William shatner roast leonard nimoy biography

William Shatner Felt Unwelcome at Leonard Nimoy's Funeral

By JAMIE LOVETT - September 4, 2018

Star Trek fans may remember the controversy surrounding Leonard Nimoy’s funeral in 2015. That controversy centered on William Shatner, who did not attend the ceremony. Shatner has addressed this in his new book, sharing his thoughts about his former friend.

The book is a memoir titled Live Long And...What I Learned Along the Way. Trek Movie received an advanced copy of the book, in which Shatner reflects on Nimoy’s passing.

Fans will remember that Shatner skipped the funeral because he had a Red Cross fundraising event to attend, causing a scheduling conflict. His daughters attended the funeral in his place.

In the book, Shatner admits that his absence came from someplace deeper. Those reasons were rooted in his once-close friendship with Nimoy that had gone cold for reasons he says he still is unaware of.

“It was made clear to me that I was not welcome at his funeral,” Shatner writes. "That was painful. I had an easy excuse."

“My closest friend was Leonard Nimoy. We were born four days apart and raised in Orthodox Jewish homes. We shared so much throughout our careers. I loved Leonard, and he used to refer to me as his brother. Yet at the end of his life and for reasons I still don’t know, he was not my friend. I would call him and he wouldn’t answer the phone or return any messages. He died and I didn’t feel welcome at his funeral,” he adds.

In Shatner’s 2016 book Leonard, which focused on his relationship with his Nimoy, Shatner said he hadn't spoken to Nimoy for five years before his death. This was after Shatner filmed Nimoy without permission for the Star Trek documentary The Captains.

“I thought he was kidding,” Shatner said of Nimoy’s refusal to appear in the film. “It was such a small thing.”

But five years passed and Nimoy never reconciled with Shatner. B

William Shatner was stuck in Florida and unable to make it back in time for Leonard Nimoy’s funeral, but he was able to memorialize Nimoy in a Twitter online session with Star Trek fans.

Nimoy’s funeral took place at 9 AM PT in California, the same time Shatner asked fans to celebrate Nimoy’s life with him online.

“I asked if you all would be interested in celebrating Leonard’s life today,” said Shatner. “Why don’t we reconvene at noon ET/ 9am PT and begin.”

Fans were encouraged to use the #LeonardNimoy hashtag.

First, Shatner made a few comments about his friend, and then he began answering questions from Trek fans. “Leonard and I seemed to be bound by fate to be friends,” said Shatner. “We were born four days apart.”

“He was tall, lanky, and sometimes a bit too serious.

“We worked together previous to Star Trek, first impressions: nice guy, a real professional, took the job/role seriously.

“You all know the bike story, I still get emails from fans asking if I still have the bike.” (He doesn’t, but wished that he did.)

One fan asked what was his favorite memory of Mr. Nimoy. ” Every moment I spent with him,” replied Shatner.

When asked what Nimoy was like off the set, Shatner said, “Intelligent, insightful, just a precious gem of a man.”

Shatner told another fan that the life lesson he learned from Nimoy was “to be more serious. I think he learned to be less.” But Nimoy’s seriousness made Shatner laugh, and when Nimoy was in character as Spock, Shatner tried to rattle him. “He took the role of Spock very seriously and I would try and get him to crack a smile while in his persona. It was hard to do.”

Fans may remember the Shatner roast, and the fact that Nimoy wasn’t there. Shatner explained that Nimoy “felt it was inappropriate” and that “he didn’t want

Shatnerology 121: Introduction to Shatner
Each year at the college I teach as a Sociologist, I suggest a class called "Introduction to William Shatner" and I am not joking when I say it would be a dynamic class looking at issues of from aging to Marxist theory. No, really. After reading William Shatner’s autobiography "Up Till Now," I am convinced that his life is symbolic of the United States experience. Ironic for a guy from Canada.

Shatner’s story is the classic immigrant narrative. Plus, Shatner has worked in every entertainment media possible, some at their very start, such as television. He deserves much applause because he is redefining the "senior" experience. Here is a 77 year old Shatner who is charity minded, active with his career and sports, artistically enthusiastic, and energetic. He has starred in such films as The Intruder, perhaps one of the very best films about the tragedies of racism ever made. He has also starred in some bizarre entertainments, from Incubus to Kingdom of the Spiders (Shatner visited such kingdoms before Indiana Jones).

As a self-educated Shatnologist (you can’t actually get credentialed in Shatnology in the United States by colleges or universities…I know, can you believe it?), I describe "Up Till Now" as a fun read, full of details that he has not spoken of before or often. For example, Shatner’s first trip to the United States from Canada was by the unlikely transportation mode of canoe. He talks about the making of plays and films. His interactions with George C. Scott and Lorne Greene are intriguing, especially how Greene’s (the original Commander Adama of Battlestar Galactica) stock advice about uranium cost Shatner his entire life savings of $500. The best thing from a Shatnologist perspective is how much a promise to his father defines who Shatner is an actor and a person.

That isn’t to say the book isn’t without prob

While Gene Roddenberry may have created the seemingly perfect utopia back in 1967 with the introduction of the groundbreaking sci-fi television series, "Star Trek," behind the scenes, however, things were not as perfect as NBC broadcasted out into the world. According to Comicbook.com, rivalries and jealousies quickly arose between castmates on the set of the iconic show, particularly between the lead of the series, William Shatner, the actor who portrayed Captain James T. Kirk, and Leonard Nimoy, who played the iconic character, Spock.

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As history tells it, Shatner and Nimoy knew of each other's work before arriving on the bridge of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701). Both actors starred in the same episode of the 1960's television show, "The Man From U.N.C.L.E," called "The Project Stragis Affair" (via IMDb). During that time, a working relationship between Shatner and Nimoy began. Nimoy appeared as Mr. Spock in the original pilot episode of "Star Trek" entitled, "The Cage," which trashed by network executives. Following this, a new pilot was eventually ordered (via CBR) and Nimoy reprised his role in the new pilot. Shatner, meanwhile, was recruited from a string of memorable guest appearances he did on shows like "Gunsmoke" and "The Twilight Zone" (via IMDb) to helm the show's starship. A relationship on set began amicably enough between Nimoy and Shatner because of their previous work together.

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