William Shatner

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BIRTHDAY

March 22, 1931

Montreal, Quebec, Canada

PROFESSIONS

Actor, Director, Producer, Writer

SOMETIMES CREDITED AS

BIOGRAPHY

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With a slew of wives and decades of adventures under his ever-widening belt, Shatner really isn't that different from his legendary TV alter ego, Captain James Tiberius Kirk on the original Star Trek. Before he rocketed (literally) to fame, Shatner did Shakespeare on stage and a host of small-screen guest spots. When he signed on to play Kirk in 1966, it was just another gig. Its cult wasn't born until the '70s when the show found new life in syndication. ST spawned a multitude of movies, small-screen spin-offs, books and conventions, thanks in part to Shatner, who played Kirk in seven ST films between 1979-1994. Shatner did take on other projects including a starring role on the cop series T.J. Hooker and a stint as host of Rescue 911. Yet Shatner and Kirk remained inextricably linked and soon the actor — beloved/ridiculed for his stilted speech patterns and parade of toupees — embraced his campy place in pop culture, spoofing his image in myriad TV shows, recordings, books, even a series of commercials for Priceline.com. At age 73, Shatner reinvented himself yet again with a recurring role as a nutty attorney on the last season of The Practice, which snagged him his first Emmy in 2004 and another in 2005 for playing the same part on the spin-off Boston Legal.

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