William Shatner | The Complete "Pioneers of Television" Interview | Steven J Boettcher
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 3 ก.ค. 2024
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William Shatner talks about his early career, appearing on "Howdy Doody," acting in Canada, live television, playing James T. Kirk, his time on "Star Trek," Gene Roddenberry, TV's first interracial kiss with Nichelle Nichols, "Rescue 911," "T.J. Hooker," guest starring on Gunsmoke, and acting technique.
Director: Steven J Boettcher
Star: William Shatner
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Shatner is the real deal. He is as genuine and honest in interviews as he is in person. A friend was driving home one night a couple decades back and he came across a car on the side of the road with the hood up. Turns out it was Bill, asking for a ride home. The 20 minute ride was an absolute pleasure and Shatner was so thankful and happy to get a lift home. My friend said it was like he had known Shatner all his life, which he kinda did, because the real Bill comes through his parts. He was totally down to earth and a pleasure to be around.
Amazing....bold person
Shatner is a complete original. No one else speaks with his cadence.
Would be funny to see William Shatner and Christopher Walken have a conversation.
Star Trek is a great concept but the TV franchise even today stands squarely on Shatner's shoulders. I'm convinced no iteration, STNG or anything else, could survive were it not for TOS with Shatner as the lead. His cadence, spontaneity, and charisma are still, despite his fame, underrated. In my opinion.
@@aarondyer.pianist Star Trek wouldn't even exist without TOS, so in that sense, of course the franchise stands on it and perhaps even moreso on the successful films that came later on. I do think that DS9, Voyager, and Enterprise owe more to TNG's great success as a TV series, however. Just like Discovery and these other more recent Star Trek series (Picard did also hope to capitalize on TNG nostalgia) owe more to the success of the Star Trek reboot movie (and I didn't particularly like the reboot movie, but it revitalized interest in Star Trek).
No question about Shatner's charisma. The show needed him to balance out the seriousness of Nimoy and the others. He has expressed some insecurity in the past about not being as respected as an actor the way that Nimoy and Patrick Stewart have been, but TOS would've been a more dreary and less entertaining series with Pike instead of Kirk in the captain's chair. I grew up with TNG and it will always be my favorite Trek series, but I also grew up with the Shatner Trek movies and I think they're better than the TNG movies (First Contact is the only TNG movie I liked, sadly), so I'll always be appreciative.
He needs to some more STAR TREK, and like NOW!
Star Trek with William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy is My Favorite.I grew up with it.😄
Aye, great combo/Top notch stuff from them *LEGENDS* 👏
No Bill. It was you. 👍
@@nickycotton6137 👴🏻U NEED A GIRL AND A JOB
@@paulyricca3881 = You need muting. Sweetheart....😅
@@paulyricca3881 = Turn Caps lock off you sly minx.😈. I'm off to Work anyway soon luv'. XXX. KEEP ON TROLLING you judgeMENTAL evil 1 & get a life eh.😈
Shatner is an absolute legend and a charming warm personality and thoughtful in interviews.
Most importantly, he's grown as a human being and he continues to grow. A model for all of us to follow. Before the 2000s, Shatner wasn't quite the person he is now. Back in the 80s he certainly wasn't. But that's how the human journey is supposed to work!
@@robvangessel3766 Agreed Shatner had a big ego many years ago, but has mellowed out over the years, and seems to be a really nice guy in his later years.
What an interesting guy, I could listen to him all day.
He was handsome during his Star Trek run, we are losing so many of our 1960s-70s stars, glad he us still with us...
Honest and lucid representation of his contribution to the TV series 'Star Trek', its contributions to society at large and to his importance to the fans of the show.
Always fun to hear Mr Shatner think out loud.
Such a marvelous actor, and a true professional. In everything he has ever done, which has been significant, he has always given everything to the role. One of the last great Hollywood stars.
William Shatner is gifted in acting , directing and writing.
Mr. Shatner truly is a pioneer of television. Fantastic!
He truly is. People think of Star Trek and perhaps the famous Twilight Zone episode he did but he has amassed a huge list of credits in both TV and film in his very long career and sorry folks, you cannot stick around as long as he has without some real talent for the craft. He always gives it everything he has whatever the role.
I just love to hear him talk.... his confidence is genuinely inspiring.
