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Now, THAT is tragic. I loved Scotty. Regardless of all the complaints of Star Trek's authenticity, it was a wonderful show at a time when it was the cutting edge of sci-fi.
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Yes, I read the story on Yahoo. Interesting - he was on his third marriage (lasted 28 years). His youngest child is 5, born in 2000 (he was 85 when he died). And if that sounds like any other actor you know, it turns out that back after he won a scholarship to a playhouse in NYC, one of his fellow students there was Tony Randall!
I'll miss him too - but he gave us a great deal to enjoy, and we won't forget him.
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The comments that the ST cast have made over the years about Bill Shatner remind me that "It's better to be kind than to be right." When all is said and done, we leave everything behind us except the relationships we've nurtured over the years. It would be sad to be remembered as someone who trampled through people's lives.
I would have liked to have met James Doohan. I always liked his on-screen persona. Although, I CAN claim to have met John DeLancie ("Q" in ST:TNG). He was very amiable. We had a lovely conversation while waiting in line for a bathroom one night, and he autographed my ticket stub for the OMSI Star Trek exhibit grand opening.
To be honest, I think that William Shatner went through a lot of the same things that the rest of the cast suffered, but had the worst position in most ways. His ego had a lot to do with it, made things worse, but the not entirely unjust criticism of his abilities would be hard for anyone to take.
I think that the turns he's made towards both comedy and shameless commercialism have really helped him to come to terms with himself and his celebrity. That's a good thing, I think, even if there are other costs to it.
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Speaking of shameless, has anyone heard Shatner's renditions of "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" and, most hilariously, "Mr. Tambourine Man"? If not you -must- download them. They're also on the album "Spaced Out", along with some pretty funny Nimoy stuff. Picture Spock doing "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town".
Posts: 27 | Registered: Jun 2005
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Shatner had to make some pretty desperate career choices after the first STAR TREK series was cancelled. His wife had divorced him, and I understand that the alimony payments were based on what he'd been making as Captain Kirk. Some of the roles he took in order to make his payments really hurt his career, and probably made any claims to quality as an actor look laughable.
Posts: 8826 | Registered: A Long Time Ago!
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Also, unlike some of the other very fine members of the original Star Trek cast, Shatner was always better as a performer than an actor. It can be hard for performers to get along with actors, and vice versa. And the vagaries of fame tend to go harder on performers.
So, I think that any past friction between Doohan and Shatner has to be viewed as a testament to Doohan as an actor of high caliber. Do you know, I don't even know what he sounded like when he wasn't doing the accent?
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I didn't mean to touch a match to the tinderbox with that little comment.
I've only met one Trek actor (Harry Mudd) so I don't really have any opinion of any of the cast members as people because the only information I have is second-hand.
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