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TREKCORE >
THE ANIMATED SERIES
> CAST AND CREW >
James T. Kirk/William Shatner
 As
much as any other figure in Starfleet history, the tall
tales about James T. Kirk's exploits over a 40-year career
are as numerous as the official record — and probably closer
to the truth in some instances. Kirk's renown began by
becoming the youngest captain in Starfleet to date at 34 and
the first captain to bring his starship back relatively
intact after a five-year mission, having also gained a
reputation as an independent whose success couldn't be
argued even though he often bucked the system. He also has
the distinction of being involved in 17 different temporal
violations, a career record which still stands.
Kirk's ancestors pioneered the American frontier, and his
Midwest roots tied him closely to American history, a
lifelong interest. He had an older brother, George Samuel
Kirk, although "Sam" and his wife Aurelan died at Deneva in
2267; their one son and Kirk's nephew Peter survived them.
A romantic at heart, Kirk never formed a lasting, romantic
relationship due to his devotion to career — especially
during his captaincy of the U.S.S. Enterprise. He did
father a son with Dr. Carol Marcus, David, but was asked to
avoid his upbringing and did not know he had matured into a
scientific genius until 2285-86, when the young man was
killed by Klingons on the Genesis planet he'd help to
create. Kirk long grieved for the boy's death, and that he
had only a few months to know his progeny. He also regretted
not having married a woman named Antonia whom he dated for
about two years, from 2282 to 2284.
A family friend named Mallory helped gain Kirk entry to
Starfleet Academy, and he soon had the rare treat of earning
starship duty as a first-year cadet with the brevet rank of
ensign while aboard the U.S.S. Republic. There Kirk
was close friends with Benjamin Finney, for whose murder
Kirk was later tried, but was tormented by an upperclassman,
Finnegan. As an older cadet he served as an instructor,
where Gary Mitchell was one of his students and later his
best friend, saving his life on Dimorus. His heroes included
Abraham Lincoln and Captain Garth, whose missions were
required reading in class, as were the works of Dr. Roger
Korby. Kirk had the distinction of being the only cadet ever
to beat the "no-win" Kobayashi Maru scenario; he had
secretly reprogrammed the simulation computer, making it
possible to win and earning himself a commendation for
original thinking.
After graduation, Kirk's first assignment was the U.S.S.
Farragut as a newly-promoted lieutenant, a tour
distinguished by his command of a survey mission to Tyree's
planet Neural in 2254 and his guilt-plagued discovery of the
creature dubbed a "cloud vampire" which led to the deaths of
his captain and 200 shipmates — although he realized that
there was nothing he could have done to save them. Kirk once
contracted and recovered from Vegan choriomeningitis, but
still carries microorganisms of it in his blood.
Kirk's historically rapid rise to a captaincy and command of
a loyal and respectful 430-member crew are reflected in the
awards and commendations he had garnered by 2267, including
the Palm Leaf of the Axanar Peace Mission, the Grankite
Order of Tactics, a Class of Excellence award, the Prantares
Ribbon of Commendation, First and Second Class, the Medal of
Honor, a Silver Palm with Cluster, the Starfleet Citation
for Conspicuous Gallantry, the Karagite Order of Heroism and
several Awards of Valor.
It was on this Enterprise that he assembled a crew
and forged friendships with fellow officers who would
themselves become Starfleet legends: First Officer and
Science Officer Spock, Dr. Leonard McCoy, engineer
Montgomery Scott, Hikaru Sulu, Pavel Chekov, Nyota Uhura and
to a lesser degree, Arex and M'Ress.
The
Canadian-born actor attended McGill University where he was active
in theater productions on campus. During his summers through
college, Shatner performed in the Royal Mount Theater Company. When
he graduated in 1952 with a B.A., Shatner began work at the National
Repertory Theater of Ottawa. He eventually won co-starring roles in
plays such as "The Merchant of Venice" and "Henry V," as well as the
Most Promising Actor award. After a run in New York in the play,
'Tamburlaine," Shatner was signed to a seven-year contract by 20th
Century Fox. He married a Canadian actress, Gloria Rand and
honeymooned in Scotland. It was something of a working honeymoon,
however, as Shatner had a role in an Edinburgh Festival production
of "Henry V."