90 years old and still has all or nearly all his faculties. ❤
I've always had some reservations in my liking of Shatner, but this really illumunated his attitude. He was more of a regular guy who happened to be caught up in a phenomenon, and didn't really understand it. It explains a lot about his attitude toward others who perhaps approached the series and movies more seriously. Nevertheless I think his acting was a perfect foil against which the others could respond, and the original series would never have caught on otherwise.
Shatner was on The Twilight Zone before and I think another show.
Agreed
He has the best sense on humor!
Thank you.. That was an excellent interview. Always a pleasure, to hear from Mr. Shatner !!!!
'Gotta LOOOOVE The Shat!
I never was a fan of Star Wars but Star Trek was a different matter entirely. I became a Star Trek fan after it went off the air and was in syndication. I was in college at the time it was on the air and didn't have time to watch a lot of television back then. The very first episode I watched was Catspaw sometimes in the early 1970s and I was hooked. The series explored social issues in many of its episodes and created a core set of characters who interacted well and made us care about the show.
Years ago, I watched a Thriller episode titled The Hungry Glass and didn't realize till a later viewing that a young William Shatner was the main character in that episode. Of course, he was also memorable in the Nightmare episode in Twilight Zone. He is a unique actor with a cadence in his speech and mannerisms that have been frequently imitated through the years. He gave us many hours of enjoyment and I appreciate that he hasn't lost his zest for life and is still going strong today.
Shatner is one of those actors who's taken a lot of heat for his attitude and behavior (at times) over the years, along with his overacting (or what is perceived as broad acting or overacting, along with his cadence in speech) and yet, he's always had the uncanny ability to re-invent himself AND make his characters likeable. Did The Twilight Zone and other shows of the late 1950's--and acted in The Brother's Karamazov as well, plus Judgment At Nuremburg--played a bigot in The Intruder, became Captain Kirk, Denny Crane, and The Great Giant Head. Very good voice actor as well. (Two-Face).
People seem to like or hate him, but he's one of those people you cannot ignore or sideline.
Denny Crane!
He is great, the pride of Montreal
Oh man, I just saw The Intruder last night; never heard about it before. I saw Shatner's face on the thumbnail and checked it out. I was shocked at what I was seeing and it was a ride for sure. I did fast forward a lot of it because I wanted to move to something else, but it was captivating. I am surprised he got the captain's role after that, but then he was portraying someone, and was quite convincing as a character. In that regard, it makes perfect sense.
I'm keenly aware of the battle of if Shatner was the ass we are made to believe by former co-stars on Star Trek. You can't disbelieve them; it's not just one. What I believe now is that he really did not realize that taking lines or scenes was offensive to his co-workers. They resented it, therefore some of us resented it too because we are those who love them all. Shatner was correct that he was hired as the star of the show and as such, he was within his right to command the attention, from his perspective. I also realize that from the perspective of the others, he probably was the ass they said he was.
From seeing The Intruder, you can tell how absolutely passionate Shatner is from that performance alone. It was stunning! It is apparently in his nature to be so dramatic and giving his best and how that translates to his position of his character on Star Trek. I did not realize that totally before, until I saw that movie. That's why I said how I believe "now", because I hadn't see that film before. Once you see that, you can then understand how it is in his nature to take command, in more than one sense of the word.
If you allow him to be himself in that context, it seems clear that he is a master of his craft. Out of that context, what he did, or did not do in his roles or with his cast, was not because of them. He is simply being himself, while projecting a personality that appears to be selfish, which in my belief is only his reach for perfection that makes him merely look that way.
He missed an important funeral; you don't get a pass for that. The one and only Spock and you weren't there; shame on you. I didn't go to my dad's either, so people prioritize differently. I am bias, but we both should have gone. I didn't go because my father beat me so I was taken from my home and family when I was 10 so he would stop. Bill, your date at Mar-a-largo could have been skipped for this one and everyone would have understood and even given more. You didn't need to be there for yourself or for Leonard, but you needed to be there for the world. What's your real excuse?
Favorite line...I first saw him in a couple twilight zones...there’s someone/something on the wing.
I saw Shatner’s Twilight episode in probably it’s first rerun and there was absolute suspension of disbelief. Serling wrote it and Shatner acted it and like every other episode of the Twilight Zone it was totally believable.
Was a great episode.
William Shatner YOU ARE THE BEST!
I have always loved him since I was a child watching him with my family.
