. Made up tabloid crap that got re-told and re-told over the years.
I really appreciate the information on Bill Shatner’s media tour and I think that it’s interesting as well to think about what George Takei is up to, but some of this feud business can get a little excessive. I don’t always get the feeling that it’s all in good fun, and that spoils it for me.
The Shatner-Conan repertoire was pretty damn entertaining last night. I laughed out loud several times, not the least of which was when Shatner ad-libbed the line about the gorilla having ‘huge hands’. Haha. He can really tell a story like nobody else.
That being said, clearly, he dislikes George just as much as George dislikes him. He mispronounced the name AGAIN, when he knows full well that’s a bone between them, AND he took a cheap shot at his sexuality. He can say he doesn’t know why they don’t like him all he wants, but there’s no way he couldn’t at this point – everyone has spelled it out in painstaking detail! Ha.
#44 “I laughed out loud several times, not the least of which was when Shatner ad-libbed the line about the gorilla having ‘huge hands’.”
I thought that was funny too. Especially the way he explained that the large hands were necessary to “encompass everything”, and Conan responded, “Yes. I think we all got that.” :-)
#38—“…he asked both Takei and Shatner about their “feud” almost immediately. And why? Because it makes for good entertaining tv talk. Takei and Shatner know it too, which is why they ham it up during their responses.”
“I doubt either of them, especially Shatner, really care much at all. They don’t work together anymore and rarely see one another, they’re both still busy and successful, and I bet they don’t even think about this topic until someone like Conan or Stern asks.”
Couldn’t have said it better. It is not as if either of them is openly whining about what the other has done, but if Takei, for example, has an opprotunity to go on a talk show to promote what he has going on, then of course he has no problem recounting the details of why he dislikes Shatner. That is a small price to pay for exposure. Leno, Conan, Stern—they are going to ask. The moment he says, “I don’t want to talk about that anymore”, he loses the interest the show’s producers had in bringing him on in the first place.
As for the story being “played out”, well—it is only played out to people like us who have heard it a million times. The millions of viewers who otherwise could not care less about Star Trek may not have heard it and apparently find it mildly entertaining. I know it is difficult to imagine, but not everyone has read any “behind the scenes” books about the making of Star Trek…
#40—“They’re both acting like babies”
Are they, or are they both simply capitalizing on the fact that talk show hosts like that sort of thing and it only makes them that much more marketable for such appearances (and let’s not forget the value to these guys of promoting their current work)?
The Takei and Shatner fued almost reminds me of the arrangement Shatner and Nimoy had – the ‘favored nation’ clause was it? Where Nimoy and the Shat would take turns playing hardball with the studio because each man got what the other negotiated… I wonder if Takei and Shatner have agreed to ham up their fued because it gives them both more press. Probably not, but it makes me wonder. Ah well, Shatner rules anyway!
Fine, Fine. Shatner……. is………………….Buda !!!! Better!
That dog story was horrible! Poor Kelly : (