80 Reasons Why William Shatner Is Awesome March 22, 2011
by TrekMovie.com Staff , Filed under: Celebrity,Shatner,Viral Video/Mashup/Images , trackback
Today is William Shatner’s 80th birthday. Star Trek’s original Captain Kirk seems to be unstoppable as he heads into his ninth decade. As an actor, writer, pitchman, philanthropist, entrepreneur, and more, William Shatner is an endless source of inspiration and entertainment and so again we honor the man by updating our ‘awesome list’ all about Shatner with more video and, of course, more awesome.
TrekMovie.com’s 80 reasons why William Shatner is awesome
80. Travelled by war canoe as a teenager from Canada to the United States
79. Sold kidney stone for charity
78. Co-wrote "Believe," a book about hypothetic match between Houdini vs. Arthur Conan Doyle
77. Drives race cars and motorcycles – inspiring viral dance video
76. Inducted Jerry Lawler into the Wrestling Hall of Fame
75. Was Ranger Bob on the Canadian version of The Howdy Doody Show
74. Swam with dolphins and a 50 foot whale shark
73. Rerecorded Star Trek ‘final frontier’ narration for Shuttle Discovery final wake up call
71. Favorite color: leaves changing
70. Played beauty pageant host in a movie, then in real life a year later
69. Has building named after him at Montreal’s McGill University
68. Led Canada’s 2010 Winter Olympics Closing Ceremonies
67. Reported seeing UFO in Mojave desert in 1967
(but later denied it)
66. Has great recipe for cappuccino muffins
65. Is friends with Henry Rollins pair did a duet "I can’t get behind that"
64. Punked an entire town
63. Was immortalized in Lego
62. Talked to Koko, the signing gorilla
61. In "Fight Club" when Brad Pitt asks Edward Norton what celeb he would fight, he replies "Shatner"
60. Did live TV in 50s
59. Breeds horses
58. Speaks French
57. Nominated for Emmy for playing character named "The Big Giant Head"
56. Can sell anything from Law Offices, to Bran Cereal, to Computers
55. Appeared as himself in cult hit "Free Enterprise"
54.Was portrayed by John Belushi…and many since
53. Has his own fan club and a podcast dedicated to him called "Look At His Butt!"
52. In 1962 worked with George Lucas, cameraman for "The Psalms" – later sang "My Way" to Lucas at AFI
51. On The Hollywood Walk of Fame and in the Broadcast & Cable Hall of Fame
50. Narrated the book of Exodus for CD
49. Made movie about God in 1989, appeared as Satan on Comedy Central in 2005, and as Santa Claus in 2009
48. Poked some fun at fans with famous SNL skit – later showed transformation and embrace of fandom in ironically titled memoire "Get a Life!"
47. Plays paintball
46. Had his own customized limited edition Heinz ketchup bottle
45. Competed in the "World Poker Tour"
44. King of 70s celebrity guest game shows
43. Started his own social networking site
42. Was guest photographer for Playboy
41. First film role, "Brothers Karamazov" 1958…with more to come still
40.Willing to laugh at himself
39. Knows how to handle a woman
38. Is active in environmentalism
37. Studied with Tyrone Guthrie, and won the Tyrone Guthrie Award
36. Starred in movie made entirely in Esperanto, "Incubus"
35. Name can easily be converted to adjective (Shatnerific, Shatastic, etc)
34. Has a degree in business
33. Was fired by a theater as business manager, then hired that same day as an actor
32. The Negotiator
31. Is Canadian
30. Is Jewish
29. Has his own talk show
28. Kingdom of the Spiders
27. Appeared on both "Circus of the Stars" and "Battle of the Network Stars"
26. Never appeared on either "Love Boat" or "Fantasy Island"
25. Brought Kirk back from the dead in his own "Shatnervese" books
24. Tek War
23. Friends with Leonard Nimoy for 45 years
22. Michael Meyer’s mask from "Halloween" movies based on Shatner/Kirk mask
21. Took the term "Has Been" and turned it into a hit album
20. Set the standard for cops jumping on car hoods (+ boats, buses, planes, etc)
19. Inspired art show
18. Inspired a ballet
17. Inspired song "If William Shatner Can, I Can Too"
16. Has over half million followers on Twitter, stars in sitcom inspired by Twitter, turned reading tweets into beat poetry