He accurately describes fandom in his con stories as well as his metaphor about animals. We fill in the blanks of lore with our own stories, feelings, and emotions. We push back when the actors or writers (New Trek) contradict our preconceived expectations.
I grew up watching Star Trek in the '60s and I believe in the near-damned fame, as he referred to, being Captain Kirk, but in my opinion, another iconic and unforgettable character was Danny Crane in Boston Legal.
Denny.
@@TheShootist whatever...
TJ Hooker
You know that liquor commercial featuring "the most interesting man in the world?" Well, you're looking at him, right here.
On top of everything else Shatner brings to the table is the fact that he is one of only a handful of people still living who were around at the dawn of television and everything that has happened since his birth. When he was born, Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig were playing for the Yankees, he lived through The Great Depression, was 14 when FDR died, he was 20 when I Love Lucy began, was 33 when JFK was shot, and 61 when Johnny Carson retired.
Thank you. His mention of Silent Spring in context with the Star Trek series impact resonated with me as in my career I was able to witness some of the efforts made to protect the environment and human life from pesticides.
William Shatner is the greatest
My favorite actor person! Bill is the best!
I started watching Star Trek in the 70s sitting on my Father's lap. He was a trekkie no doubt about that and I became a bigger trekkie. William Shatner #1 and #2 Leonard Nimoy BEST ACTOR OF OUR TIME. KEEP ROCKING CAPTAIN KIRK and you still look sexy baby doll💖⭐⭐⭐⭐💫🤗🤗🤗🥰🥰🥰♥️
Shatner is Always an interesting interview. I like him.
Timothy Carey was the insane actor that Shatner worked with on Gunsmoke. He made Bruce and Crispin Glover appear almost normal. If Carey hadn't found acting, he would have been locked up somewhere for sure.
Loved his character in Brothers Karamazov! Caught one of his 12 O'clock High episodes. His character was seriously PTSD!
An interesting interview with the Shat, its interesting hearing his thoughts on fame and TV in general.
Enjoyed this. Thanks.👀
Hello ! I used to play at star trek when I was a kid , I loved that and I could imagine whatever I liked , nobody to telling me what to say or what to do , free style ! And i was playing captain Kirk but what is funny is that I'm a girl ! Sometimes I was Spock too and doctor McCoy or whatever we need for our stories .
I played with my cousin in my grandmother garden , I remember we enjoyed it a lot .
Thank you for developing our imagination . 👏🙂☄️
A friend reminded me that one time he came over to my house as a child and apparently I said to him: "We can read Star Trek, watch Star Trek or play Star Trek". (I guess I was a tad obsessed)
Ya just gotta tip your hat to Shatner, he is a living treasure America, look after the old buggar or will have here in Australia
I had the distinct pleasure of meeting Mr. Shatner....and touring the Star Trek TOS Original set with him and 19 other people ,in Ticonderoga, NY...about 3 years ago. Mr. Shatner was very nice, very funny. It was a BLAST walking the corridors of the Enterprise with Captain Kirk, himself. We took a TON of photos. It was fantastic.
450 views?! Should be so much more
he's been busy in space and there aren't enough clips for young folk
Was enjoying this right up to 22:50
What about his concerns for our race bothered you? The warning or the warning being ignored?
the mention of Judo training.. With Bruce Lee working at the time i wonder what Shatner would have looked like onscreen with Lee consulting..
6:00 - Timothy Carey! A notably unusual (and some felt rather crazed) character actor.
Yes, as soon as I heard Shatner's description I thought of Timothy Carey and they did a Gunsmoke together.
I knewwwwwww itttttt!!!!
Why was STAR TREK so popular?
Kids, who were watching NASA make very gradual progress toward the Moon with the Apollo program, got to BE TAKEN ALONG on a weekly voyage abord a believable-enough spaceship filled with wondrous technologies of the future to EXPLORE SPACE THEMSELVES. There was adventure, mystery, pathos, humor, danger, risk, problem-solving, last-minute saves, and endless possibilities of worlds to be explored and stories to be told. Bill and all the other cast WERE crucial parts of the ever-present storytelling thread because it was always the story of the ENTERPRISE and her crew through which the story came, but the success of the collective effort of ST was always a function of the storytelling and the audience's sense of adventure-by-proxy. The stories were never run-of-the-mill humdrum, but were always IMAGINATIVE if not always well-calculated.
