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LTC Stephen F.
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Thank you, my friend Maj Marty Hogan for making us aware that March 22 is the anniversary of the birth of the birth of Canadian actor, author, producer, and director William Shatner OC who in the 1960's became a cultural icon for his portrayal of James T. Kirk, captain of the USS Enterprise, in the Star Trek franchise.
Happy 88th birthday William Shatner!

WILLIAM SHATNER - FUNNIEST STORY ever TOLD
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bawMXdBNc8M


1. Background fromimdb.com/name/nm0000638/bio
William Shatner has notched up an impressive 50-plus years in front of the camera, displaying heady comedic talent and being instantly recognizable to several generations of cult television fans as the square-jawed Captain James T. Kirk, commander of the starship U.S.S. Enterprise.

Shatner was born in Côte Saint-Luc, Montréal, Québec, Canada, to Anne (Garmaise) and Joseph Shatner, a clothing manufacturer. His father was a Jewish emigrant from Bukovina in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, while his maternal grandparents were Lithuanian Jews. After graduating from university he joined a local Summer theatre group as an assistant manager. He then performed with the National Repertory Theatre of Ottawa and at the Stratford, Ontario Shakespeare Festival as an understudy working with such as Alec Guinness, James Mason, and Anthony Quayle. He came to the attention of New York critics and was soon playing important roles on major shows on live television.

Shatner spent many years honing his craft before debuting alongside Yul Brynner in The Brothers Karamazov (1958). He was kept busy during the 1960s in films such as Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) and The Intruder (1962) and on television guest-starring in dozens of series such as Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955), The Defenders (1961), The Outer Limits (1963) and The Twilight Zone (1959). In 1966, Shatner boarded the USS Enterprise for three seasons of Star Trek (1966), co-starring alongside Leonard Nimoy, with the series eventually becoming a bona-fide cult classic with a worldwide legion of fans known as "Trekkies".

After "Star Trek" folded, Shatner spent the rest of the decade and the 1970s making the rounds guest-starring on many prime-time television series, including Hawaii Five-O (1968), Marcus Welby, M.D. (1969) and Ironside (1967). He has also appeared in several feature films, but they were mainly B-grade (or lower) fare such as the embarrassingly bad Euro western White Comanche (1968) and the campy Kingdom of the Spiders (1977). However, the 1980s saw a major resurgence in Shatner's career with the renewed interest in the original Star Trek (1966) series culminating in a series of big-budget "Star Trek" feature films including Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979), Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982), Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984), Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986), Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989) and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991). In addition, he starred in the lightweight police series T.J. Hooker (1982) from 1982 to 1986, alongside spunky Heather Locklear, and surprised many fans with his droll comedic talents in Airplane II: The Sequel (1982), Loaded Weapon 1 (1993) and Miss Congeniality (2000).

He has most recently been starring in the David E. Kelley television series The Practice (1997) and its spin-off Boston Legal (2004).

Outside of work he jogs and follows other athletic pursuits. His interest in health and nutrition led to him becoming spokesman for the American Health Institute's 'Know Your Body' Programme to promote nutritional and physical health.

Spouse (4)
Elizabeth Shatner (13 February 2001 - present)
Nerine Kidd (15 November 1997 - 9 August 1999) ( her death)
Marcy Lafferty (20 October 1973 - 11 December 1996) ( divorced)
Gloria Rand (12 August 1956 - 4 March 1969) ( divorced) ( 3 children)

2. Background from tribute.ca/people/william-shatner/5415/
"Date of Birth: March 22, 1931
Best known for portraying Captain James T. Kirk on the popular sci-fi Star Trek television show and films, Shatner has played many other characters throughout his long career, which have been shadowed by the star fleet character.
Native to Montreal, Shatner developed an early interest in acting and began working professionally at the CBC even before his teens. While attending McGill university for a business degree, he thought he would eventually wind up working in his father's clothing manufacturing business. Instead he took a job as assistant manager at a Montreal playhouse.
The work led him to his first love, and he performed for the next three years with the Canadian Repertory Company in Ottawa. He even joined the prestigious Stratford Festival in Ontario as an understudy for a time.
It was not long before his stage work was noticed by New York critics, and Shatner was introduced to the world of live television shows. After performing a number of roles in shows like Playhouse 90, Shatner was given the role of his life.
He landed a role on a series called Star Trek, about a crew that travels across the galaxy interacting with alien species. The show wasn't popular with viewers, and after it folded, Shatner's wife left him. He found himself living in a truck bed camper working on numerous projects doing bit parts.

When Star Trek went into syndication, it suddenly took off, becoming enormously popular with viewers from around the world. Shatner suddenly became a star and found himself back in the captain's seat in 1979 with the original crew as they prepared to make a feature, Star Trek: The Motion Picture . The movie was a hit and led to six sequels (with the original cast); three television shows based on the Star Trek universe; annual conventions all over the world; hundreds of books and novels, and video games.

But Shatner performed many other roles in film and television before, during and after the original Star Trek craze. He starred in television series such as T.J. Hooker and Rescue 911, films like The Brothers Karamazov (1958), Judgment at Nuremberg (1961), The Outrage (1964), The Explosive Generation (1961), Big Bad Mama (1974), The Devil's Rain (1975), Kingdom of the Spiders (1977), The Kidnapping of the President (1980), Airplane II: The Sequel (1982), National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon I (1993) and Miss Congeniality (2000). In 2005, he won a Golden Globe for his guest performance on the long-running series Boston Legal.

Shatner has also become an accomplished writer with numerous novels published and created a television series called TekWar.

Pursuing his love of horses, he became a successful horse breeder. He has long been a dedicated breeder of quarter horses as well as had success with the exquisite American Saddlebreed, developing and owning the world champion, Sultan's Great Day. He keeps his equines on a 360 acre horse farm in Kentucky.

In addition, Shatner is a spokesperson for such charities as The Juvenile Connection Project, Tourettes Syndrome, Toys for Tots and is active in the campaign against drug abuse in society.

In May 2011, he received the Lifetime Artistic Achievement Award at the Canadian Governor General's Performing Arts Awards. A month later, his alma mater, McGill University, gave Shatner an honorary doctorate.

Married four times, his third wife, Nerine Kidd, died in August 1999 when she drowned in the family pool. He has three daughters, Lesley, Lizebeth and Melanie, and one grandson, Daniel.

William Shatner Filmography
Actor:
For the Love of Spock (2016)
A Christmas Horror Story (2015)
Being Canadian (2015)
To Be Takei (2014)
Escape From Planet Earth (2013)
Impulse (2013)
The Captains (2011)
Over the Hedge (2006)
The Wild (2006)
Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous (2005)
Lil' Pimp (2003)
Showtime (2002)
Osmosis Jones (2001)
Miss Congeniality (2000)
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)

FYI LTC Stephen C. LTC (Join to see) Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. Maj William W. "Bill" Price Maj Marty Hogan SCPO Morris Ramsey SFC William Farrell SGT Mark Halmrast Sgt Randy Wilber Sgt John H. SGT Gregory Lawritson CPL Dave Hoover SPC Margaret Higgins SSgt Brian Brakke 1stSgt Eugene Harless SSG William Jones SSG Diane R.
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CW5 Jack Cardwell
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Best role was in Star Trek.
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