Friday, February 5, 2010

The Ballad of Bill and Toupo.



In a previous post, we speculated that Bill Shatner's appearance in 1973's The Horror at 37,000 Feet (which our toupologists have now located and are in the process of studying) might be the longest that we have ever seen the actor's (real) hair.

The Horror at 37,000 Feet.

Well, perhaps that isn't quite the case after all.



Thanks to the miracle of YouTube, we have an appearance on the game-show New Beat the Clock (either from 1972 or 1974 - our guess would be the former) in which the hair appears to be even longer.


Is it possible that it's the back of the toup that was long - or both?


Either way, clearly not Bill Shatner's finest hour as far as the toupee goes. But, it's fun to see the actor responding to the fashions of the times...hippie Shatner!

37 comments:

  1. Bill should've done like the host did: comb it all forward

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  2. Oh, my god... the horror, the horror...
    Worst toupee ever..,?

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  3. I like the hippie reference. Shatner would have been a natural in that popular musical "Hair"

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  4. Look how the toupee is coming up in the back. I'll go so far to say this is a full wig and not a toupee anymore. A great find and another addtion to the toupee cannon -Most Jerk (can't figure out how to do a comment as mee today)

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  5. My... this toupee is a crime against humanity. And you still complain about the TJ Curly Years...

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  6. Yes, its a full wig or a dead racoon. Anyway, the vision of Bill with this on his head wrecked my weekend.

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  7. I agree with Baldkirk365 .... that's not a toupee but rather a full wig.

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  8. I couldn't watch more than a minute of that thing - how could anyone go out in public looking like that?

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  9. More Shatner Less Shame and Look At His Butt will undoubtedly want to put up these pics. Hot Hot Hot !!!

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  10. The guy was really doing anything for a quick buck in the early seventies. Not only the monstrous toupee or the clothes. The whole thing is really ridiculous.

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  11. Did you notice Shat's first comment was about changing the beard between out between the man and woman because they looked alike? Yes the first comment of Bill's was hair releated. It shows it was on his mind (and on his head)

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  12. Well, this place is really cool. We had Good looking Bill (Nick of Time post) and now Truck Driving Bill. What's next?

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  13. It would appear that 1972 is golden period for toupologists to study more deeply. What I love about this toup is that is while its equally as bad as the TJ Hooker years, it looks dirty and sleezy. Like a used car salesman. My vote for the worst toupe ever. My thanks to the entire Shat Toup team on this very important discovery

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  14. This may be the quintessential Shatner video.

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  15. Yes, certainly the worst toupee of his career. It seems to go hand in hand with his particularly corny puns throughout this clip.

    Still, even with the ridiculous toup, Bill is indeed "hawt." In fact, I find the enormous confidence it undoubtedly took to appear on television in that thing rather attractive. He can't lose. That's why he's The Shat.

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  16. There has to be a reason for it. Bill was hard up, but really. Was his good toup in the wash?

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  17. Even Shat in this toup can get the saliva forming in some of his female fans. Remarkable.

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  18. I agree with Margareth. Shats is truly an icon. The guy has survived bad career moves, aging and of course, very bad toupees like that. Long live Bill!

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  19. Real Hair Reflex @ 1:56. Though there's hardly any real hair to pat down.

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  20. Also the white socks Shats is wearing. A true Icon.

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  21. The hair coming up in the back is truly a classic. Now, with a evidence like that, Bill Shatner could never deny being a toup pro

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  22. If there's a hell for used toupees, this one must be burning for ages!

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  23. With a toupee like that Shat still could attract girls? If I wore something like this I would attract flies!

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  24. What worries me more is his NOSE! What the heck happened to the Shatner snout?? It looks like someone has stuck some putty in the middle of his face.

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  25. DeForrest, what's wrong with his nose, exactly?

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  26. Should Shat's toup be considered his actual wife and his human female live-ins (Gloria, Marcy, etc.) to be mistresses?

    Or, The Toupee could be his main wife and his lesser wives would be Gloria and Marcy like how some Mormons did with polygamy.

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  27. You know after watching this a few times its odvious Shat really didn't want to be here. You could tell he was just phoning this in to get a paycheck. There's nothing wrong with his nose either, I think Deforrest is getting a little carrie away

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  28. "Nothing wrong with his nose?" Are you serious? Compare his nose in those pictures to a few years before - the change is more alarming than even his toup! These days his nose looks like a photoshopped smudge.

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  29. This post is already a classic!!

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  30. You're right Deforest the nose is different! And along with the hair, I'm starting to wonder if Shatner was replaced in the early 70's by a look a like. In fact if you play Shat's version of Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds backwards, you'll hear something that sounds like "Hair is gone and so am I" Could Leonard Nimoy have planted this "clue" to secretly tell only loyal fans of the switch? This is going beyond the capablities of the Toupascope and the most highly trained toupologists!

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  31. I think Rosacea might be the reason his nose has looked distorted. The extremely red face/sunburned look is common to this and it causes a thickening of the skin on the nose. If you Google rosacea, you might come away thinking this could be a plausible explanation.

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  32. Could this be a "Bill died in the 1970s" theory akin to the Paul McCartney is dead rumor of the 1960s. Maybe we should start looking for toupee clues on the cover of "The Transformed Man"! :) - ST

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  33. all you need to know about Shatner's nose.
    http://wikiality.wikia.com/Shatner%27s_Nose

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  34. How much do you think Shat was paid for this performance?!

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  35. I've gouged out my left eye hoping this wig would look less bad to me with no depth perception. It didn't work.

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  36. A little dieting and a strong but discreet girdle, and Bill Shatner looks fit. But that toup! It looks like it was the product of injection molding, using petrochemical-based fibers!

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