15. Appeared in 3 Broadway plays
14. Two words: Kirk-fu (or is that one word?)
13. Worked with role model, Spencer Tracy.
12. Did two great Twilight Zone episodes including Nightmare at 20,000 feet – later parodied with Miss Piggy
11. Won two Emmys, two Saturns, a Golden Globe…and a Razzie
10. Was the first TV interracial kisser (with Nichelle Nichols)
9. Nickname at Montreal West Hills High School: ‘Toughie’
8. Is an award-winning equestrian
7. Killed a 9 foot tall kodiak bear with bow and arrow on ABC "The
American Sportsman" – which he later regretted
6. Denny Crane!
5. Rocket Man
4. Starred in groundbreaking civil rights movie, "The Intruder" in in
1962
3. Raises money for children’s charities through annual horse show
2. KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN
1. At 80 he is still active and entertaining the world
HAPPY BIRTHDAY BILL FROM TREKMOVIE.COM
More Shatner & Nimoy Birthday celebration coming
All week long TrekMovie.com will be celebrating the 80th birthdays of Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner. Later today we will announce the winners of the International Talk Like William Shatner Day video contest, and we have more Nimoy/Shatner articles leading up to Leonard’s birthday on Saturday.
Although a staff effort, this article would be impossible without John Tenuto, our resident Shatnologist
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Comments
81. The greatest actor to come out of America, and he’s Canadian.
Happy Birthday, Mr. Shatner!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!! May you have many more to come. Thank you for all your works!!! God Bless!!
And Happy Birthday.
Happy Birthday Mr Shatner, may you have many more!
Happy Birthday Mr. Shatner! :D
Happy birthday, Mr Shatner, and thanks!
Just to provide some context about point 79 re him selling his kidney stone for charity, At the time i was paying for it he told me it was a gobstopper.
What about:
Only actor in TV history to star in two different primetime shows on two different networks in the same season.
TJ Hooker AND Rescue 911
Shatner 80? Amazing. I think he’s an android. May he have 80 more!
I’m at McGill and the William Shatner building is an *unofficial* name for the student building. That being said, some of McGill’s best parties happen in the Shatner Ball Room, and lots of the undergrad love to meet at “The Shat”.
Happy Birthday, Bill!
Gotta Love The Shat! Happy Birthday Mr. Shatner!
Excellent. What an inspiration.
Ha(Pause) P (Pause) Birthday…Bill!!!
Legend … Happy Birthday Mr Shatner
Long Live the Shat!!!!!!
HOW CAN I GET A COPY OF THAT PIC OF HIM SMILING? ANYBODY KNOW? THANKS,AND HAPPY B-DAY BILL, MAKES ME PROUD TO BE CANADIAN.
Happy Birthday Mr. S!
Sir, you are an inspiration.
Thank you and Happy Birthday!
Now go out there and spread the awesomosity.
Happy Birthday to William Shatner.
The Number one thing that Shatner has brought to us all is.
He is the Captian James T Kirk of the U.S.S Enterprise.
The Shat is truly a Legend. May the Shat live long and prosper.
LONG
LIVE
BILL!
I cherish….
The moment in 2000 when I gave him MY autograph!! He laughed real hard at that!
Then at a Con in London when I got him to sign my T J Hooker Annual
Seeing him at a convention for the first time in Chicago, regailing us with stories involving his horses.
His surprise visit to collectomania a few years back.. the highlight of that year.
Or last summer at Earls Court, getting a picture with the great man!!!!
Truely a legend, and a nice bloke to boot!!!!
Happy B’day!
Happy Birthday!
Long Live Shatner!
Happy Birthday Bill – you’re just ubercool.
and not only a Canadian.. but damn proud of it!
You and Betty White need to get a show together.
Oh Captain, my Captain, happy birthday to you.
Also he is a huge Montreal Canadiens fan like myself! I hope the Habs will win tonight for your birthday! :)
Happy birthday, Bill!
Congrats to the Shat for his wonderfully unique acting style that helped make Star Trek the success it is. Anybody else portraying James T. Kirk in TOS from 1966-69 and it probably would have failed!
I’ve had the pleasure of meeting the Shat a number of times over the years and he was always a class act! Happy 80, Bill!
Happy Birthday Mr. Shatner!
HB. Bill!!!
Reason #81:
Because Bill Shatner is so unique… As the song says, “there’s not another you (by Little River Band).”
I disagree slightly with #48. People tend to forget that the Get A Life skit was preceded by a disclaimer, at Shatner’s insistence. He did not want to offend the fans.
