It was indeed but that was more for the women on Moonbase than the men on Earth! Alec Freeman (George Sewell) wore a wig when he actually had a full head of hair like Ed, but his real life look was probably not for the character he played!
JB
Kirk's hair color
- Thread starter Trekfan12
- Start date
It was indeed but that was more for the women on Moonbase than the men on Earth! Alec Freeman (George Sewell) wore a wig when he actually had a full head of hair like Ed, but his real life look was probably not for the character he played!
JB
Many people's hair color darkens with age, and Shatner is no exception. The near-black color in the "dark years" of the mid-70s was an unfortunate choice, but may have been made out of necessity. We all know that he had financial troubles in that period. It was no "Jim lace," but maybe that was the best he could do with the resources available.
The look of the "TJ Curly" was popular for the follically challenged of the era. It was a step up from the "dark years" model, and improved as Shatner's work and wealth progressed. STIV showed a semi-believable weave in the underwater shots.
The 90s transition between the "TJ Curly" and the "Denny Katz" was much better. As hair replacement tech improved, so did Shat's toup.
Y2K introduced the next step in the evolution of toupology with the "sleepover" rug. Basically a full head lace with man-made hair individually tied and held to the head with adhesive, Shat could wear his hair for up to two weeks before removing it for maintenance. This system requires the client to purchase at least two hairpieces, so one could be cleaned while the other is worn. To the un-toup-trained eye it looks as natural as real hair, and pieces can be interchanged to simulate hair growth.
I don't care if Shatner wears a wig. If it makes him feel good about himself, I say go for it. He does seem to have a sense of humor about it, even if he won't just come right out and admit that he's bald as an Easter egg.
(Everything I know about hair replacement I learned from the Shatner's Toupee blog, plus a little side research.)
The look of the "TJ Curly" was popular for the follically challenged of the era. It was a step up from the "dark years" model, and improved as Shatner's work and wealth progressed. STIV showed a semi-believable weave in the underwater shots.
The 90s transition between the "TJ Curly" and the "Denny Katz" was much better. As hair replacement tech improved, so did Shat's toup.
Y2K introduced the next step in the evolution of toupology with the "sleepover" rug. Basically a full head lace with man-made hair individually tied and held to the head with adhesive, Shat could wear his hair for up to two weeks before removing it for maintenance. This system requires the client to purchase at least two hairpieces, so one could be cleaned while the other is worn. To the un-toup-trained eye it looks as natural as real hair, and pieces can be interchanged to simulate hair growth.
I don't care if Shatner wears a wig. If it makes him feel good about himself, I say go for it. He does seem to have a sense of humor about it, even if he won't just come right out and admit that he's bald as an Easter egg.
(Everything I know about hair replacement I learned from the Shatner's Toupee blog, plus a little side research.)
Sorry, but I'm a newbie. Bryan Fuller asked Shatner during a panel celebrating 50 years of Star Trek if he, Shatner, would oblige if Kirk were somehow resurrected. Shatner was unequivocal, YES! And then looked around in a quandary, as if it were a stupid question. So, how can this be done? One thing that comes to mind is how in Star Trek Generations Guinan appears as an "echo" of the person Picard had known. After all, she had been a resident of the Nexus. As Kirk was also a resident of the Nexus, maybe . . .
I knew Shatner wore a piece in the 70s and onward but until now I didn’t know that he was doing it in TOS. His hair looks so thin back then that I assumed those were the final days of his natural head of hair. Interesting...
Clint and others, I guess my main point (fuzzy due to chemobrain) in posting here about a return of Kirk is that Shatner's hair was exceeded only by his enthusiasm! He wants back in badly. I believe in the man's professionalism. I assert that this characteristic of his bleeds into his role as Kirk. Thank you for your patience, Mike.
Was watching TOS today and can't tell that Kirks wearing a toupee.
Any episodes where you can see it?
Any episodes where you can see it?
Ahh, if only the Moonbase costumes actually came into fashion! I had quite the youthful crush on Gabrielle Drake, and her mode of dress certainly helped.
