William Shatner started thinning in his mid to late twenties. The image below from 1957's Studio One: The Defender highlights just how thin his hair was by the mere age of 28 (more on this here).
Below we have a few stills from the 1958 film The Brothers Karamazov. Here Shatner is already wearing a hairpiece, although in this case it is probably best described as a simple wig. The point though is that the hair-stylists evidently didn't have much natural hair to play around with.
Finally, below we have a TV appearance from 1960 in The Twilight Zone (episode "Nick of Time"). Here, Shatner already displays his famous lace hairpiece similar to the one he wore on Star Trek.
This is definitely a hairpiece, though I believe the front hairline is artificial.
ReplyDeleteThis is from an episode of the Twilight Zone.
ReplyDeleteThe episode is called "Nick of Time" (1960)
ReplyDeleteI had heard the rumors, of course, but I never noticed that Wm. Shatner wore a toupee. I'm no expert, but I find that his hair looks perfectly natural. Compliments to the toupee-maker.
ReplyDeleteThe actor in the second picture (the first in the group of three), the actor on the right, is Richard Basehart.
ReplyDeleteAnd Bill looks like a balding 12-year-old
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