William Shatner personifies the idea of a man. He strives. He conquers. He fails. He picks himself up. He re-invents himself. He leads the way.
82. Did a really neat recruiting film for the US Navy submarine service back in the late ’70s-early ’80s. Seriously!
“How do you feel, Jim?”
“Young. I feel…young.”
Happy Birthday, Mr. Shatner. You truly are a living legend.
And to add to my own personal list…
#81. – My childhood hero.
@ #33 -
Perfect!!!!
Say what you will about the man… but that is one very impressive list. I can’t think of any other actors who have been working on TV almost nonstop since the 1950s.
It’s a pretty rare accomplishment, and it’s a shame he doesn’t get more credit for that.
Hard to believe he is 80, looks like he could go untill he is 100. Happy birthday Bill.
Awesome. We need more Shatner! Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday Mr. Shatner !
80 ! He looks well for it .. have many more ..
80 reasons why having Bill in Star Trek 2012 isn’t just a good idea, or a difficult method of working him in…. damn it, JJ, Boborci, Damon & Alex and the Court… .just do it. Framing narration, or riding off into a sunset in a much later year in the alt universe… Spock Prime and aged alt-Kirk. Must. Be. A. Way. While these men are alive still!
@36 As he’s journaled before, there was that real dry spell for him: living in his car after divorce, few long-term acting gigs. Was it the tale of eating the fruit salad day after day for lunch?
/snort/
re # 48
After just being the Technical Director this past weekend for a sci fi convention in Rye New York…..
Happy Birthday Mr. Shatner and thank you for the TV and movie memories and I look forward to seeing what you do next.
Denny Crane!
Oh… and my partner wrote 14 Star Trek media tie in novels…..
I am amused.
A hero to me for almost 40 years. Happy Birthday Mr. Shatner!
Happy Birthday, Mr. Shatner. You inspired much of my life.
Happy birthday!
I thought playing Captain Kirk would be number 1.
Happy Birthday, William Shatner! The best captain, ever.
Shat rules. That Lucas AFI piece was hilarious. Great Canadian. Great entertainer. Truly one of a kind.
Congratulations to Mr. Shatner… have a great day! … Happy Birthday!
:-) :-)
Good article Tenuto and Anthony.
# on the list : 14 “Kirk Fu” . I’ve long thought that was a cool thing. Shatner had his own distinctive style of fighting. The show obviously had a physical philisophy of dealing with fights that even the guest stars seemed to have been briefed on(the fight scene with William Windom’s Decker and the red shirt). I’ve long thought exploring that would be an interesting article.
On another note I’ve long thought of compiling a video of Shatner word pronounciations. Have a big list I’ve put together myself. I think I shall do that and submit it to Anthony for a possible future article feature.
Oh and again, Happy Birthday Shatner.
For the love of God.. JJ.. If you have.. ANY.. decency..
BRING.. BACK.. THE SHAT!
Hey, don’t forget that he hosted the Rescue 911 show !
Happy Birthday, Tuffy!
May you be blessed with many more years of success and fun!
You keep Takin’ Care of Business, and I salute you!
Nanoo-nanoo!!!
Wishing you a happy birthday from the Netherlands, Mr. Shatner.
Thanks for being part of my happy memories for a loooong time already, looking fw. to adding more of those.
@40
Well yeah, that’s why I put the *almost* nonstop in there. ; )
Happy birthday to a true legend, happy birthday Bill.
That war canoe bit sounds fantastic. He deserves a great birthday.
One thing missing from the list: Two words: flying kick. Happy Bday cap’n.
Jeffrey Hunter may have been first, but YOU sir, are an original…and the best! I love you, man! Happy birthday, captain. And I hope you have many, many more.
What more could possibly be said about the man?
Happy birthday, Capt. Shatner.
Simply the best!!
How can anyone not like William Shatner? He’s done it all and is still doing it. Happy birthday and many more to come Mr. Shatner.
Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday to the one, the only Cpt James T Kirk of the starship Enterprise, NCC-1701…… William Shatner.
What a great tribute to Bill here. Way to go Trekmovie gang. Fabulous!
Shat my Dad Says has reached British shores and i’m surprised to find its pretty ok. I’ve only seen two episodes and while its no Frasier (yet!) I did chuckle a good few times. I’m going to stick with it- for as long as you guys over there want to make it anyway!
Happy Birthday, Mr Shatner! And many more yet to come.
