Shatner's post-TOS Dog Days?

[TiberiusK]

An excerpt from Shat's Star Trek Movie Memories:

http://startrekdom.blogspot.com/2007/05/shatners-dog-days-in-his-own-words.html

Is this believable? Was he really so broke, down and out, and homeless during the early post-TOS years?

 

[Winterwind]

Why wouldn't it be believable? TV actors didn't make a lot of money back then and considering his divorce settlement was based on his earnings as a leading actor...

 

[Green Shirt]

He said " GREEN velour clad". If you can't believe the Shat, who can you?

 

[TiberiusK]

Josan said:
Why wouldn't it be believable? TV actors didn't make a lot of money back then and considering his divorce settlement was based on his earnings as a leading actor...

Shatner's memoirs are notoriously unreliable. Example: He talks about witnessing the infamous John Black/Majel practical joke, but he wasn't even there. He was avoiding Rodeenberry altogether, yet, in his memoirs, he remembers the entire episode, having belly-laughed with Roddenberry.

 

[Christopher]

klingongoat said:
He said " GREEN velour clad". If you can't believe the Shat, who can you?

The velour command uniforms were indeed green; they just photographed as gold.

 

[Plum]

I remember Shatner doing Canadian TV at the time, kids things, etc. in the early 70s, and before this time he tells that story of watching the moon landings from his truck (in the camper) with a mini-TV on his belly and looking up at the stars, feeling connected. It's a lovely story.

Yea, Shatner definitely had hard years after Trek. He was a hot young actor who got type-cast after Trek. Back in those days, getting type-caste could easily be a career breaker. But you can't keep The Shat down for long.

 

[Joker]

TiberiusK said:
Shatner's memoirs are notoriously unreliable. Example: He talks about witnessing the infamous John Black/Majel practical joke, but he wasn't even there. He was avoiding Rodeenberry altogether, yet, in his memoirs, he remembers the entire episode, having belly-laughed with Roddenberry.

Where's that from?

 

[Green Shirt]

Christopher said:

klingongoat said:
He said " GREEN velour clad". If you can't believe the Shat, who can you?

The velour command uniforms were indeed green; they just photographed as gold.

That's definately true, but its hard to convince so-called tunic and costume experts of that fact. They'll swear up and down that Bill Theiss, who selected the color, and Shatner and Takei, who wore them - are all wrong.

Here are some of the more interesting discussions.

http://p071.ezboard.com/fstartrekuniformsfrm9.showMessage?topicID=38.topic

http://p075.ezboard.com/fstarfleet1701stfrm26.showMessage?topicID=52.topic

 

[TiberiusK]

elton said:

TiberiusK said:
Shatner's memoirs are notoriously unreliable. Example: He talks about witnessing the infamous John Black/Majel practical joke, but he wasn't even there. He was avoiding Rodeenberry altogether, yet, in his memoirs, he remembers the entire episode, having belly-laughed with Roddenberry.

Where's that from?

either Star Trek Memories or Get a Life! I'm pretty sure it comes from Memories though.

 

[Excelsius]

Those dog days make his subsequent success all the sweeter.

 

[Good Will Riker]

George Takei: It's a funny thing with Bill, that man can't say no. My Aunt married a Canadian. When we finished the three seasons of Star Trek. I flew to Canada to visit with my Aunt and Uncle and my cousins. I was watching TV on a Saturday afternoon in Toronoto, Canada and the ads are all local businesses. All of a sudden, there's Bill Shatner hawking a local furniture store. "Ladies and Gentlemen, this weekend only, this beautiful couch. Come on down!" I was sitting there thinking "Bill, you just finished three seasons as the lead in a TV series. What are you doing on a Saturday afternoon on a local TV station selling bargain sofas?"; That man.

source: http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=10571

 

[TiberiusK]

Good Will Riker said:

George Takei: It's a funny thing with Bill, that man can't say no. My Aunt married a Canadian. When we finished the three seasons of Star Trek. I flew to Canada to visit with my Aunt and Uncle and my cousins. I was watching TV on a Saturday afternoon in Toronoto, Canada and the ads are all local businesses. All of a sudden, there's Bill Shatner hawking a local furniture store. "Ladies and Gentlemen, this weekend only, this beautiful couch. Come on down!" I was sitting there thinking "Bill, you just finished three seasons as the lead in a TV series. What are you doing on a Saturday afternoon on a local TV station selling bargain sofas?"; That man.

source: http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=10571

Is there any confirmation of this beyond Takei?

