Really good article: William Shatner still conquering new frontiers

[Contrary1]

I loves me some Denny Crane! :loveya:



At 77, the inimitable actor is basking in the third golden age of his career

"LOS ANGELES - The SUV pulls to an abrupt stop on Ventura Boulevard in Studio City. In the middle of the westbound lane is a man in a loud shirt, his body coiled with energy, darting across traffic toward a strip mall.

The driver jumps visibly, and not merely at the presence of a human being on the pavement. It's who that human is: Without the hasty application of power brakes, one of the most recognizable faces in the history of American television would have become one with the road.

But it's lunchtime, after all. Good sushi is across the street. And a guy like William Shatner is not about to be stopped by something as mundane as traffic.

Why did William Shatner cross the road? Why has he ever? To get to the other side. To see what's out there. To find out stuff and inhale the universe in his singular Shatnerian way. It's the story of his life — and the lives of the characters he has breathed, spoken and shouted into existence over a 50-year performing career..."

Lots more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24969235/

[Captain Angry]

1. I like a guy who's having fun.

And I think he's having fun all the time.

His stuff on Futurama is awesome, and he has to love the character they modeled after him in Zap Branigan.

[HardWorkingDem]

6. Did you see his roast on Comedy Central?

It was hilarious.

Also, YouTube has a bunch of his best stuff.

Like you, anyone who laughs at him or herself is a treat and you can tell, Shatner has been quite good at it.

[rch35]

2. What a..... FASCinating.... ehh....... read....

- Mean to be spoken like the Shat back in his Kirk days.

[calimary]

16. Ann-Tee-Bodd-Deez! We've begun rewatching the original series - what fun!!!

HIGHLY recommended! Special effects are hokey by now, and so is he, but hell - we still love him to pieces around casa de calimary! He still "boldly goes..."

:toast:

[rch35]

18. patrick stewart is great, but nothing compares to William Shatner as Kirk nt

[calimary]

20. Mixed feelings on that, 'cause I LOVE Patrick Stewart, especially as Captain Picard.

But Shatner stands in a galaxy by himself.

He is beyond the beyond, as one of my close friends likes to say. Loved him in the original series. But I found Picard sexy, in much the same way I found Spock sexy. Yep - I'm one of those...

It's so funny, though. Every now and then, at some random moment, my husband will turn to me and shout - "Ann-Tee-Bodd-Deez!" And we both laugh out loud.

[rch35]

23. I think it was the Wrath of Khan that did it for me. Stewart is awesome, but that yell was amazing.

KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!

[calimary]

25. "...but he was NEVER a Boy Scout."

Listen, kiddo, Jim Kirk was *many* things, but he was *never* a Boy Scout! (Dr. Carol Marcus on onetime flame James T. Kirk)

LOVED that line AND the way Bibi Besch delivered it.

:D

[rch35]

27. haha, its a classic nt

[Vanje]

26. "KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!" is to Shatner.......

........what "STELLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" is to Brando.

[rch35]

28. haha, never made that comparison!

but youre correct.

[silverojo]

3. So Shatner still has an SUV?

What a loser. City dwellers don't need SUV's.

[Contrary1]

4. Uh, well try reading that again. n/t

[Peace Patriot]

9. Oh, I can forgive one SUV--for Captain Kirk/Denny Crane!

Just like I can forgive his musical recordings!

I love this man. Period. Don't know why. Love his cornball. Love his commercials. Love his really wretched singing. Something about him. Something dauntless. And daring. And cavalier. Something deeply good, and I don't know what it is. I really don't.

[csziggy]

19. Shatner rides and shows horses

I don't know if he has a farm or ranch in California but he does in Kentucky. If he shows in CA, then he might need the SUV to haul his trailer and equipment around. Of course, he could have a more fuel efficient car to tool around town...

[Contrary1]

21. Shatner may have an SUV, but that is not how the article reads.

It states that he is almost hit by an SUV, as he darts across the street to a restaurant.

[silverweb]

5. Great article.

I've been a fan forever and love that he's still having a wonderful time.

Live long and prosper, Shat -- and above all, never lose that exuberant fascination with everything.

[Canuckistanian]

7. They didn't mention his REALLY early days

He was a Shakespearian actor and used to do dramas on Canadian TV. I think the Twilight Zone and "Man from U.N.C.L.E." appearances really got him noticed.

[sarge43]

8. Probably his turn as Alexi in The Brothers Karamazov (1958)

[Peace Patriot]

10. Did you know he wrote a whole bunch of sci-fi novels? I have them all--

found them in a used bookstore in L.A. Corny, funny, and sometimes actually good in a real kitchy sort of way (probably his secretary's writing).

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

What IS it about this guy? Is it that he is absolutely shamelessly exploitative, and doesn't give a fuck what anybody thinks? Yet there is something so ENDEARING about him--like he really has "gone where no man has gone before," and has come back to tell us it's all one BIG JOKE, like Kurt Vonnegut said. All of human civilization is just a happenstance way station for a little galactic traveler who needed a spare part.

Sound and fury signifying nothing. Live long and prosper, indeed! Like, he just never forgot that. It got emblazoned on his soul, back in 1962.

[MuseRider]

11. HA! Good!

I was sitting here trying to explain how I felt about this man. I guess I always figured there was much more to him than the pap we were fed in the way back. It seems he has been this amazing and cool guy for a long time but only slowly have we been clued into this. I always got a kick out of him, loved Star Trek as a kid and then stopped caring much until the last 10 or so years. He really is an interesting fellow and there is just something endearing about him. He is doing what I hope to be doing at his age, exploring my interests and having a wonderful time doing it. People who are like that are an inspiration for when we feel old and tired :).

Endearing, yes. He also seems very genuine and that has it's own drawing power. Who knows? He really doesn't seem to give a fuck what anybody thinks. I like that. :hi:

[Javaman]

12. Why do all the other actors from the old star trek hate him?

checkov, ohura, sulu, etc have all expressed anger about him or won't even mention his name.

:shrug:

[NewJeffCT]

13. I think they used to dislike him, but they've reconciled

over the past decade or so, if I'm not mistaken...

Supposedly, back in the days Star Trek was on TV, he was kind of a self-centered jerk and a scene-stealing hack (see "Galaxy Quest" for a bit on that) - I think Star Trek was originally supposed to be more of an ensemble, but Shatner made it more into a show centered around him.

[InvisibleTouch]

14. He's not invited to Sulu's wedding...

...from what I've read, which I found a little sad, given that most everyone else will be there. I've always liked to think the cast of Star Trek were friends just like the characters were, but apparently that wasn't always the case. Stephen Collins said as much during the filming of "Star Trek the Motion Picture." Still, I love Captain Kirk; not having met William Shatner, I can't comment, but I feel generally positive about him due to the characters he brought to life. If he's living his life to the max after all these years, then good for him!

[NewJeffCT]

15. sorry to hear that

I remember George Takei (Sulu) at the Shatner roast a few years back - it was right after he officially came out of the closet and too many of the jokes were directed at Sulu.

[galledgoblin]

22. I was wondering about that

maybe it's not Takei but his partner who didn't want him there?

[Vanje]

17. Shatner : Not just an icon any more

He's also a religion!

Link:
http://www.shatnerology.com/index_org.html

[Mind_your_head]

24. I grew up/love(d) Star Trek.......

William, himself, sort of 'lost me' after his wife inexplicably drowned in the pool.

Peace,
M_Y_H