Happy Birthday, Mr. Shatner. The world is a better place for having you in it! Thank you for being an inspiration!
Happy 80th Birthday Bill. May you be blessed with many more.
Have a wonderful day!
I see Bill is Top Ten trending on Yahoo searches!
In fact he’s currently at No6. What a man.
And No10 on Google!
Happy Birthday William Shatner! Live long and prosper.
Oh, and as an instructor, let me point out that the Shat is a certified scuba diver as well. More awesomeness!
Captain Neill you have returned to trekmovie how are you :) isn’t it a milestone that William Shatner has reached 80 I hope I live to that age he is indeed a legend love you Bill or may I say Captain
¡¡¡Feliz Cumpleaños!!! ;)
One of the Greats. Happy 80th, Mr. Shatner. Don’t ever stop!
Happy Birthday, Bill. You are, and always will be, my best captain.
Happy B-Day Captain!
Many Happy Returns!
I still fondly remember watching Mysteries of the Gods and Kingdom of the Spiders being the first videos I ever saw as a kid.
Spine-tingling.
Re-enacting the opening title sequence to TJ Hooker in the playground. Bill just couldn’t run in a straight line could he?
80 and long may you continue dodging the bad guys.
Happy birthday to the One and Only Captain Kirk!
My daddy was an original broadcast Star Trek fan and had me watching it from his knee; Kirk was one of my first heroes (next to daddy) and Star Trek taught me to love the possibilities of human potential, the necessity of integrity and tolerance, the wonders of exploration, and the importance of a wink and a good laugh. Thank you, Mr. Shatner, for so much — Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday!!! I have enjoyed watching you my entire 39 years! And I must say you are still so very handsome!
Happy Birthday, Shat!
Happy Birthday from yet another long-time fan. Be it known I defend you all of the time when I hear others disparaging your acting on Trek and elsewhere.
You were perfect for the role of Capt. James T. Kirk, and your work on other projects is also more than stellar (The Practice, Boston Legal, 3rd Rock from the Sun, others).
I salute you again on your 80th!
Happy Birthday you old bastard !!!
# 83 George Takei. Happy Birthday you old bastard !!!
Is this the real and one and only George Takei, if so. Welcome to Trek Movie.
#83. Feel free to drop by and blog with us anytime. You are more then welcome here.
I’ll never forget how George once pointed out to Bill (who kept mispronouncing his last name) that Takei rhymes with toupee! Classic!
Let’s start a list of 80 more reasons why Bill is Shat-tastic:
80: Fruit Salad!
79: Only thing redeeming about $*!% My Dad Says
78: (keep adding)
78: Actually knows that Takai is Japanese for cheap. ;)
77. His Hair looks Real.
76. Has met Harry Ballz on several occasions.
(hey, that should count for something!) :>)
#75. Hardest working 80 year old in all of Hollywood.
#74. Is wanting to be one of the oldest Actor to be in Star Trek Movie.
#73. Is trying to forget he met Harry Ballz.
Happy Birthday! I hope you will get older than Johannes Heesters!
#93.
That just might be true. He knows why.
Oh come on Harry. Spill. What did you do to him.
#72. Wants a Love Scene with one Erica Durance.
Happy Birthday, William Shatner.
I also saw him play a supporting role in a Canadian film made for television called “A Family of Strangers” in which he played the adoptive father. He was outstanding. One scene he did almost has me tearful, just remembering it. I was never more impressed, given that his portrayal of that famous captain was fantastic. BTW, I always loved the way Kirk spoke.
It was a serious, moving and compelling story, which had women, who had been forced to put their babies up for adoption, all over America and Canada “breaking down” after they watched this film. Counselling services were inundated. Similar happened when the film screened here in NZ. The two actresses, who played the leads, Patty Duke and Melissa Gilbert, were virtually playing themselves.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106865/
#95 Harry,
Maybe you should write a book about meeting Shatner, give us all those inside tidbits on celebs. You could make a fortune in Gold Pressed Latinum….. but where would you spend it? Jolene???
Happy birthday Mr. Shatner!
Here’s to another 80!
Isn’t the fact that he is Captain Kirk AWESOME enough?
Long live the SHAT!!!!!!
Still THE greatest starship captain of them all. Mr Shatner- ”Happy 80th Birthday” from all your fans here in the United Kingdom. Long live The Shat.
Greg
List is a fail. They forgot “Is Captain Kirk” !!!
Happy Birthday Mr. Shatner! Have a good ‘un.
