William Shatner Shines in Brief “Shatner’s World” Tour

William Shatner still has it. The 85 year-old actor entertained fans in suburban Philadelphia for two-straight hours in the most recent return of his self-titled tour that covered his life and career. It’s “Shatner’s World”, we just live in it.

Exuberant. Enthusiastic. Entertaining. William Shatner returned to the road on October 13 for a quick five-day tour of his popular Shatner’s World and did not disappoint the 900-plus fans in attendance at the Keswick Theater in Glenside, PA. Amusing attendees with anecdotes from his seven-decades long career, Shatner’s one-man show was at times irreverent, poignant, humorous, but most of all, fun.

Shatner's World Keswick Theater Marquee

There might not be another performer who can better entertain a crowd than the Canadian actor, who has had four-decades to hone his onstage persona, as he charmed his audience for two hours without an intermission. Shatner intermixed personal stories about his family, acting and recording career as well as reflected on his life, often beginning with quiet moments before reaching a crescendo in voice and energy.

Updating his material for the current presidential election in the United States, Shatner gleefully had fun with his audience, his cheeky style coming across throughout. His quick wit was demonstrated when he almost fell over his self-described “co-chair” for the performance, which was the actual chair he sat in for portions of the show.

Thanks to a series of audio and video clips, audience members were treated to an  interesting mix of moments he chose from his life and career, including Star Trek, Boston Legal and his interactions with NASA. One of the big crowd pleasers of the evening was photos of him as a young actor just starting out in the theater; he drew “oohs” and “ahhs” whenever a cheesecake picture appeared, like his role as a shirtless Alexander the Great.

Photo Courtesy of New York Times

Photo Courtesy of New York Times

Mortality crept into his discussion at one point – a topic he has mused on over the decades, perhaps taking on even more weight in the wake of last year’s loss of close friend Leonard Nimoy. Shatner never spoke directly about Nimoy and DeForest Kelley, his cherished mates from his decades-long career in the final frontier, but he did honor their relationship with an image of the three of them when he mentioned the friendships forged during his time on Star Trek.

Death and life came up again when Shatner touched on his late-wife Nerine’s passing, and how that tragedy led him to meeting his current-spouse, Elizabeth. It was a meaningful moment for Shatner, who was mostly self-deprecating (opening the show with George Takei’s famous roast dialogue about riding in on a horse), as the octogenarian mentioned the date, year, and exact time he found out about Nerine’s death before segueing into his life with Elizabeth, with whom he bonded over grief (she had recently lost her husband after battling an illness) and their mutual love of horses.

Star Trek fans made up a significant portion of the audience, identifiable by various T-shirts and pins, while the rest of the seats seemed filled by the theater’s subscribers. It was a mid-week show, but the house was filled almost to capacity, which was a nice nod to the breadth of Shatner’s career. One audience member remarked that he was not a Star Trek fan, but knew the actor always put on an entertaining show. It was that kind of night.

In a story that perfectly captured the essence of both the actor and the man, Shatner described filming a movie in the southern United States, where each evening he and his co-stars were heckled by the same local. After several nights, Shatner approached the man and offered him a job on the crew, which resulted in the cast and crew embracing the heckler, as well as he becoming a champion for them. It was a touching story that truly exemplified his charisma with people. However, in typical Shatner fashion, he then ended the story with how he set the man’s car on fire and destroyed his lucky chaps.

Star Trek convention-goers who have seen Shatner on stage over the years should make a point to catch his show when the opportunity arises, as Shatner’s World (launched in 2012, and running whenever the actor’s schedule allows) is so much more than his quick routine and Q&A from those events. Shatner received a standing ovation after wrapping up his night singing/speaking his Brad Paisley duet, Real; anyone in attendance would agree that they’d be lucky indeed to have his energy and sharp mind at 85.

Shatner's World Poster

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I didn’t know about this.
I will try to see him if I get a chance.

Ugh I cannot believe I missed this…I hope he can come back to the area again..!!

The ultimate narcissist. I’d rather rub my genitals on rusty cheese grater than watch the great bloated one verbally masterbate to himself.

mj you are pathetic.

what the heck is “mj”? Micheal Jackson? Megajoule? Marijuana?

I didnt realize you and Shatner were close.

We were best buds. We’d hang out at casinos and hit on the drunk octogenarian chicks at the slot machines.

Blimey…..I hope I look as good as him at 85!!!!

It’s all special effects

I bet he looks better at 85 than Harry looks now. Hey Harry, post some pics of yourself so we can judge your appearance please.

The best I can do is a pencil sketch. Don’t judge too harshly –comment image

does bill shanter have chat line?

Yes but its $5 a minute and you have to take your pants off

Really, Harry Plinkett, you do not do yourself any favours going on about this actor as you do.

Personally, I think that Shatner helped make both Star Trek and Boston Legal the very entertaining and interesting television programmes that they were/are. Whatever his faults may be do not concern me since I have not met him and am unlikely to. However, I have nothing but respect for the contribution he has made to both these very fine television dramas.

Oh I’m sure he’s a fine individual, just ask many of his still living co-stars.

Is there a reason this moron still posts here? His incessant whining and insults are really getting to be too much. If he at least seemed remotely intelligent or insightful, ok, but he’s clearly a moron. Time to move on, jerk.

I wish he and Takei would stop this feud. That said, the show (if it’s the same one I saw on tv a year or two ago) is remakably entertaining.

My family and I saw his show at the “Destination Star Trek” convention in Birmingham, England. For some reason the organizers did not think of tiered seating and the stage was only slightly elevated so, positioned near the back as we were (@ £25 a ticket I could not afford better), we were unable to see the great man. Earlier in the day for the DS9 panel, cameras and large screens made the participants clearly visible to all. Why this was not done for Shatner’s show I do not know, but it would certainly have improved things greatly. Also, the audio was terrible and so we were literally unable to hear at least half of his delivery. It turned out to be a massive disappointment as we so wanted to see “The Shat” perform live. From what little I could make out, it appeared to be a good show!

Da men…

I saw the movie version of his show and it was completely engaging and wonderful. I would definitely go see him live if he was doing this again near me. Great show. Say what you will about him, the man is smart, quick on his feet, has tons of energy, and has had an utterly fascinating life. Hearing him talk about it is a lot of fun. He has a great sense of humor, too.

i like so nice when capitan kirk shout ‘oh khan, oh khan, oh khan.

this is have on my ring tone phone

I’ve seen it, the man is an 85 year old anomoly. A dynamo that didn’t stop for 2 hours straight. And he is’nt just plopped down on a stool under a spotlight. An immensly entertaining evening. The man is all over the stage working the crowd just as he does at conventions. If he could bottle his energy he’d be an even richer man!

I had the pleasure of seeing the show when he was in Winnipeg a few years ago. it was fantastic and really offered a lot of insight into the man.

Mr Shatner is a very attractive man, with a nice head of hair

“with a nice head of hair”

Yes, the best money can buy!

BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

I saw this show in L.A. when he first debuted it a few years ago. Amazing amazing amazing show. A must see.

mr shatner move so quiet, just like ghost. maybe he here? maybe he everywhere!

my feeling are, as usual, original star trek is best star trek, very excite with good story

TheMan. The Myth. The Legend. The Shat.