Sunday, September 13, 2009

Poll result.



Thanks for voting! So what do the above results mean? A majority of you believe that Shatner's toupee was both a curse and a blessing. Not one voter believed that it was only a negative to his career, while a third thought it was straightforward plus.

The easiest analysis of the results is that most believe that the toup was likely a blessing in the early years when it helped Shats to look like the leading man he so wanted to be. The "Lost Years" (1969-76) toups probably harmed Shatner's career, in that directors looking at him were distracted by the bad hair and unable to focus on Shatner's acting abilities (we don't say that in a sarcastic way at all). As a result, it is possible that many character roles during the 70s (this was the second Golden Age of Hollywood cinema, after all) didn't go to Shats, and though he preserved his leading man status, the films that he was starring in were often not far short of awful. A bald Shatner in a supporting role in One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest or Network or Three Days of the Condor - that would have been something, but the bad toups (coupled with some Star Trek stereotyping) seemed to have made that impossible.

By the return of Star Trek in 1979, the toup, now thick and curly, somehow managed to become part of the Shatner iconography and as an icon he no longer had to worry about being a mere actor bald or otherwise - he was simply William Shatner.

Disagree? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section.

1 comment:

  1. Would Shatner have been the right choice for Morrie Kessler in Goodfellas? The actor that played the part was good, but Shatner might have brought something extra to the role.

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