Shatner, William (1931-…), is a Canadian-born actor. He is best known for his role as Captain James T. Kirk in the “Star Trek” television series and motion pictures. Captain Kirk, the commander of the starship Enterprise, encounters many adventures in outer space.
Shatner was born on March 22, 1931, in Montreal, Quebec. After graduating from McGill University in 1952, he acted in regional Canadian theaters. His roles included classical roles in productions at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival (now the Stratford Festival) from 1954 to 1956. During the late 1950’s, he began acting in New York City theater. Shatner made his motion-picture debut in The Brothers Karamazov (1958). In the 1960’s, he settled in Los Angeles, California.
Shatner made his debut as Captain Kirk in the TV program “Star Trek” (1966-1969), which became even more popular in reruns. He starred in several “Star Trek” movies, beginning with Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979). He both acted in and directed Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989).
Shatner also starred in the TV police series “T. J. Hooker” (1982-1986) and hosted a TV documentary series about rescue workers called “Rescue 911” (1989-1996). From 1999 to 2000, he had a role in the TV comedy series “3rd Rock from the Sun.” He later starred in the TV series “Boston Legal” (2004-2008) and “$#*! My Dad Says” (2010-2011). In 2012, he appeared in the one-man Broadway show Shatner’s World: We Just Live in It.
Shatner has written and co-written many books, including science-fiction novels and autobiographical books. His novels include TekWar (1989) and Star Trek: The Ashes of Eden (1995), the first books in two different series. His autobiographical books include Star Trek Memories (1993) and Up Till Now (2009), among others.
In 2017, Shatner was appointed as an Officer of the Order of Canada for his acting and charitable work. Appointment to the order is one of Canada’s highest civilian honors. In 2021, Shatner traveled briefly to the edge of space as a space tourist. He flew aboard a spacecraft created by Blue Origin, a private spaceflight company founded by the American businessman Jeff Bezos.
