William Shatner

William Shatner (born in Montreal, Quebec, March 22, 1931) is an actor, writer and musical performer. Shatner is most famous for his starring role as Captain James T. Kirk of the USS Enterprise in the television show Star Trek from 1966 to 1969 and in seven of the subsequent movies. Shatner has written three books chronicling his experiences playing James T. Kirk and being a part of the Star Trek franchise.

Early life

Shatner, of Ukrainian Jewish descent, attended Baron Byng High School in Montreal, Quebec, and earned a Bachelor's degree in commerce from Montreal's McGill University in 1952. Trained as a classical Shakespearean actor, he performed at the famed Shakespearean Stratford Festival of Canada in Stratford, Ontario before going to the United States to work. In 1954 he was cast as "Ranger Bill" on the popular Howdy Doody Show in the United States. His official movie debut was in the 1958 MGM film The Brothers Karamazov with Yul Brynner, in which Shatner starred as the pious Russian Orthodox monk Alexei (he had earlier appeared in a 1951 Canadian film entitled The Butler's Night Off). In 1959, he received good reviews when he took on the role of Robert Lomax in the Broadway production of The World of Suzie Wong. In 1962 he starred in Roger Corman's award winning movie "The Intruder." He also appeared in the Stanley Kramer film Judgment at Nuremberg, appeared in two episodes of the acclaimed science fiction anthology series The Twilight Zone, and starred in the unusual 1965 Gothic horror film Incubus; one of only two movies known to have all dialogue spoken in Esperanto, an artificial language developed in the 1880s.

Related Topics:
Ukrainian - Jewish - Montreal, Quebec - Bachelor's degree - McGill University - 1952 - Shakespearean - Stratford Festival of Canada - Stratford, Ontario - United States - 1954 - Howdy Doody Show - 1958 - MGM - The Brothers Karamazov - Yul Brynner - 1951 - The Butler's Night Off - 1959 - Broadway - The World of Suzie Wong - Stanley Kramer - Judgment at Nuremberg - The Twilight Zone - 1965 - Incubus - Esperanto

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