Shatner: When Star Trek got cancelled after just three years, I had no money

When WILLIAM SHATNER, 92, landed the moderately paid role of Captain James T Kirk in the Star Trek TV series in 1966, he welcomed some job security but it was cancelled after three seasons, leaving him divorced and with no money… But he then he earned millions reprising his role in the hit movie franchise. Two years ago, he boldly went where no 90-year-old human had gone before – finally blasting off into space for real.

What was your first job after leaving school?

After I graduated from McGill University in Montreal, I worked at a summer theatre for two or three months. After the season, the manager was off to Ottawa to run the Canadian Repertory Theatre for the winter, and I asked about a job. She said they had no acting jobs going but as I had a business degree, she could hire me as an assistant manager. I proceeded to be a terrible business manager, promptly got fired and rehired as an actor. I got paid $50 a week, which was enough to pay the rent of an apartment with a bed with a rope mattress [where rope supports the mattress rather than wooden slats], and enough money for food most of the time. But if I wanted to have my laundry done or go to a movie I had to forfeit a meal.

Did Star Trek bring job security?

By the mid-1960s, I had three children with my first wife Gloria and could no longer sleep in a small apartment. Hanging over me like a storm cloud about to break was the thought, can I make enough money to support everyone? When Star Trek was cancelled after three years, I had no money and I was divorced. I put together a summer theatre programme and toured the US with that. I kept myself alive by being on stage and earning just enough to live on.

How did Star Trek re-emerge?

Star Trek disappeared for about six years, and then it began being shown everywhere in syndication, being played in front of younger audiences and suddenly it became very popular. But the original cast received none of the financial benefits.

You went to space in 2021 at the age of 90. Did you have to pay?

I was very lucky to be a guest of Jeff Bezos on the Blue Origin orbit, but from what I hear commercial flights of the future will be priced between $200,000 to $300,000.

That’s some ticket! How did that happen?

I actually turned down the first offer – which invited me to go up after Jeff Bezos. I thought I’m not going to go up second. But I have a book out called Boldly Go, which says, ‘Say YES! to the adventure of life’. So I persuaded myself that I had to be true to that. Anyway, they got me there a day early, and I thought,

‘What am I doing here? There’s no one else here yet’. And then someone from the space team suggested driving out to the launch site, which is at almost 5,000ft up in the desert. When we got there one of the space crew said, ‘Let’s walk up the gantry to the launch pad’.

Well, I did three, four flights, trying to catch my breath, then a few more, and finally made it to the top. They said: ‘That’s great, let’s go back down’ and I thought, ‘Why get me up here?’ I then realised they were checking whether the old man could make it up those 11 storeys at 5,000ft altitude. n