Regular readers of Shatner's Toupee will know that the institution to which we belong, The William Shatner School of Toupological Studies, takes its mission to learn all that can be learned about William Shatner's hair very seriously. As part of our efforts, the WSSTS has a network of global listening stations that scan all forms of publicly disseminated media twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week - anything related to "Shatner" and "hair" or "toupee" or "bald" or several other special words is instantly flagged and sent along to the relevant analyst to be triaged and assessed.
One of the latest reports to find its way to our analysts noted Bill Shatner mentioning somebody else's hair. Unusual. Uncommon. Interesting...
The incident is related to a May 2010 appearance by Bill Shatner on the late-night talk show Lopez Tonight. During his interview, Bill Shatner engages in some joking and platonic flattery of host George Lopez. "I've never noticed how cute you are," Bill Shatner says, before adding and gesturing, "You've got the little eyes and the little mouth and the little nose and the little hair atop up there..."
Lopez laughs along, but as Bill Shatner reaches the hair part, he evidently realizes that he is having something of a Wile E. Coyote moment. In the Warner Bros. series Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner, the poor Coyote would sometimes get so enthusiastic in his futile chasing of the Road Runner, that he would suddenly realize he'd run right of a cliff.
Sometimes he'd hang in the air for a while; it wasn't until his mind had fully digested the gravity of the situation that actual gravity finally took over and he began to fall.
A similar moment is evident in the Lopez interview. Bill Shatner is going at full speed until he apparently and very suddenly realizes and digests two simple truths: Wile E. Coyote should probably give up chasing the Road Runner, and he probably shouldn't publicly dwell on other people's hair too much. The sound of brakes screeching can almost be heard...but, thankfully, within a second or even less, Bill Shatner has recomposed himself and quickly shifted to another topic.
A clip of the moment can be watched below, with the full interview viewable here.
Lopez and Bill Shatner evidently get on very well. Perhaps if Lopez were a little quicker and a little more daring, we could have witnessed some witty toupological banter: "I'm glad you like my hair, Bill. I like yours too. Could I borrow it sometime?"
Bill Shatner then goes on to perform a duet of "Total Eclipse of the Heart" with Taiwanese singer Lin Yu Chun - clip here. Two unique hairstyles, two unique talents - it seems like a match made in heaven!