 

[Excelsius]

Actors are people too and they need to make money in order to survive. Even John Wayne, a big movie star, did TV commercials for a regional savings and loan. Bob Hope, an American institution, did commercials for Union 76.

I wouldn't be surprised if the story was true.

 

[Shatmandu]

Good Will Riker said:

George Takei: It's a funny thing with Bill, that man can't say no. My Aunt married a Canadian. When we finished the three seasons of Star Trek. I flew to Canada to visit with my Aunt and Uncle and my cousins. I was watching TV on a Saturday afternoon in Toronoto, Canada and the ads are all local businesses. All of a sudden, there's Bill Shatner hawking a local furniture store. "Ladies and Gentlemen, this weekend only, this beautiful couch. Come on down!" I was sitting there thinking "Bill, you just finished three seasons as the lead in a TV series. What are you doing on a Saturday afternoon on a local TV station selling bargain sofas?"; That man.

Takei is talking shit about someone needing to find paying work after TOS?

Jerkoff.

Joe, deep-voiced

 

[Forbin]

A friend of mine worked at a local Mall theater in NJ in the 70s. Shatner appeared in a play there. Afterward, my friend had trouble getting his car started in the parking lot, and Shatner rolled by in his camper and asked if he could lend a hand. My friend was a fair mechanic so he declined the help, but he always thought well of Shatner for offering to help a fellow human.

 

[Good Will Riker]

Forbin said:
A friend of mine worked at a local Mall theater in NJ in the 70s. Shatner appeared in a play there. Afterward, my friend had trouble getting his car started in the parking lot, and Shatner rolled by in his camper and asked if he could lend a hand. My friend was a fair mechanic so he declined the help, but he always thought well of Shatner for offering to help a fellow human.

I read this in Bill Shatner's unauthorized autobiography "Captain Quirk" from 1996. I have heard that during the early-70's during Shatner's "camper days" that after a performance, he offered to help someone get his car started in a parking lot. I would not be surprised if infact it is your friend who is referred to in this book.

 

[UnknownSample]

"The velour command uniforms were indeed green; they just photographed as gold." Actually, the velour and non-velour command uniforms photographed gold-green. As a kid, I could never decide which one they were.

Shatner should have done more character parts. He was great as a crooked sea captain in Kung Fu.

 

[voggmo]

Takei did in fact get work immediately after Tos. Major? no, but work? yes.

 

[Phantassm]

TiberiusK said:

Good Will Riker said:

George Takei: It's a funny thing with Bill, that man can't say no. My Aunt married a Canadian. When we finished the three seasons of Star Trek. I flew to Canada to visit with my Aunt and Uncle and my cousins. I was watching TV on a Saturday afternoon in Toronoto, Canada and the ads are all local businesses. All of a sudden, there's Bill Shatner hawking a local furniture store. "Ladies and Gentlemen, this weekend only, this beautiful couch. Come on down!" I was sitting there thinking "Bill, you just finished three seasons as the lead in a TV series. What are you doing on a Saturday afternoon on a local TV station selling bargain sofas?"; That man.

source: http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=10571

Is there any confirmation of this beyond Takei?

True story from Takei-I saw the actual interview online but of course Takei is no one to criticize what Shatner does..

 

[Therin of Andor]

Good Will Riker said:
I read this in Bill Shatner's unauthorized autobiography "Captain Quirk" from 1996.

That's just a biography, since Shatner didn't write it or participate in its creation.