The World Celebrates William Shatner’s Birthday

| March 22, 2017 | By: TrekMovie.com Staff 24 comments so far

Celebrities, scientists and more share their love for Star Trek’s William Shatner.

Shatner celebrated on Twitter

Today is William Shatner’s 86th birthday and we here at TrekMovie started our day on social media with birthday wishes on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

And of course there were many many more people joining in, including people from inside and out of the world of Star Trek. We have curated some of the best from Twitter of those sharing their love for the original Captain Kirk. Of course there were some of his fellow Trek franchise stars sharing their thoughts, including Brent Spiner, Jonathan Frakes, LeVar Burton, and Marina Sirtis from Star Trek: The Next Generation: .

And speaking of Next Generation people, producers Rick Berman and  Brannon Braga also weighed in for Bill. In the case of Brannon, Shatner replied with a playful jibe about how Braga killed off Capt. Kirk in Star Trek: Generations.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine vet Ira Steven Behr, who’s fairly new to Twitter, also got in on the act:

It isn’t just Star Trek celebrities that love the man. Once Upon a Time star Lana Parrilla swapped out her on-screen boyfriend Robin Hood for Shatner.

And of course the world of science is thinking of Shatner today. Even NASA and Canada’s theoretical physics center Perimeter Institute shared their love.

William Shatner has noticed the outpouring of good will and returned some of his own in thanks.

Talk Like Shatner Day Video

Back in 2009 legendary voice actor Maurice LaMarche (Pinky and the Brain, Futurama, Rick and Morty) along with the late Bill Biggar created a video declaring March 22nd as International Talk Like William Shatner Day. There is even a Facebook Page dedicated to it (originally created by Trek fan Doug VanHorn). In 2011 TrekMovie worked with LaMarche for a Shtner Day contest. Last year La Marche teamed up with another voice actor and talented Shatnerist Kevin Michael Richardson (Cleveland Show, American Dad, Gravity Falls) to make another Talk Like Shatner video to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the original Star Trek series. That was on Facebook only briefly but it is now back, posted today to YouTube by LaMarche to celebrate Shatner’s birthday.

How will you celebrate William Shatner’s birthday?

 

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Happy Birthday Mr. Shatner!

86 y/o and still going strong!

Happy Birthday Mr. Shatner!! This guy is living long and prospering in a big way lol.

The Universe needs more William Shatner!

DON’T LITTER!

I wish I had as much energy as he does, and I’m 27 years younger than he is. :-) Happy Birthday, Mr. Shatner!

I’ve always been a fan… Actually knew him as TJ Hooker when I was very young before getting to know him as Captain Kirk after becoming a Trek fan in high school. I had the privilege of talking with him at a convention just after he filmed Generations. I do find it interesting that he seems to be so adored by The Next Generation cast but has had problems with almost all of his TOS cast mates, who it appears from this article did not tweet him any birthday greetings. Wish they could bury the hatchet while a few of them are still with us.

Well, the TNG crew has had much less interaction with Shatner than his TOS co-stars had, and he seems to be quite the charmer, at least publicly. I guess nobody except the people directly involved know what caused the rift. Maybe even they don’t remember. At this point, it’s probably just “the way it has always been” to them.

I don’t think it’s any coincidence that the people who know him best are the people who like him least.

Torchwood,

Re:… coincidence …

I don’t think it’s any coincidence that you, who has absolutley no way to gauge whether someone knows Shatner well, thinks that you do.

@Disinvited. Yes it is. Because I’m pretty sure people who worked alongside him for 20+ years know him fairly well. Think for two seconds before commenting with an opinion that makes zero sense.

Yeah its no secret a lot of Shatner costars has felt they been burned by him. Its in his own book lol. I actually heard even Leonard Nimoy, his actual friend, stopped talking to the guy before his death. Shatner himself confirmed it.

As fans we all love him but he’s clearly a guy who has rubbed a lot of coworkers the wrong way over the years and has pushed to make the franchise in the early days mostly about him. He clearly has an ego like a lot of actors and thats probably what got in the way. A lot of people just don’t like the man.

We have no idea why Nimoy stopped talking to him. Its certainly odd but who knows the reasoning.

Its seems well established that the TOS supporting cast’s issues became a self fulfilling prophecy as they convinced themselves of slights that likely werent there.

Nimoy and Kelley didnt have an issue with Shatner probably because they understood the position of being a top star while the supporting cast deluded themselves with the myth that they were equal stars.

For me it always comes down to, if Shatner was really a jerk he could have had any of those supporting characters fired and he never did. He simply recognized them for their position and they didnt like it. They all owe Shatner a big thank you for their success and savings accounts.

Torchwood,

Re: Think for two seconds before commenting with an opinion that makes zero sense.

Advice you would do well to heed yourself, because believing filming 77 television episodes [It’s a stretch to say the bits filmed for THE MENAGERIE amount TO 1.] and 7 films with the man is the equivalent of spending 20 years sharing 9 to 5 unwalled cubical space with him [And I remind you he didn’t share his “office, i.e. dressing room.] makes even less sense.

Twenty years? You actually believe he and they spent THAT ridiculous amount of time together before the cameras working on STAR TREK to produce what can’t have amounted to more than 91 hours of filmed work making it to the viewer’s screens at most?!!

And I’ve done my time in the cubical zone near the end of the 20th century. For you to suggest that I knew my co-workers, and vice-versa, well is nuts. We only knew each other well-enough to do a job.

wow, taking those two seconds is awfully hard for you. You must live a busy life!

Torchwood,

Re: …two seconds…

You are forgetting your inflated sense of time where 91 hours of useful film represents 20 years of working together. Your 2 seconds represents 2 minutes of my time and I don’t want or need to know you THAT well.

LOL wow it didn’t hit me until you mentioned it he only got birthday wishes from the TNG cast and crew. I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised a lot of his TOS costars never liked him. George Takei still talk about a dog even today.

I agree with you, I wish they could just get over it too, but its been 50 years and looks like many will hold a grudge to the very end.

Always loved him on the Twilight Zone, particularly in Nick of Time. Never been a fan of his work on Star Trek.

To the greatest on-screen father figure I had growing up, Happy Birthday Mr. Shatner, and many more. You continue to be an inspiration.

I hope I’m as active as him if/when I’m that age.

Happy Birthday! You have graced us for 50+ years on stage and screen, and hope you continue into the 23rd century!

Too bad Paramount and CBS dont want to celebrate.

Get him on DISCOVERY!!!

I’m a day late (as usual) and a darsek short, but happy birthday, Mr. Shatner … and many more to come. Stay healthy and happy. You played my TV hero … I can never say “thank you” enough.

His best work by far: Roger Corman’s 1962 film, THE INTRUDER. If you’re a fan of Mr. Shatner, you need to see this film to appreciate his fullest potential as an actor. He’s terrifying in it.