You've hit the nail on the head. I was 9 years old when Star Trek debuted and I don't know if the generations which have come along afterwards can appreciate how space-focused the country was. The 1960s were kicked off with Fireball XL5 and then came Lost In Space and Star Trek and all the while we were watching people REALLY going into space regularly! We all believed that by the end of the century we would have bases on the Moon just like 2001 A Space Odyssey and be travelling to Mars.
Um, Gene Roddenberry was a writer who was both ex-military and an ex-cop. In fact, most of the male writers in the '60s were probably ex-military since nearly every able-bodied man in America was drafted in WW2 and many were for Korea. So Coon wasn't that odd. But Bill is right that Coon was an unsung hero of the show. Thankfully, that has been gradually rectified in recent years.
Mr. Shatner has always struck me as an honest and reality filled person!
Sometimes, y'all, reality sucks & smart people who remind us of that, we usually take them as totally negative!
THX, Captain Kirk, for bringing folk back down to the reality of our EARTH - NOT SPACE - so take a lesson, get into reality and don't live in a void, people!!
;-]
He's an 'original', true to himself and appreciative of what he's been given...
Inspiring a generation.
He has to be one of the most gorgeous looking men I have ever seen or ever will may you live forever you beautiful creature 💗
Yeah......wasn't he? What a face........and body!
I wanted to hear him talk about Boston Legal and Denny Crane
I have had trouble with the other cast members of Star Trek constantly dissing Shatner over one thing or another for basically having personality differences. He certainly seems to be a nice guy and very educated, and of course loves horses as well!
Haven't watched the series for decades. But I remember one scene, where a Klingon (I think) back-slaps Shatner far harder that was scripted, and one of the female Klingon's giggling in the background. Seemed to say they had had enough of the wise guy. Just saying.
I enjoy hearing him talk. He's smart.
I so adore this man!
It's the unprejudiced philosophy & clear technology that we use today from the imagination of future sane possibilities of a Level 1 Civilization that make Star Trek the stuff of Sci-Fi legends!
If you did not know how old this 91-year-old man is, you would guess 60.
THE Captain
Thanks for this good interview. I was really interested (and appreciated) Bill's take on the interacial kiss in Star Trek as I too was disappointed that it was against the characters' will. I imagine that was the only way to get it past a lot of sesnors at that time so I understand why, but still such a shame.
(I also note that it was the first interacial kiss on American tv. In the UK there had been an interacial couple on a popular show over many episodes.)
2006 is When this Interview came out.40 years after Star Trek Aired.
Canada's greatest gift to Western Civilization.
We didn't have 911 service in my area when Rescue 911 came on the air, but we had it by the time it went off. I think it certainly was influential, like Emergency! was in the 1970s.
Looking to get some green..
Classic.
TJ Hooker was the role he played that I liked best
I watched that show when I was a kid.
Me too
My girlfriend loved his voice,and so do I. If I had it, I would be a hell of a voice actor!
Shatner great actor legend 😊😊
I liked Cpt. Kirk & Jonathan Archer.👍
He was on the Canadian howdy doody show.
Don't care if you're 100 and 91!!!! You're STILL the SEXIEST man in our Milky Way Galaxy/Universe!!! I've been in love with you since 1966!!
🥰😍🤩 Best of everything (Happiness, Peace, Love) to you!!!
Me too!!!
Treasure this man
I would love to end each day talking with Shatner, smoking a fine cigar and sipping bourbon.
Excellent interview, but please give a date as to when it occurred.
It's from around 2008. He frequently mentions "Raw Nerve", his talk show that started that year. He also references the upcoming Chris Pine version of Kirk, which was released in 2009.
Love his sense of humor through his thoughts, and could just imagine his end of life views, I could hear him saying "it's all bullshit" in his captain voice...Lol but eat the cake and drink the wine when you can. "Lucy in the sky with diamonds,.
He also hot his start in Canada's Stratford Festival performing in Shakespeare plays.
And it shows in his portrayal of Captain James T. Kirk
I read somewhere he understudies Christopher Plummer in Henry V, and the time Plummer was sidelined with an injury was when Shatner first started getting really noticed.
@@ttintagel Yes.
Denny Crane!
The actor in the first Star Trek pilot was Jeffery Hunter. Leonard Nimoy was in the first pilot.
Capt. Christopher Pike
Liked Hunter as Captain but he was a little stiff. Shatner brought fun to the part but could be commanding when needed. He carried that balancing act well. Fun fact: he once said his favorite series was Barbary Coast which lasted only one season.