Before I posted this, I googled her to see if a photo would revive those childhood memories. I discovered she did an audiobook of the Kama Sutra. Wow.
No, honest, I'm not creepy like that....
On Blu, Shatner’s toupee line is easily spotted. The beginning of Charlie X for example.
I think a lot of young guys had a thing for Gabrielle Drake in UFO! I personally preferred Antonia Ellis...
JB
In his first three outings as 007, sure, but his rug got progressively worse from You Only Live Twice to Diamonds Are Forever. I've always had a theory that Connery's enthusiasm for playing Bond has an inverse relationship to the believability of his hairpiece.
How did they manage to keep his wig in place during The Voyage Home when Kirk was swimming underwater? Admitted we could see how thin his hair was during the scene but it makes you think how clever these make-up men are with their gimmicks! The extras on the DVD have Shatner being interviewed by a British team while the wind blasted his hair. And to be honest that hair didn't look real, it was like a synthetic collection of fibres stuck on his scalp! Very weird indeed!
JB
Well Yvonne Craig whom I don't think got on with the Shat very well on the episode said that she saw him in his dressing room without the syrup! He was apparently very bald according to her and he was equally surprised to see her watching him from the open door that he slammed it shut very quick!
JB
Advent Hair offers the following recommendation(s) for swimming with a toupée:
http://blog.adventhair.com/going-for-a-swim-while-wearing-your-wig-it-can-be-done
"A waterproof hold: Before even considering taking a step towards the pool or the beach while wearing your swimming wig, you need to double check that your adhesive is water resistant."
I'm kind of surprised about William Shatner's choice of rugs, considering that "image is everything." They tend to look like something he fished out of a shower drain. Chalk it up to eccentricities or some shit. He really just should've been proud bald like Sir Sean Connery, and just wear expensive, studio-bought rugs for his assorted movie roles. It would've actually made him seem more Manly, in a sense, if he'd handled it that way, but instead ... chose years of denial and dancing around the subject. That's the only reason why people laughed ...
Shatner was looking for leading man roles and I just don't think they give them to bald men even now.
I know Patrick Stewart was balding but his role wasn't to be the womaniser action man - that was Riker.
But Shatner was an old sod by the time the STAR TREK movies came around. Surely, his Leading Man status had been diminished outside of this franchise?
He was still lead in TJ Hooker at about that time. Which was a action adventure cop series. So, yeah, he probably felt he could still be a leading man. He wasn’t “old” looking, and he was always more of a matinee idol pretty boy than the rough Connery type who looked great bald.
But Shatner was an old sod by the time the STAR TREK movies came around. Surely, his Leading Man status had been diminished outside of this franchise?
Larry Hagman was wearing rugs at same time to also look a bit younger.
As some have said, people's hair tends to get darker with age - and then it gets lighter and grayer!
I've always thought that blonde hair is the most beautiful hair color. When I was a little boy I wished I had blonde hair. I remember thinking how unfair it was that many more females than males had blonde hair. Of course actually about as many males as females have natural blonde hair and the excess of female blonde hair is due to women dying their hair.
I suppose that if I tried dying my hair blonde as a little boy I would have been considered vain and effeminate.
But maybe in the era of TOS it is as normal for men to change their hair color as it is for women to, and nobody thinks it is weird for Captain Kirk, for example, to sometimes adjust his hair color.
And since Spock has a slightly yellowish-greenish complexion in some scenes, it seems strange that his lips are pinkish. Why aren't Spock's lips a stronger yellowish-greenish? Does Spock wear pink lipstick to blend in with the Humans? More likely Spock wears lip balm to keep his lips healthy in the shipboard temperatures set for Human and not Vulcan comfort, and the only lip balm available is pinkish.
I note that Mr. Spock has been said to wear a lot of purple eye shadow.
And the evil duplicate Kirk covered up his tell tale facial scratches with make up he found in the real Kirk's cabin in "The Enemy Within".
So I find it fairly easy to believe that Kirk may have artificially changed his hair color from time to time.
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