Monday, May 3, 2010

That better not be my toupee!



In his book How Bill Shatner's Toupee Made Star Trek - The Real Story, producer Bob Justman noted a trick that he successfully used to add extra spice to Bill Shatner's performance:

"In the second season episode 'By Any Other Name' featuring actor Warren Stevens as Rojan, and the third season episode 'Day of the Dove' featuring actor Michael Ansara as the Klingon Kang, I didn't tell Bill that these actors would be wearing toupees that quite closely resembled the one that he wore. When those actors turned up on the set, there was an instant tension between them and Bill - almost as if someone was treading on his turf."


Bob Justman continued:

"Truth is, I knew that this kind of toupee hostility - Bill even suspected they were wearing one of his toupees - would add an additional layer of animosity and energy to Bill's performance, and I think that shows up on-screen in both of those episodes. There is a real visceral tension there."


While our intention here at Shatner's Toupee is certainly not to "out" toupee wearers...


...nonetheless, it is pretty clear that both Stevens and Ansara were/are indeed adherents to the philosophy of the universal piece.


However, unlike Bill Shatner, Ansara has been photographed toup-less and has also appeared bald on-screen (for example here):


But what really matters here is that in true Star Trek style, both "Day of the Dove" and "By Any Other Name" end with Captain Kirk and his nemesis finding a resolution to their conflicts.

Gene Roddenberry wanted to show how toupee squabbles can hinder mankind's progress

Peace triumphs over piece, while the universe proves big enough for more than one Jim Kirk-style toupee on the Enterprise. A truly uplifting message indeed.


note: Bob Justman never said or wrote any of the above.

12 comments:

  1. A pre-toupe (and very handsome) Warren Stevens can be seen in the sci-fi classic, Forbidden Planet.

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  2. Fight scenes = toupeee malfunction

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  3. I tell ya, Shatner has fought his toupee.

    Check out "Whom Gods Destroy".

    During the final fight scene between Kirk and Garth-as-Kirk, I believe Shatner and his stunt double (playing Garth) are both wearing his toupees. I think they had to talk Shatner into this, as having them both have the same hair, adds to the confusion as to who is Kirk and who isn't.

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  4. I wish Bob had put such a book out. What stories he could have told :)

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  5. I love how Michael Ansara's piece KLINGS ON during his fight scene with Kirk

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  6. Arena (season 1) is another episode where Bill's toupee suffers a lot

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  7. In that last photo, Spock's definitely the odd man out in the middle of that toupee drama.

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  8. BG, Bob Justman told great and non-fictional stories in the book he co-wrote with Herb Solow, Inside Star Trek: The Real Story, originally published around '96 I think. Best book, so far, on the making of the original series and Bill's toupee.

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  9. "Gene Roddenberry wanted to show how toupee squabbles can hinder mankind's progress" -
    This is the point at which I stopped chuckling and burst into full-out laughter.

    "Peace triumphs over piece" - Goodness you folks are brilliant.

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  10. Yes Peace over Piece, I am busting a gut on that one. Thanks Shat Toup!

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  11. Rumor has it that the inspiration for the 2000 film An Everlasting Piece was none other than William Shatner.

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  12. There's a rumour that Star Trek's notorious third season episode 'Spock's Brain' began life as a scenario entitled 'Kirk's Hair'. Apparently the original script outline has aliens kidnapping the captain's crowning glory in order to cover the barren dome of their exalted emperor, leaving an embaldened Kirk frantically combing the galaxy for his lost locks. Before a horrified Shatner demanded extensive rewrites, McCoy's line: "He's worse than dead - his brain's gone" read: "He's worse than dead - his hair's gone". Sadly, the famous Kirk lace-job never got its chance to grace the scalp of some distinguished guest star ...

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