Polly
I dont think you got the point. Kirk is implied of course, and also part of #2. The point of the list is all the other awesome things besides filling list up with ST references
Happy Birthday to the One and Only Captain of the U. S. S. Enterprise.
I spent my entire childhood watching you at 6pm each weekday on channel 11 in NY, and later at midnight when I got to college.
A North American Treasure. You will miss him when he is gone. Enjoy him now! Put him in the sequel!
Happy Birthday – bit late with this greeting I know – but still better late than never. Love and hugs from me to you!
SHATASTIC!!
Happy B Day Mr S… you set the bar for the rest of us!
happy birthday mr shatner
Happy Birthday my Captain!
Item #81 will state “William Shatner offers to hook Harry Ballz up with Erica Durance; Mr. Ballz runs to nearest bathroom to throw up!”
Happy Birthday to The captain!
All the best – from Montreal!
#1 should be, “Finally signed on to appear in and singlehandedly save the next Star Trek movie by righting the alternative cop-out timeline and setting the ST universe straight again.”
William Shatner is one of the finest actors of the 20th Century, period. People nowadays mistake it for “hamming it up”, whatever that means, but just watch him in… well, pretty much anything, even the mountain of crap he’s had to star in since Trek. He puts his all into every part.
Can’t believe he’s 80 now… keep on rollin’ dude.
Happiest of Birthday wishes to you! A man of many talents.
@112: AGREED!!!
Birthday tribute videos
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKIUPuv6pQI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKmesLWWerQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCckYZrlu-0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRzeBU3NbZk
In the spirit of his hometown, Bonne fête à vous, Monsieur Shatner! Vivez longtemps et prospérez!
It must be true. William Shatner is unstoppable. I have just seen an advertisement for William Shatner doing a live show in Auckland on 8 April at the Civic Theatre. I have no idea whether I will able to go…
Happy Birthday, Bill! May you boldly go where no one….well, almost everyone has gone before! Live long and prosper!
Happy Birthday to the one and only Captain James T. Kirk, the one and only Denny Crane, and of course the one and only Bill Shatner himself!!
Growing up with Kirk made childhood a real adventure and has never failed to amaze to this day, and Denny Crane has managed to become a wise and at the same time hilarious companion. So, thank you Bill Shatner for countless wonderful moments you’ve given us and for the unique characters you’ve created!
and just to show how worldwide Mr Shatner’s influence is Happy Birthday from a big trek fan from Turkey, that little pearl of the Mediterranean.
Happy Birthday, Mr Shatner. May you have many more years of relaxing on the balcony, enjoying a scotch and a cigar with your best friend. And thank you for the lifelong memories of your wonderful performances.
William Shatner: Still Undefeated.
Happy 80th Birthday to William Shatner!! And still going strong with a sitcom, a talk show and about to embark on a trip here to Australia for a couple of conventions! What and absolute Superstar he is and has been throughout his 50+ year career, and hopefully I will have the chance to tell him that in person if I get the honour of meeting him :while he’s in the country -)
Bill, you better damn well be around another 80!
@123: Seconded! Happy Birthday, Mr. Shatner!
What ashame it is that he has been denied a chance to be in the new ST films.
Happy Belated Birthday Bill
To William Shatner. The Man!. The Myth!,The Legend!. Happy Birthday.
Happy B-day to the Shat.
There has to be a way to get him in the next movie.
Happy birthday, Mr. Shatner! You and this blog piece raise the high bar of win.
Here’s to Mister Shatner on his 80th. Happy birthday, sir!
he sold his own kidney stone? he really did?
anyways, Happy birthday, Bill! I will never forget the first time I saw you as Captain Kirk…
me: Mom?
mom: yes?
me: on Star Trek…Captain Kirk…isn’t he the Priceline Negotiator dude on TV?
mom: yup.
me: *omfg*
Love ya, Bill! May you have many more years ahead of you!
How is it not a good idea to have Shatner in the next ST film?
Happy Birthday Mr. Shatner! With many more to come!
Thank you for what you did with Captain Kirk!
And thanks for your continued work through the years.
May we all be as active as you are at 80. :]
The Shat at eighty is still kicking butt. Happy Birthday!
“I don’t beleive in the no-win scenerio”-a line in one of his many movies, a line that I live by…thanks Bill….Happy Birthday…all my best
Happy Birthday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Mr. Shatner
Happy Belated Birthday Mr. Shatner! Love you on Howard Stern!