Another great Shatner performance was The Andersonville Trail tv film on PBS in the early 70s. Richard Basehart was in thst as well.
@@nunyabizness6595 I loved those show!!!
He was also the dad in the movie Go Ask Alice.
"Why was Star Trek popular?" As Bill says, there were lots of factors. But the biggest reason - I think, anyway - was always Spock. Almost everything else in the series, good and bad, had been territory seen in sci fi before. But it was Spock whose presence stood out, even in a lame episode. He was the compelling anchor. The one that helped a viewer accept everything else from a shoestring budget! The one genuinely original creation in the show.
Lindsay Wagner needs to be interviewed for Her iconic Emmy award winning series “ The Bionic Woman.” Please do one with her very soon!
I am always amazed at people who like a $6 million man and bionic woman. I’m old enough to have watched them premiere. My husband liked them... I never could get into either one of them. I thought they were ridiculous at the time and now even more so. But everybody’s got their own ideas of what’s good entertainment. Whatever floats your boat.😆
George Takei (Zulu on Star Trek) is on a one man mission top destroy Shatner's reputation. The former is insanely jealous about the latter's success to this day. Shut up, George.
I've got two words: Denny Crane!
I am fan. But has any one considered remaking "Sunset Boulevard" with William playing "Norman Desmond"?
It looks like this interview was filmed in 2008?
Regardless which planet Capt. Kirk visited, all the inhabitants spoke English.
There was a device that the federation used called the universal translator.... They established the fact that such a device existed, and then they never had to spend time with explaining communication / language differences on different worlds
Sorry folks, but really, REALLY........theres only ONE Star Trek TV show. And its because this man was so, totally FANTASTIC as an actor during the GOLDEN age of classic television! ( 1958- 1980 ) SHATNER was the BEST
I just realized how much like Jeff Goldblum the Shat is like. Watch from 1:50-2:45
William "Billy" Shatner has certain depth to him, which he has kept hidden up until now..
Shatner often gets a bad rep but he is fascinating to listen to
Just saw him in Columbus Ohio. 200$ for meet and greet was worth the cost
I talked to somebody who had paid to attend a one-hour small-group get together with Shatner in a private room at a Comic Con. This person said he was blown away with how down-to-earth and funny Shatner was. I don't know how much the session cost but this person said it was totally worth it.
How old is this interview?
Late 90's early 2000's
He references the “new Star Trek movie coming up” for which “they’re looking for a young guy.” That’s got to be JJ Abrams first movie, and that was 2009. So maybe this was ‘08’ish? So, he’s about 77 here. Lordy, I hope I’m that sharp and full of life at 77. And, he’s STILL that way!
It's from around 2008. He frequently mentions "Raw Nerve", his talk show that started that year. He also references the upcoming Chris Pine version of Kirk, which was released in 2009.
He gets slammed for his Kirk overacting, but watch him in T J Hooker and his acting is excellent.
SOMEONE PLEASE, ASK BILL SHATNER HOW HE FELT WHEN HE FIRST STEPPED ON THE BRIDGE OF THE ENTERPRISE?
When a Journeyman speaks....
Star Trek TOS nuff sed
The phrase "Wagon train to the stars" was used during the original advertising for Star Trek. It was a prominent phrase.
Rodenberry said he pitched Star Trek to the network as "Wagon Train to the stars" (Wagon Train was a top-rated show that ran from 1957 to 1965).
Crud! He can make even an old camera story absolutely compelling.."cooing"...
91 anos de idade? Eu diria que ele tem uns 63
The tech we need is something to send into the atmosphere to remove methane and convert CO2 into oxygen.
Again, nothing about his Outer Limits episode OR his 3 Columbo's?
All that and no talk about Boston Legal? Seriously?
Nothing about the brothers Karamozov
How is he 91?
Acting on TV in an ongoing series as a regular, is an extremely difficult business that you dream about doing, but regret it after it happens because it is EXTREMELY difficult and survival, is something very real for both the actor and the character. I am happy it never happened to me. For a producer out there reading this comment, if you are part of a conspiracy to make me successful, yet want to kill me- hire me. I'll do it! YES.
I had heard he had hair transplants and that is actually his real hair.
90 years old looks 58.
I think this interview is about 15-20 years old
@@grandslapper Around 2010. OK 80 years old looks around 58.