The Aqua-Rug Shatner sported in THE VOYAGE HOME looked the worst out of all of them, and at the same time, proved to be the most impressive. When The Shat dived into that green, murky water (shot from a distance, and partially blocked, so we couldn't see his toupée helmet respond inappropriately, as it's being submerged), it was amazing, watching him put his rug through its paces. I mean, it responded as real hair would! I don't know what kind of glue they used ... but I doubt that Shatner would have it stapled down. Of course, when he surfaces, though, he doesn't shake his hair, to get it out of his eyes, or move it manually with his hands, for fear of dislodging his rug. But that dive of his remains the only feature of TVH that truly stands out, for me. And that was in the 80's, one can only imagine what they use now to anchor a hairpiece down ... to keep it secure. Shat probably has to use kerosene to remove it, now, it's glued on so well.
Strange, we are on page 3 talking about a mans hair? Hey, what would Picard's hair would look like if it was a little bit longer. What would Kirk, Spock, Picard, Ricker look like if they were the new cast members of Duck Dynasty?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Bad_Mama Shatner had a nude scene with Angie Dickinson. I remember him saying, either in an interview or in a book (can't remember which), that he was afraid he "was going to have an erection."
As Shatner aged, his head hair seems to have migrated South ... like a duck in Winter. Hadn't he always had a hairless chest, on the series? Regardless, though, when the movies started, he should've been like, "I'm William Shatner! This is who I am. Accept it," and just presented himself bald, as Admiral James T. Kirk. Or, at least, done like Sean Connery and only wear a rug for the movies and be proud bald everywhere else. It would've caused a buzz, at first ... surely. But that would've settled down, soon enough. And who knows? He could've made bald "sexy" for the ladies ... and kept his macho image, even more intact, sure ... and secure!
Wait...did Gate McFaden actually wear a wig? I was always under the impression that, like most women on TV, she had hair extensions. I mean nothing can compare to Marina Sirtis who's hair peices probably had their own trailer given how voluminous they were.
For a lot, nay most people, it's his steadfast refusal to admit what is so obvious that is the source of obsession and frustration. Other actors wear them. And admit it. And no one cares. Nathan Fillion, prime example. When an actor is seen as so incredibly vain and shallow as to not even be able to publicly admit a basic fact about themselves that everyone already knows? That just nags people. John Travlota was the same way for a long while. Then some photog got a lucky shot of him without it and... no one cared after a few days. On one of the special feature things for the trek discs, I think the movies? It's a conversation between Shatner, Stewart, Frakes and Whoopi Goldberg. And he almost admits it. And they try to nudge him along without saying outright what they're trying to convince him to admit. But he just can't or won't do it. There are photos of Shatner from the late 1950s where his hair is very thin on top and in the front. Then after those photos, he's always got a full perfect head of hair. http://shatnerstoupee.blogspot.com/2009/09/more-on-toup-less-pics.html If he'd admit it? It would get some attention for a week or two for the simple fact he's refused to do so for 50 years, and then... no one would care. Since he won't? People joke about it and poke at it and such, because it's so freaking silly of him to deny it.
I heard that she wore wigs but I gathered they were pretty close in looks to her own hair and sometimes it actually was her own hair in TNG. I could be wrong though. I'd never have guessed she was wearing a wig if I hadn't been told though.
In Shatner's case, it's all part of the joke. Everyone knows he wears a hairpiece. He knows that everyone knows. We know that he knows that everyone knows. It's just Shatner being Shatner.