After his honeymoon, Shatner returned to New York where he guest
starred on numerous series, including Goodyear Playhouse, Circle
Theater, Philco Playhouse, Studio One and The Defenders. Then came
his movie debut, "The Brothers Karamazov," with Richard Basehart.
Not wanting to miss out on the Western genre that was so prominent
in Hollywood, Shatner learned to ride a horse and rope.
Next, Shatner landed the starring role in the two-year Broadway run
of "The Secret Life of Suzie Wong." This was followed by "A Shot in
the Dark" with Julie Harris and then "L'Idiote," all on Broadway.
In 1961, Shatner landed two films, "The Intruder," where he plays a
rabble-rouser traveling from one Southern town to another, getting
people to riot against court-ordered school integration. It was
later released under the titles, "I Hate Your Guts!" and "Shame." Shatner also appeared in "Judgment at Nuremberg."
Then came the role for which he is undoubtedly best known; Captain
James T. Kirk on "Star Trek." Unfortunately, during the three years
that series ran, Shatner not only separated from his wife, but lost
his father, as well.
After the original series ended in 1969, Shatner went on to star in
the first seven "Star Trek" feature films. He also made such films
as "Sole Survivor," and the Sherlock Holmes classic, "The Hound of
the Baskervilles." Guest appearances on series like, The Sixth
Sense, Barnaby Jones, and Hawaii Five-O kept him in the public eye.
In 1970, Shatner played the brilliant prosecutor in "The
Andersonville Trial," which was a fine film and garnered him good
reviews. During the shooting of that film, Shatner met Marcy
Lafferty, who would become his second wife. Then, in 1973 Shatner,
along with his fellow starship colleagues, embarked on what would
become 22 episodes of an animated Saturday morning cartoon based on
"Star Trek". In 1979
"Star Trek: The Motion Picture" was released
and Shatner was firmly back in command as James T. Kirk. When
"Star Trek V:
The Final Frontier" was shot, it was Shatner at the director's
helm.
In 1982, Shatner starred in a cop series, "T.J. Hooker" which lasted
four years. Following "Hooker", Shatner then went on to host to the
popular series "Rescue 911." In 1994, Universal made a television
series, "TekWar" based on the series of books written by Shatner and
Ron Goulart. While Shatner did not star in the series, he did make
appearances and directed several of the episodes and even made a
guest appearance on USA Network's "WWF Monday Night RAW" to help
promotoe it. He has also made several guest appearances on NBC's hit
comedy "3rd Rock from the Sun" playing the role of The Big Giant
Head. Shatner, along with his "Star Trek" co-star Leonard Nimoy, can
also be seen and heard promoting Priceline.com on both television
and radio. In December 2000, Shatner scored a hit with the comedy
film, "Miss Congeniality," with a sequel due to open in 2005. On TV,
Shatner made several guest appearances on "The Practice" and is
featured in the spin-off series, "Boston Legal", playing Denny
Crane. In 2004, Shatner's portrayal of Crane on "The Practice"
earned him an Emmy award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama.
Shatner is also the author of several books of a biographical
nature, including "Star Trek Memories" and "Star Trek Movie
Memories," relating the making of "Star Trek" movies, including
"Star Trek Generations".
As a novelist, Shatner has also, with
collaborators Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens, contributed to the
"Star Trek" oeuvre with several novels, including "The Ashes of
Eden" and "The Return." He is set to begin a new series of books in
2005 that focus on his character's days at Starfleet Academy.
William Shatner not only keeps busy with his yearly charity horse
show, his TV shows, movie appearances and book writing, but also his
convention appearances alongside Nimoy. Together on stage, the two
provide a highly enjoyable hour of entertainment.
Biographies derived and edited from the
Official
Site.
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